Scream Queens

Danielle Harris is the current regning Scream Queen

When it comes to Halloween movies, everyone loves a good Scream Queen.

"Scream Queen" is a term used for actresses who have appeared in several horror films, whether that be as a victim or a protagonist. They were originally dubbed Scream Queens because it seemed that their main role was to scream lots and lots and lots and wait to be rescued by a strong, handsome man, but the roles of females in horror movies have evolved far past that. How often do you watch a horror flick these days that starts with a young group trying to escape a crazed killer (or some other horrific menace), and ends with just one lone female surviving to tell the story?

This quote from actress Debbie Rochon (a Scream Queen herself) is a great description of the modern day Scream Queen - "a true Scream Queen isn't The Perfect Woman. She's sexy, seductive, but most importantly 'attainable' to the average guy. Or so it would seem."

I think it's this attainability that makes them attractive to guys, but not alienating to female fans of the genre. It's great to see girls using their brains and determination and coming out on top! This makes them not only great Halloween names, but also strong role models for girls.

So here's a list of actresses who are considered t be "Scream Queens", either in the past or present. Last names are in brackets to help you identify them. I haven't listed all of the horror movies they have appeared in (or we'll be here for a very longtime) so if you don't instantly recognise them I recommend you look them up on IMDB. Who knows, it might give you some ideas for great movies to include in your Halloween viewing this year :)

Adrienne (Barbeau)                                  Danielle (Harris)

Adrienne (King)                                 Danielle (Panabaker)

Agnes (Bruckner)                                 Debbie (Rochon)

Ali (Larter)                                              Eliza (Dushku)

Alexa (Vega)                                          Elsa (Pataky)

Amanda (Seyfried)                                  Erica (Leerhsen)

Amber (Heard)                                        Fay (Wray)

Andrea (Bogart)                                    Haylie (Duff)

             Arielle (Kebbel)                                  Heather (Langenkamp)

Barbara (Crampton)                               Jamie Lee (Curtis)

Barbara (Steele)                                  Jaime (King)

        Betsy (Palmer)                                  Jaimie (Alexander)

Beverley (Mitchell)                                   Janet (Leigh)

       Briana (Evigan)                                    Jennifer (Carpenter)

    Brinke (Stevens)                                      Jennifer (Love Hewitt)

Cerina (Vincent)                                           Jennifer (Tisdale)

Chelan (Simmons)                                        Jessica (Stroup)

Christy (Carlson Romano)                            Jodelle (Ferland)

Chloe (Moretz)                                             Judith (O'Dea)

  Clea (DuVall)                                             Kate (Beckinsale)

Courteney (Cox)                                     Katharine (Isabelle)

Crystal (Lowe)                                              Katie (Cassidy)

Lacey (Chabert)                                            Nikki (Bell)

Leighton (Meester)                                       Odette (Yustman)

              Linnea (Quigley)                                  Pamela Jane (PJ) (Soles)

   Maggie (Grace)                                          Radha (Mitchell)

Margo (Harshman)                                     Rhona (Mitra)

Mary Elizabeth (Winstead)                       Rose (McGowan)

Meagan (Good)                                        Roxy (Vandiver)

Melissa (George)                                         Sara (Paxton)

       Mercedes (McNab)                            Sarah Michelle (Gellar)

            Milla (Jovovich)                                Scout (Taylor-Compton)

          Mila (Kunis)                                        Sheri Moon (Zombie)

Naomi (Watts)                                    Stephanie (Honore)

Neve (Campbell)                                                                 

Katie Cassidy in the remake of A Nightmare On Elm Street

                                                                                 

Zenobia

'Queen Zenobia's Last Look Upon Palmyra', painting by Herbert Gustave Schmalz

I've seen this name mentioned lately and find myself strangely drawn to it. One of the main attractions of the name Zenobia is that it is exotic sounding, without being too weird. It evokes images of perfume scented nights in the African desert. It is queenly, and quietly calm and regal because it starts with the word Zen.

Zenobia (pronounced ze-NOH-bee-ah) is most famous for being the name of a Queen of Palmyra in the 3rd century. She was said to be descended from Cleopatra, led a revolt against the Roman Empire and ruled Egypt until she was defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor Aurelian. Pretty cool, right?

As a name, Zenobia has Greek origins and means 'the life of Zeus'. It has been used for characters in books, operas, movies and a ballet. It has also flirted with celebrity baby name fame, as Tina Fey chose it as the middle name for her first daughter Alice Zenobia, honouring her mother who is also named Zenobia. It's also one of the few examples of a longer girls name that isn't frilly sounding (such as names ending with etta, ella, bella or issa), which can be good for parents after a longer name to make a full name flow better but not necessarily after an "old fashioned girly-girl" name.

Likely to be more often used as an adventurous middle name for a plainer first name, Zenobia shouldn't be overlooked as a potentially fantastic first name with some great nickname potential. Bee, Bia, Zee, Zia or Zen could all be cute but spunky shorter versions for those willing to give it a try. It would certainly be a distinctive name for any little girl, would age well and wouldn't be instantly thought of as belonging to girls from a certain decade in fifty years time.

Caspian

Caspian is a name that I have loved ever since reading "Prince Caspian" by C.S. Lewis when I was young. At the time, I thought that names such as Capsian, Edmund and Eustace were made up names that you would never see on a real person. Of course, now that I'm older I know that Caspian is a place name, Edmund means 'fortunate protector'; and Eustace has greek origins. Yet what hasn't changed is that I still haven't met any of these names 'in real life'.

Naming choices have also evolved a lot since the days when I first read C.S Lewis' classics, and suddenly names that seemed fantastical and 'made-up' when I was young seem trendy and not-so-outrageous now. There is a lot of love out there for Caspian, from those who have read the books, seen the TV adaptations and loved the huge box office movie versions. This gives Caspian the advantage of being familiar to those who have read the books and loved the movies, but still
fresh and uncommon.

When people hear Caspian they think that it is a name for a good, strong, handsome, intelligent, sophistocated, unusual, exotic, masculine and well-educated person. Not a bad first impression for your child to give the world. If you like your names with good nickname potential, nicknames I've seen thrown around for this name are Cas, Caz, Cash and the slightly more creative Ian. Seems like Caspian could have it all, for those who are bold enough to venture down this path.