Do you love to be creeped out by a horror movie that can send shivers down your spine? After you work your way through this list of terrifying horror flicks, you might regret answering yes to that question.
Key Points
Here Are The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time.
1. The Exorcist
This story of an innocent little girl possessed by an evil demon has been captivating audiences since the movie’s release in 1973.
You won’t forget the image of the child’s possessed face, or her unnatural body positions, including the famous revolving head scene.
The claustrophobic nature of the setting – an ordinary family home – adds to the creepiness of the situation. It also helps that the acting is superb.
Expect to be scared silly by this creepy horror flick, which has been making audiences afraid to sleep alone for more than forty years.
“The Exorcist” is based on the terrifying novel by William Peter Blatty that has spawned a total of five movies. However, none can compare to the original which was nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
Even without the help of special effects, the film is thoroughly convincing and contains some truly heart-stopping moments that terrify even the toughest horror fans.
The infamous spider walk scene where Regan descends the stairs in a contorted position was cut from the original movie. This was because the strings holding the actress up were clearly visible onscreen. The strings were removed using computer software later on, and the scene was included in the film’s rerelease.
2. Poltergeist
Another classic creepy horror movie is Poltergeist, which was released in 1982.
If you have not already seen this movie, then you need to add it to your watch list.
You might not think that a movie where the evil is completely faceless could be so terrifying, but in reality that only adds to the scare factor.
You are sure to share in the family’s fear as ordinary household objects start to turn against them. Just make sure you have company when you watch this movie. Watch it alone, and even the normal environment of your home could start to creep you out.
The Freeling family live in an idyllic community in California named Cuest Verde. Their peaceful lives are disturbed when strange occurrences begin taking place in their home. The Poltergeist franchise is said to be cursed due to the amount of real life deaths that occurred during the making of the films.
The actress who plays the eldest daughter Dana was murdered at the age of 22 by her abusive boyfriend. The youngest daughter Carol Anne was the main character in the show and was played by Heather O’Rourke who died at the age of 12 after complications arising from surgery.
3. The Blair Witch Project
When it was released in 1999, The Blair Witch Project had audiences flocking to the movie theaters to see what all the fuss was about.
As with so many of the creepiest films, the director has realized that showing the fear of the main characters can pull on the audience’s scare strings more than putting any amount of vampires, ghouls, serial killers or werewolves on screen.It is difficult to describe exactly why this film is scary, but you will almost certainly get caught up in the fear that is playing out in the eyes and voices of the characters on screen.
The hype surrounding the movie reached a fever pitch after it was claimed that the events on camera actually did transpire.
At the start of the movie, the audience is told that they are witnessing actual footage that was discovered in a forest in the US. Many fans got caught up in the excitement and fell for the clever marketing strategy.
Real or not, the movie is a terrifying experience that puts the viewer right in the thick of the action. It’s almost impossible not to feel sympathy for the terrified characters onscreen that are being stalked by a sinister presence hiding out in the woods.
4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
Serial killer Freddy Krueger stalks this Midwestern neighborhood, bringing terror and even death to teenagers while they thought they were safe in their beds.
Featuring a young Johnny Depp, this movie spread fear across America when it was released in 1984.
The movie was recreated in 2010, but in many ways the original is creepier. The sight of Krueger’s deformed face will have you shuddering and disbelieving that such horror can be created using just makeup.
No matter how tired you are after watching this horror movie, you won’t want to go to bed. What could be scarier than the thought of a monster that comes for you while you sleep?
The movie has become a horror classic and continues to terrify audiences regardless of its age.
Freddy tops almost every list of scariest movie villains ever made and has become a symbol of terror for many people growing up during the 80s.
The children of Elm Street all begin to experience the same nightmare featuring a terrifying figure with razor sharp fingers. After one child is murdered whilst sleeping, the parents slowly begin to realize that a terrible secret from their past is coming back to haunt them through their children.
5. The Sixth Sense
Cole sees dead people, and this unusual ability is tormenting the poor child to breaking point.
Can Dr. Crowe help this scared little boy to control the spirits that are using him as a connection point to the world of the living?
