The Exorcist Is Scariest Film?

The Exorcist has been named the scariest film of all time, while the top horror villain was Hannibal Lector.

A poll of more than 5,000 film fans by MSN Movies found one in five were most frightened by The Exorcist followed by the Saw series and Jack Nicholson's The Shining.

Other films in the top ten included The Omen, Jaws and The Blair Witch Project.

More than a third of those questioned named the portrayal by Anthony Hopkins of Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs as the top horror villain, followed by the Alien.

Horror heroes included Elen Ripley in Alien, Jodie Foster's Clarence Starling in The Silence of the Lambs and Chief Martin Brody in Jaws.

Fans voted the theme from Jaws as the scariest horror music.