Leon Bolmeer has examined the movements of iconic horror film villains such as Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, and Leatherface to see which one you could realistically outrun.
He looked at their movements and compared them to different running paces, suggesting a treadmill speed for each villain.
Mr Bolmeer, from fitness website Geezers Boxing said: “Realistic human limits are important for understanding the speeds of these horror film killers.
“Average joggers typically run at about 5 mph, while professional sprinters can reach speeds between 15 and 28 mph.
“By comparing these benchmarks to the movements of characters, we can use these as an estimate of how fast they might realistically be portrayed in their films.”
He said Michael Myers, from Halloween, is known for his “slow, methodical walk”, with an average speed of around 2-3 mph.
He said: “To outrun him on the treadmill, you’d need to set the speed to 5 mph for a steady jog, which would take an hour to run 5 miles.”
He said Freddy Krueger, from A Nightmare on Elm Street, is slower due to his movements being within dreams, but if he was in the real world, he would move at a similar speed, if not slightly slower, to Michael Myers.
Cosplayers as Jason Vorhees (Friday the 13th) and Michael Myers (Halloween) (Image: Hellbound Media) Jason Voorhees, from Friday the 13th, also “takes a slow but determined approach, with a speed of around 2-3 mph.
“To make it more challenging, add a 3% incline to simulate the uneven, wooded terrain of Camp Crystal Lake.”
Leatherface, from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, is ‘surprisingly quick’ despite his size, and would reach an estimated speed of around 10 mph.
Mr Bolmeer said “You would need to sprint at about 12 mph to outrun him, completing 5 miles in roughly 25 minutes.”
Ghostface, from the Scream films, is much faster and more agile, often running after his victims at a speed of around 10-12 mph.
Mr Bolmeer said: “To escape him, you’d need to sprint faster than 12 mph, and it would take about 25 minutes to run 5 miles.”
He said slower killers like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger can be outrun with a steady jog at 5 mph, but they require “solid endurance to maintain the distance.
“More agile killers like Ghostface and Leatherface demand bursts of speed at around 12 mph, which means you’ll need to conserve energy and know when to sprint if you want to survive.”
