My 50 Scariest Horror Films of all time

1. The Exorcist (1973)
Why? I had only recently gotten enough courage to watch this a few years ago when it was re-released. The stories people told of how scary this film was when it first came out are what made this the ultimate scariest film I thought that I would never see.
2. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Why? I’ve never seen it. I used to run to the lobby at the theatre when the trailer was showing. This is the last of my childhood fears I have yet to conquer.
3. Psycho (1960)
Why? The first time I saw this, it was on cable, I was alone, by the time the film ended the house had gotten dark, and I turned on all the lights in the house and though I needed to take a shower before going to bed, it was the fastest shower I had ever taken.
4. Jaws (1975)
Why? I got to see this a the theatre the summer it was released with a bunch of my cousins, we sat up front but quickly moved back to sit with our parents, I sat next to my mother with my hands over my eyes most of the time asking “is it over?”
5. Halloween (1978)
Why? By the time this made it to the cable channel I was a teenager and to not have watched this film was so un-cool. I watched it late one night on cable, alone. I slept on the couch that night with the lights on.
6. Alien (1979)
Why? I had a chance to go see this film at the theatre when it was playing, it would have been my first rated ‘R’ film. I convinced everyone to see something else. I the trailer was terrifying.
7. The Shinning (1980)
Why? I did not watch this at the theatre and I only watch parts of it when it came to cable, it was some time before I got to watch this from beginning to end.
8. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Why? I was the given to the book to read and told not to read it before I went to sleep. They were right and the film was even better. My appreciation of horror films began in after seeing this film.
9. Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie Des Grauens (1922) Why? My ultimate horror image of vampires is Max Schreck as Count Orlok, he still lives in my nightmares.
10. Saw (2004)
Why? I got sucker punched when I watch this at the theatre. I was in a susceptible mood at the time. I actually screamed and jumped and squirmed in my seat.

and the rest

11. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
12. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)
13. Freaks (1932)
14. Night of the living Dead (1968)
15. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
16. Poltergeist (1982)
17. The Haunting (1963)
18. Evil Dead II (1987)
19. Dracula (1931)/Dracula (1979)
20. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
21. The Birds (1963)
22. The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
23. Horror of Dracula (1958)
24. The Evil Dead (1983)
25. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
26. The Blair Witch Project (1999)
27. Dawn of the Dead (1979)
28. Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde (1931)
29. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
30. The Omen (1976)
31. Salem’s Lot (1979)
32. The Mummy (1932)
33. The Fly (1986)
34. It (1990)
35. The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)
36. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
37. Hellraiser (1987)
38. Carrie (1976)
39. Carnival of Souls (1962)
40. 28 Days Later (2002)
41. The Legend of Hell House (1973)
42. The Devil’s Rejects (2005)
43. Three Extremes (2005)
44. The Ring (2002)
45. Misery (1990)
46. Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
47. The Wolf Man (1941)
48. Scream (1996)
49. Suspiria (1977)
50. House on Haunted Hill (1958)


This is not a list of the best horror films, but of films that have scared the !*@#$ out me. I was not a fan of horror films as a kid or in my teens. My appreciation of horror films is something that I have cultivated over the last fifteen years or so.