Can Cole ever be normal again? Like the exorcist, the use of a small child as a channel for great evil massively increases the creep factor of this movie.
The Sixth Sense was released in 1999 and enjoyed great success with fear-seeking audiences worldwide. Bruce Willis takes on the role of Dr. Crowe, a child psychologist who is going through marital difficulties.
His wife feels that Crowe puts his work before everything else in their lives and barely acknowledges his presence in their home. A disturbed former patient of Crowe’s breaks into their home and accuses Crowe of failing him as a young boy.
The patient shoots Crowe in the abdomen before committing suicide in the doctor’s house. Several years later, Crowe is suffering from self-doubt as he tries to help Cole get to the bottom of his terrifying hallucinations.
Get a buddy to watch this film with you, because it will almost certainly creep you out.
6. Hellraiser
Hellraiser is a weird movie. The main character is a skinless man who is accidentally returned from the dead by his brother.
He convinces the beautiful young woman who loved him in life to bring him the blood he needs to restore himself fully to life.
She obliges by luring men to the house and then murdering them. Once her creepy undead boyfriend is restored to life, that’s when the movie gets really strange.
You will need to watch it to find out exactly what that means. Give yourself a stack of cushions to hide behind during the scariest bits. The movie opens with a character named Frank purchasing a mysterious puzzle box from a dealer in Morocco.
The box turns out to be far more than he anticipated. Frank is drawn into a nightmarish world that soon begins to affect other members of his family.
The film was directed by English artist Clive Barker and adapted from his novel “The Hellbound Heart.” The original film has spawned nine other movies. In 2013, Clive Barker announced to fans that he was working on a reboot of the first film that was going to be even darker than the first attempt.
7. The Shining
Here’s Johnny! In this terrifying slasher horror movie, Jack Nicholson’s character turns crazy and goes on the rampage, chasing after his family through a haunted hotel to try to kill them.
This creepy movie, released in 1980, is based on a Stephen King novel.
Some of the images from this classic horror movie have become infamous throughout society, such as the image of Nicholson’s deranged face poking through a hole that he’s hacked in the door using an axe.
You won’t get these images out of your mind in a hurry, so don’t expect to sleep well after watching this movie. The parts of the movie that are designed to shock the audience are not half as scary as witnessing Jack’s slow descent into madness.
In a series of chilling conversations with other employees at the hotel, the audience slowly begins to realize just how disturbed Jack has become.
The viewer is left to decide whether the other characters were ghostly apparitions or simply figments of Jack’s twisted imagination. Jack Nicholson gave a career defining performance in this classic horror that is one of the main reasons for the movie’s success.
Stanley Kubrick took on the role of directing and producing this wonderfully scary piece of movie history.
8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre could be described as a gore-fest rather than a creepy movie, but that wouldn’t do it justice.
In fact, there’s a strong psychological component to the horror, which starts well before the blood starts flying.
Released in 1974, this movie actually got banned in several countries because it was deemed so disgusting. Now, however, it is available to view for anyone who can stand it.
It’s certainly not one for the squeamish, but if you can deal with the sight of blood without fainting, then you might get a thrill out of this terrifying but highly entertaining horror flick.
The story starts out innocently enough with a group of teenagers driving across America that decide to stop and pick up a hitchhiker. Things soon turn sour when the hitchhike produces a razor and proceeds to slash himself and a member of the group.
After ejecting him from the car, the visibly rattled teens continue on their journey which is about to get a whole lot worse. In order to generate buzz for the movie, the marketing team promoted it as a true story. This piqued the audiences’ interest, but soon sent them running from movie theatres in horror after witnessing the more brutal scenes.
9. It
Stephen King novels often make great horror movies, and It is no exception.
Based on the idea of a creepy clown who lures children away from safety, after which they are never seen again, this movie might explain why so many people suffer from a fear of clowns.
The sewer-swelling monster plays on the fears of its victims to incite an extreme level of terror.
“It” was originally aired as a horror miniseries which is the reason for its almost three hour-long running time.
The classic opening scene depicts a small boy being coaxed towards a sewer drain by “Pennywise the Dancing Clown” who promises him gifts and treats.
