8 General Hospital Stars Who've Appeared in Horror Flicks

Some of us have watched General Hospital for so many years that it's hard for us to imagine our favorite GH actors in any other roles. While the show's tone can be dark at times, with numerous villains on the canvas, some of the stars have acted in films that are also dark, such as horror films. Here are eight GH stars who have acted in one or more horror movies.

Kristen Vaganos

Vaganos starred in a supernatural horror film before she joined General Hospital | Image: ABC

In 2020, just three years before she joined GH, Kristen Vaganos was in a supernatural horror movie called I Am Lisa. For any GH fans who enjoy werewolf horror, this one is for you.

While some of the GH actors on this list only played minor or supporting roles in a horror film (or films), Vaganos portrayed the titular character in I Am Lisa. It's a revenge tale, which, of course, is a familiar theme on GH as well. Lisa is victimized and later exacts revenge on her perpetrators after discovering that she possesses supernatural powers. Think Carrie, but with werewolves.

If you're interested in seeing Vaganos in a role that is a departure from Molly on GH, then you may want to check out I Am Lisa.

Katelyn MacMullen

MacMullen played in two horror films aside from acting in General Hospital | Image: ABC

After watching the downward spiral that Katelyn MacMullen's Willow has taken these past several months on GH, it may be easy to envision the actress in a horror film. She's done such a great job bringing out the crazy in Willow that it seems like acting in the horror genre would be a natural transition for her.

In 2018, the year MacMullen joined GH, she played in The Row, a horror/mystery film about a killer who is targeting sorority pledges on a college campus. In 2023, she played a real estate agent in the AI-themed horror movie Motion Detected, about a woman whose home security system slowly begins to take control of her life.

After all these months of watching dark Willow in action, we think MacMullen has the acting chops to play a serial killer next, perhaps in a psychological thriller?

Richard Burgi

Burgi played in Hostel 2 long before he was on General Hospital | Image: YouTube

After playing serial killer Paul Hornsby on GH from 2015 to 2016, Richard Burgi (Carl, Desperate Housewives) would certainly be convincing in a horror movie. In 2007, he was in Hostel: Part II, in which three college women studying abroad are lured to a Slovakian hostel -- only to be confronted with a nightmare they never saw coming.

This is a sequel within the famous Hostel franchise, and Burgi made this movie years before he joined GH. Perhaps the dark, torture-porn theme gave him some practice for the role that he would play eight years later -- that of the murderous Paul! That was an intense story arc that GH fans won't soon forget.

Kelly Thiebaud

Thiebaud played a small role in Hostel 3 before she was cast on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Coincidentally, Kelly Thiebaud was featured in another one of the Hostel films. She played a small role in Hostel: Part III in 2011, a year before she joined GH.

In the film, she played Amy, a woman whose husband-to-be, Scott, is getting together with his pals to celebrate his bachelor party in Las Vegas. Soon, Scott and his friends find themselves lured to a private party, a decision that turns out to be the worst mistake of their lives.

Interestingly, two GH actors each played in one of the Hostel sequels, Burgi in Part II and Thiebaud in Part III.

Parry Shen

Shen appeared in all of the Hatchet installments before he joined General Hospital | Image: YouTube

Parry Shen appeared in the horror movie and dark comedy Hatchet (2006) and in all three of its sequels.

Hatchet follows a group of tourists in a New Orleans swamp tour that is haunted by a vengeful spirit named Victor Crowley. Shen played tour guide Shawn in the first film, then Justin in Hatchet II (2010), and finally, he played Andrew in Hatchet III (2013) and in Victor Crowley (also known as Hatchet IV) in 2017.

Shen always plays GH's Brad with humor, so we can envision him utilizing his comedic talents very well in all of the Hatchet movies.

Scott Reeves

Reeves starred in one of the Friday the 13th sequels before his role on General Hospital | Image: YouTube

Most GH fans know Scott Reeves (ex-Ryan, The Young and the Restless) as Dr. Steve Webber, brother of Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) and son of Heather (Alley Mills). But did you know that he played one of the central characters in the Friday the 13th movie franchise? That's right. It was 1989's Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan.

For all of Y&R fans out there, that was just two years before he joined the CBS soap, where he played Ryan McNeil until 2001.

The 1980s were a decade well-known for slasher horror. Reeves made his mark in that genre in a franchise that was hugely popular. What horror fan could ever forget the original Friday the 13th (1980)?

Rick Hearst

Hearst starred in an 80s horror movie, years before his arrival on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Rick Hearst's charismatic acting style has won him over with GH fans since he first joined the show as Ric Lansing in 2002. But many years before that, Hearst starred in a low-budget, horror comedy film called Brain Damage.

This is another one of those numerous horror films from the eighties, when Hollywood was cranking them out left and right. It was made in 1988, in the early years of Hearst's career, and the film's plot is a doozy. A young man (Hearst) wakes up to find that a strange-looking creature has attached itself to the base of his brain stem. The creature gives him an addictive feeling of euphoria in exchange for human victims.

Even though many horror movies have crazy plots, we know that Hearst is the kind of actor who can pull off any role he is in. So, if you like off-the-wall horror, Brain Damage may be for you.

Maurice Benard

Benard played a priest in a horror film, a far cry from his role as Sonny on General Hospital | Image: ABC

GH fans who have loved Sonny (Maurice Benard) for the past thirty-three years may be curious to know what other roles Benard has played. If you're a horror fan, then you will be pleased to learn that in 2018, he was in a horror movie called Nightmare Cinema.

Nightmare Cinema is a horror anthology film that is made up of five separate stories. One of the tales features Benard in the role of a priest. After watching him play a violent mob boss for over three decades, it would be entertaining to see him portray such a vastly different character.

It's always fun to discover what other kinds of acting roles our favorite GH actors have played in. Horror is a genre where they will either frighten us if they play a villain, or they will make us sympathize with them if they play a victim.

Are you interested in knowing what other shows or movies your favorite soap actors have been in? Tell us in the comments!