Entertainment

The 20 Scariest Horror Films of All Time (PHOTOS)

EntertainmentPublished Oct 12, 2015
By Margeaux Baulch Klein
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If you're jonesing for a scare, there's nothing like a horror movie to get your adrenaline pumping.

Click through for 20 scary movies that will put you in the mood for Halloween. Just don't watch these by yourself, if you ever want to fall asleep again.

Image via Warner Bros.

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Psycho (1960)
Universal Studios

Psycho (1960)

This Alfred Hitchcock classic will make you wary of ever spending the night at a motel again.

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The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Artisan Entertainment

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

A movie that started a trend of low-budget, shaky-camera films, The Blair Witch Project is the story of three students who go out into the woods to find a witch and are never seen again.

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The Exorcist (1973)
Warner Bros.

The Exorcist (1973)

The Oscar-winning film tells the story of a little girl who goes through significant changes, her worried mother, and a priest who decides that the daughter is possessed.

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Insidious (2010)
FilmDistrict

Insidious (2010)

Moms will especially find Insidious to be scary, as the plot revolves around a mother whose young son falls off a ladder and into a not-so-very-normal coma.

More from The Stir: 7 Skin-Crawling Horror Movies Based on Real-Life Hauntings (PHOTOS)

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Silence of the Lambs (1991)
MGM

Silence of the Lambs (1991)

In this Oscar-winning film, Anthony Hopkins stars as a brilliant psychopath and Jodie Foster as an FBI agent who must gain his help in order to catch another serial killer.

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Dawn of the Dead (1978)
United Film Distribution Company

Dawn of the Dead (1978)

If you're a fan of The Walking Dead, you will love this classic zombie film.

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28 Days Later (2002)
Fox Searchlight

28 Days Later (2002)

You don't have to wait long to get the heebie-jeebies in this zombie flick, as 28 Days Later has a truly scary opening scene.

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Poltergeist (1982)
Warner Bros.

Poltergeist (1982)

If you want to watch one of the scariest ghost movies of all time, skip the 2015 Poltergeist remake, and catch the original 1982 version, which was directed by Steven Spielberg.

More from The Stir: 10 Kids From Horror Movies Who Will Make You Appreciate Your Own Little Monsters (GIFs)

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The Ring (2002)
DreamWorks LLC

The Ring (2002)

Forget serial killers, it's a videotape that is killing off anyone who watches it in this very modern horror movie.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
New Line Cinema Entertainment

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

As one of the most iconic horror movie villains, Freddy Krueger haunts the dreams of his victims, and there's a good chance he'll haunt yours after you watch this movie.

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Carrie (1976)
United Artists

Carrie (1976)

In this 1976 supernatural horror flick, Sissy Spacek plays a shy outsider with otherworldly powers whose classmates decide to play a mean prank on her.

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Saw (2004)
Lionsgate

Saw (2004)

It was dubbed by many as "torture porn"; brace yourself for a lot of blood and gore when you watch this heart-racing movie.

More from The Stir: 8 Celebrities Whose Horror Movie Deaths Still Haunt Us (PHOTOS)

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The Shining (1980)
Warner Bros. Ent.

The Shining (1980)

Jack Nicholson plays the caretaker of a hotel that has a long violent past in this Stanley Kubrick psychological horror movie.

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It (1990)
American Broadcasting Company

It (1990)

It's hard to imagine anyone topping Tim Curry as an evil clown who torments a group of young kids, so be sure to catch the original mini-series version of Stephen King's It before the remake hits theaters next year.

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Halloween: Resurrection (2002)
Dimension Films

Halloween: Resurrection (2002)

The 1978 Halloween is a classic, but this 2002 update can can be watched without prior knowledge of the previous slasher flick sequels.

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The Haunting (1963)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The Haunting (1963)

Director Martin Scorsese has named this black-and-white film one of his favorite horror movies, and it might end up being yours as well.

More from The Stir: 7 Spine-Tingling True Stories Scarier Than Any Horror Movie 

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The Evil Dead (1981)
New Line Cinema

The Evil Dead (1981)

What is it about a remote cabin in the woods that sends chills down our spines? In The Evil Dead, five friends unknowingly release an evil force during their peaceful cabin vacation.

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Hellraiser (1987)
New World Pictures

Hellraiser (1987)

This British flick about an unfaithful wife who encounters the zombie of her dead lover will give you major goosebumps.

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The Changeling (1980)
Associated Film Distribution

The Changeling (1980)

Not to be confused with the Angelina Jolie movie of the same name, this 1980 horror flick features George C. Scott, who plays a man haunted by the ghost of a murdered young child.

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Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Paramount Pictures

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

This tale of a couple who move into a new apartment building is less a guts-and-gore type of flick and more of a quietly creepy horror film.

More from The Stir: I Saw REAL Paranormal Activity on my Baby's Video Monitor

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