After brutally killing the boy in front of his brother, the evil clown then turns his attention to the rest of the town’s children. The children form a group known as “The Losers Club” which is a reference to their position as social outcasts. They make a pact to destroy the clown and free themselves of his evil torments.
Will any of the town’s children ever be safe again?
There is only one way to find out, and that is to face up to the scariness of this movie and watch it all the way through.
10. The Ring
Based on a Japanese movie released just four years earlier, The Ring captivated audiences upon its release in 2002.
Taking the often laughable threats of viral emails and memes to a truly terrifying conclusion, this movie involves a haunted video tape which threatens to kill anyone who does not show the tape to someone else within seven days of watching it.
Unsurprisingly, fear soon spreads, and the terror only increases as the movie goes on.
The film is also responsible for one of the most terrifying scenes ever captured on film when the figure of a young girl who was imprisoned in a well climbs out of the television screen.
The short film that promises to bring death to all who see it was broadcast on US television before the movie’s release in an effort to generate interest in the film before its official release date.
The strategy worked, and millions of excited movie fans flocked to theatres to be terrified by the film. The film was the first of a series of Japanese horror films that were remade for English-speaking audiences.
Although much of the fear is psychological in this creepy horror movie, there are a few gory scenes. Prepare to be scared if you decide to watch this one!
11. Curtains (1983)
Do not attend any auditions that are held in a secluded mansion if you are an actress who portrays an aspiring actress in a horror movie. In fact, everybody who has ever watched a horror film is well aware that bad things never occur in secluded mansions. In the movie Curtains, a group of twelve actresses defy common sense and show up for auditions at a distant mansion. Afterward, they start to come under the attention of a masked serial murderer who pursues them on a snowmobile, across the ice, and into the wintry woods.
12. Hereditary (2018)
The family in this psychological A24 movie has a history of disaster, which follows them everywhere they go. Things start to go apart after a death in the family, engulfing their reality. I’ve never seen a film express trauma in a horror movie quite like this, despite the fact that many films include families in gruesome situations. By the conclusion of the runtime, it may have worn you out since it is so heavy, gloomy, and persistent.
I adore how Hereditary flips well-known concepts on their heads. It’s a creepy horror film that will undoubtedly make you uncomfortable. Additionally, Toni Collette is excellent as the mother. I heartily endorse it!
13. The Conjuring (2013)
The Conjuring, which was directed by the infamous James Wan, who is known for creating the Saw and Insidious series, is a loving homage to the traditional tale of a haunted home with bumps in the night. A family that recently moved into a home starts encountering paranormal activity and is in dire need of experienced demonologists’ assistance.
This entry, in contrast to the last, is a lighter watch with fantastic suspense and enjoyable jump scares. Although it may not be the scariest film on our list, The Conjuring Universe was inspired by it since it was so entertaining.
The Conjuring was one of the finest movies I’ve ever seen, and I saw it for the first time in a cinema. At the same time, everyone yelled and gasped. What more do you need?
This is the one for you if you’re searching for a fun popcorn Blockbuster.
14. The Thing (1982)
The Thing by John Carpenter is a true classic. It first earned bad reviews from reviewers, but it has subsequently developed a cult following. This science fiction horror film centres on a group of scientists who find proof of alien life in Antarctica.
Carpenter exploits viewers’ dread of the unknown by engulfing them in suspense and worry. The special effects are horrifying and could permanently imprint nightmare pictures in your mind.
Don’t limit your holiday love to Carpenter’s Halloween. Watch this monster video as well!
15. Girl on The Third Floor (2019)
The film, which has several classic horror movie cliches, stars professional wrestler CM Punk as Don Koch, the troubled main character. Don and his expectant wife Liz go into a new country home to begin over (Trieste Kelly Dunn).
Marbles start to come off the walls, though, and the neighbourhood preacher explains the horrifying history of the property as the eerie neighbours start flooding in. The couple’s hopes for a happy ending are dashed when Don’s previous criminal behaviour is revealed.
While providing the proper amount of thrill and fright, this horror movie will undoubtedly delight you even if it doesn’t completely terrify you.
