Lesbian Visibility Day: 10 Sapphic Horror Characters We Love
Featuring characers from American Horror Story, Yellowjackets, and more
by Lana Thorn 26 April 2026
Disney
To celebrate this Lesbian Visibility Day, we’re highlighting 10 lesbians across horror film, television, and video games. With roles played by Victoria Pedretti and Sarah Paulson, and characters hailing from major franchises like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Last of Us, these are our 10 favourite sapphic horror characters.
Dani Clayton - The Haunting of Bly Manor
Netflix
Victoria Pedretti leads the second entry in Mike Flanagan’s anthology miniseries, a follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House. The scream queen stars as an American au pair travelling to a remote British estate, where she falls for a local gardener. Bly Manor is as scary as its predecessor, but it’s also one of the most beautiful love stories in queer TV history.
Emerald Haywood - Nope
Universal
At the heart of Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror is the heartwarming relationship between the Haywood siblings, and half of that duo is the charming, fierce Em, played by Keke Palmer. Her sexuality isn’t central to the plot, but it’s refreshing to see a Black queer lead in a horror blockbuster, especially such a dynamic character who serves as both the hero and the comic relief.
Lana Winters - American Horror Story: Asylum
FX
In the role that turned her into the series’ go-to leading lady, Sarah Paulson plays a lesbian journalist wrongly committed to Briarcliff Manor, a psychiatric hospital run by the villainous Sister Jude (Jessica Lange). One of the most resilient, well-rounded female characters in modern television, Lana remains an AHS fan favourite.
Willow Rosenberg - Buffy the Vampire Slayer
20th Century Studios
Aside from giving us a fashionable Sarah Michelle Gellar killing vampires week after week, the cult teen horror show also delivered some groundbreaking lesbian representation with Alyson Hannigan’s nerdy witch, who comes into her sexuality over the course of the series.
Rio Vidal - Agatha All Along
Disney
Aubrey Plaza plays a shapeshifting witch who flirts relentlessly with her lover, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), as they cross paths on the fabled Witches’ Road, in an 18th-century flashback, and even in the fictional TV reality of a Mare of Easttown-esque police procedural spoof.
Deena Johnson - Fear Street Trilogy
Netflix
In addition to its novel release structure—a time-hopping trilogy with each movie dropping a week after the other in July 2021—Leigh Janiak’s Fear Street films stand out because of the tender lesbian relationship driving the story, with Kiana Madeira’s protagonist Deena finding herself hopelessly in love with Sam (Olivia Scott Welch).
Thelma - Thelma
SF Norge
While most will recognise Joachim Trier for his stirring family drama Sentimental Value, the Norwegian director is also responsible for a supernatural psychological thriller following a young woman (Eili Harboe) from an ultra-religious background who develops psychokinetic powers when she feels desire for a fellow student (Kaya Wilkins) at university.
Countess Báthory - Daughters of Darkness
Radiance Films
It would be criminal to make a list of lesbian horror characters and not include a lesbian vampire, so we’re highlighting Delphine Seyrig’s glamorous portrayal of Countess Elizabeth Báthory, inspired by the real-life Hungarian serial killer of the same name. The perfect mix of spooky and seductive, Báthory steals the show in Harry Kümel’s 1971 erotic euro-horror thriller.
Kim So-hee - Wishing Stairs
Cinema Service
A spin on the “monkey’s paw” story, Park Han-byul stars as an aspiring ballerina competing with her best friend and love interest, Yun Jin-sung (Song Ji-hyo), for a single place at a distinguished Russian school. Their relationship unravels into a tragic tale of jealousy and regret when Jin-sung uses a set of magical wishing stairs to ask for the prized spot.
Ellie - The Last of Us Part II
Sony Interactive Entertainment
After the events of the first instalment of the post-apocalyptic zombie video game series, a 19-year-old Ellie (Ashley Johnson), the character miraculously immune to the universe’s fungal infection, takes centre stage in the sequel. Part II is a poignant tale of war and revenge, but it’s also focused on a moving romance between Ellie and Dina (Shannon Woodward). Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced play the couple in HBO’s TV adaptation.
Bonus: Tai & Van - Yellowjackets
Showtime
A ship so good we couldn’t split them up, we had to include Taissa Turner and Vanessa Palmer, the star-crossed cannibal lovers who turned a plane crash into a romantic woodland getaway. They’re a morally questionable power couple in both the show’s past and present timelines, with Jasmin Savoy Brown and Tawny Crypress sharing the role of Tai and Liv Hewson and Lauren Ambrose playing Van.