“I Am Your Mother!” : 5 Good Mothers in Horror

Horror has given us some iconic mothers over the years. From 1968’s Rosemary in Rosemary’s Baby to 2018’s Annie in Hereditary, there is no shortage of horror mothers, good or bad– I’m looking at you, Margaret White! As someone lucky enough to grow up with a great mom (who showed me how to be a good mom),  I wanted to look at some recent mothers in horror who, despite the horror they faced, came out on the other side as stronger mothers because of it. 

(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)

Valeria Hernandez, Huesera: The Bone Woman (2022)

Valeria gets backlash that she doesn’t deserve because she decided to walk away from motherhood. However, this choice is my favorite thing about her. In Huesera: The Bone Woman, Valeria (Natalia Solián) is a pregnant mom who doesn’t want to be a mom. She is in love with her ex, Octavia, and thrives on a life of shameless fun and vibrancy. Yet, she finds herself living a simple, quiet life, making a home, and preparing for a new baby. She’s been denying who she is and the life she wants for herself because it’s expected of her to be a wife and mother. When faced with a monster of her creation (a very creepy one at that), she undergoes a ritual to free herself.

In the end, she decides to leave her baby with her husband, Raúl, and live the life she has always wanted for herself. Not only does it take strength, but it takes love to be this kind of mother. She knew that she could never give her daughter the mother she deserved. I love this character and the real-life mothers she represents. The reality is that motherhood is not for everyone, and that’s okay. The film is haunting and a body horror feast if you’re in the mood for some bone-cracking frights. 

Carolyn Perron, The Conjuring (2013)

To know me is to know that I love 2010s James Wan. He shows how horror and storytelling are indeed an art form. In the film The Conjuring, based on an Ed and Lorraine Warren case, the couple helps a family being tormented by a witch who died on their land. The witch, Bathsheba, focuses on Carolyn (Lili Tayler), causing bruises and slowly possessing her with the sole purpose of driving her to kill one of her children. In collaboration with the Hayes brothers, Wan shows us the dynamic between Carolyn and her children from the beginning. So, when this force wreaks havoc on her family, we know that she is willing to do whatever she has to do to protect them.

When Carolyn is completely possessed and nearly at the point of killing her daughter, Lorraine places her hand on her head and forces Carolyn to think of her children, think of the memories they shared, to give her a reason to fight back. Sometimes, the monster wins, but for Carolyn, love won, and it was such a beautiful ending to a dark story. The Conjuring is still a very creepy movie and the best in the franchise, if you ask me. 

Summer Beverly, Mr. Crocket (2024)

There’s nothing scarier for a parent than watching your child be taken away from you. Director Brandon Espy magnifies that feeling by ten in his latest film, Mr. Crocket, when Summer loses her son to a demonic TV show host. Summer (Jerrika Hinton) has just lost her husband unexpectedly and becomes a single mother to an active, rambunctious boy who lost his dad and is acting out his grief. In need of a break, Summer puts on a VHS of Mr. Crocket’s World for her son, Darren, who quickly becomes obsessed. Using the strain in their relationship, Mr. Crocket manipulates Darren and invites him into his world. However, Summer doesn’t stop until she gets him back.

Motherhood isn’t easy. I could identify with Summer when she pulled out the parenting tape, eager to find a way through the chaos. She’s just been dealt cards she never knew were coming, and yet everything she’s faced fuels her to find her way into a demonic world to get her child back safely. Mr. Crocket serves up some scares and laughter if you’re in the mood for a classic horror story. 

Ramona, The Woman in the Yard (2025)

Ramona is the mother who inspired this article. I have a love-hate relationship with The Woman in the Yard, but I can appreciate Ramona as a character. Played by Danielle Deadwyler, Ramona is depressed and grieving the loss of her husband. Left to raise two children on a farm on her own, she is drowning. The movie presents Ramona’s “other side” as a woman veiled in black. The woman sits in her yard, getting closer and closer until she makes her way inside. Throughout the film, it appears that Ramona has checked out. The kids have seemingly been fending for themselves while she’s lying in bed. From a flashback dinner with her husband and one-off moments throughout the film, we know that Ramona loves her children. However, she isn’t happy being a mother, which puts her in a deep depression.

Unlike Valeria in Husera: The Bone Woman, she didn’t walk away because she believed that “children need their mother,” as she tells The Woman.  While the ending is ambiguous, and we can only infer whether or not Ramona decided to live or not, I believe she did her best. Her story is a sad one. If there is a mom out there reading this who feels like Ramona, please know you are still a good mom. You are also not alone. 

Annie Moore, Sinners (2025)

Closing out this piece with one of my favorite horror mothers of the year. In the film Sinners, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku) is a beautiful representation of women who have endured loss but are still mothers. Before we meet Annie, we see Smoke kneeling at a grave marker outside of her house. There is a rock with a baby’s handprint and a glass bottle of milk at her resting place. Even in her death, she is cared for and loved. This loss is still a heavy thing for Annie to bear, as we see in her early conversation with Smoke. When faced with death or becoming a vampire, she chooses death to be with the baby that they lost.

I appreciate the care and effort that writer-director Ryan Coogler put into Annie’s narrative and characterization. She is powerful because of all that she has endured. In the final sequence, Annie greets Smoke, draped in white with their daughter on her breast and a smile on her face; the ending she wanted for her family. 

Horror and motherhood work so well together because, let’s face it, being a mom is terrifying. We’re responsible for nurturing, protecting, and raising someone other than ourselves, often while navigating grief, hardship, and isolation. No two motherhood journeys are the same, and that’s what makes them both beautiful and haunting. So, however, motherhood looks for you, we celebrate you this Mother’s Day. We hope you get a moment to put your feet up and enjoy one of these horror films made for moms who can handle whatever horrors come their way.