There are all sorts of props that are used in horror films but by far the most well known and iconic are the weapons. These could be guns, knives, chainsaws or hammers, basically anything that you can think of that may be used as a weapon. The most popular type of weapons are melee ones as they add a much more violent and painful aspect to any deaths that occur.They also ensure that the killer has to be in close proximity to the victim, increasing the feeling of invasion and violation of personal space and discomfort of the viewer.

This is shown ever more in slasher and splatter movies and became incredibly popular with the emergence of gore and the more recent torture porn cycles as you can see below.