What makes the scary little girl so sensational? Films, especially, come back to the vacant-eyed and terrifying child again and again: from Wednesday Addams to the Shining twins, they stare directly at you while you shove popcorn into your mouth and try not to grab a neighboring stranger’s arm. Sometimes they’re evil, but not always; the terror doesn’t solely come from them meaning you harm. These little girls are scary because they can’t be manipulated, because they refuse to conform to the role of the female child: sugar and spice, seen and not heard. They’re scary because they’re powerful, but also because they’re not supposed to be.
This list collects powerful and frightening young women of literature, who refuse to stay in their sweet and innocent box. With these girls, what you expect is not what you get, and what you get might fuck you up. {read}