The American slasher film series Scream features a large cast of characters, many of whom were created by Kevin Williamson with contributions from Wes Craven (who directed the first four installments in the series) and Ehren Kruger (who wrote the third), and subsequently by new writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt with contributions from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and producer Chad Villella. The series comprises seven films: Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022), and Scream VI (2023), with Scream 7 (2026) the filming of which has been wrapped.

The series focuses on a succession of murderers who adopt a ghost-like disguise, dubbed Ghostface (voiced by Roger L. Jackson) who taunt and attempt to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in the first four films. She is assisted by ambitious news reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and police officer Dewey Riley (David Arquette). The fifth and sixth films shift focus to half-sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) and twin siblings Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown), referred to as the "Core Four" in the sixth film, while the seventh film will "start from scratch" with regards to its principal cast. Other major recurring characters include film-geek Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), falsely accused Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), single mother Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), and FBI agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere).

The first four films in the series were directed by Craven and scored by Marco Beltrami. Williamson wrote Scream, Scream 2 and Scream 4, but scheduling commitments meant he could provide only notes for Scream 3, which was written by Ehren Kruger. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed the fifth and sixth films, with writing duties helmed by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.

Each film provides a motive and grounds for suspicion for several characters, concealing the identity of the true killer or killers until the finale, in which their identities and motivations are revealed.

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

Scream is the first film in the Scream series. One year prior to the events of the film, Maureen Prescott is brutally raped and murdered, apparently by Cotton Weary. During the film, the fictional town of Woodsboro is again attacked by a murderer, who particularly targets Sidney Prescott, Maureen's daughter. Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley investigates the murders, while news reporter Gale Weathers follows the story. Sidney, her boyfriend Billy Loomis and their friends Tatum Riley, Stu Macher and Randy Meeks try to survive the attacks. The killer is revealed as both Billy and Stu, who admit to having killed Maureen and framed Cotton for the act. Sidney then kills them both in retribution.

Arthur Himbry is the principal of Woodsboro High School, attended by Sidney Prescott and her friends. He disciplines several students for wearing Ghostface masks, and comforts Sidney after she narrowly escapes the killer. While in his office, he is attacked by Ghostface and is stabbed to death. His body was said to have been discovered hanging up on the school's goalposts.

Scream producer Bob Weinstein had Himbry's death added to the film after he realized that the film had "30 pages of script" without a death occurring. This gave writer Kevin Williamson a reason for the teenagers to leave Stu Macher's party during the film's finale, a plot point Williamson had been struggling to formulate. The language used by Himbry and his aggressive actions towards the students were among several reasons why the film's production was forced to leave Santa Rosa High School; the school board found the film's content unacceptable and did not want it filmed there.