13 Best Scary Movies to Haunt Your Halloween Night
Updated: 3 days ago
From supernatural scares to psychological thrillers, discover 13 horror movies to add to your Halloween watchlist!
Halloween is almost here, and it's time to SCREAM!
Whether you're in the mood for a classic slasher, a chilling ghost story, or a psychological thriller that keeps you guessing, I've put together 13 scary movies for your Halloween watchlist. From iconic horror favorites to more recent nightmares, there's something here for every kind of fright-seeker.
Each pick includes a brief synopsis, a few fun facts, and streaming details to help you find your next Halloween movie. Use the genre guide below to find a film that fits your spooky mood—and if you'd prefer something a little less terrifying, check out my other Halloween movie recommendations. Because Spooky Season is for everyone!
Genre Guide:
🎭 Drama | 🔍 Mystery |
😱 Horror | 👻 Supernatural |
🔮 Fantasy | 😰 Thriller |
Psycho (1960) 😱 🔍 😰
Phoenix secretary Marion Crane, on the lam after stealing $40,000 from her employer in order to run away with her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, is overcome by exhaustion during a heavy rainstorm. Traveling on back roads to avoid the police, she stops for the night at the ramshackle Bates Motel and meets the polite but highly strung proprietor, Norman Bates, a young man interested in taxidermy and struggling with a difficult relationship with his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Joseph Stefano
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Martin Balsam &John McIntire Where to Watch: Peacock | Netflix
Did You Know?
Alfred Hitchcock bought as many copies of Robert Bloch's novel as possible to prevent spoilers.
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) 🎭 😱
A young wife comes to believe her child isn't of this world. Waifish Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband, Guy, move into a New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and odd neighbors, Roman and Minnie Castavet. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, she becomes increasingly isolated, and the diabolical truth is revealed only after Rosemary gives birth.
Director & Screenwriter: Roman Polanski
Starring: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Maurice Evans & Ralph Bellamy
Where to Watch: Hulu | Paramount+ | YouTube
Did You Know?
In Rosemary's Baby, the scenes where Mia Farrow's character walks in front of traffic are spontaneous and genuine. Reportedly, filmmaker Roman Polanski reassured her by saying, "Nobody will hit a pregnant woman." The scene was filmed with Farrow walking into real traffic while Polanski followed behind, operating the handheld camera, since he was the only one willing to do it.
The Exorcist (1973) 😱 👻
When young Regan starts acting odd—levitating, speaking in tongues—her worried mother seeks medical help, only to hit a dead end. A local priest, however, thinks the girl may be seized by the devil. The priest requests to perform an exorcism, and the church sends in an expert to help with the difficult job.
Director: William Friedkin
Screenwriter: William Peter Blatty
Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Jason Miller & Linda Blair
Did You Know?
When Regan infamously projectile vomits on Father Karras, the "vomit" is actually Pea Soup Andersen's split pea soup. The production crew tried Campbell's pea soup, but it didn't have the same consistency and effect.
Halloween (1978) 😱 😰
On a cold Halloween night in 1963, six-year-old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister, Judith. He was sentenced to 15 years and locked away. But on October 30, 1978, while being transferred for a court date, a 21-year-old Michael Myers steals a car and escapes Smith's Grove. He returns to his quiet hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, to find his next victims.
Director: John Carpenter
Screenwriters: John Carpenter & Debra Hill
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nick Castle, P. J. Soles & Nancy Loomis
Where to Watch: AMC+
Did You Know?
John Carpenter considered hiring Jamie Lee Curtis as the ultimate tribute to Sir Alfred Hitchcock, who had cast her mother, Janet Leigh, in Psycho (1960). For the same reason, they named the character Dr. Sam Loomis after Sam Loomis from Psycho. At the time, Universal Studios producers and director Richard Franklin were also trying to cast Curtis in the new Psycho II (1983).
The Shining (1980) 🎭 😱 👻
Jack Torrance becomes the winter caretaker at the isolated Overlook Hotel in Colorado, hoping to cure his writer's block. He settles in with his wife, Wendy, and son, Danny, who is plagued by psychic premonitions. As Jack's writing goes nowhere and Danny's visions become more disturbing, Jack discovers the hotel's dark secrets and begins to unravel into a homicidal maniac hell-bent on terrorizing his family.
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Screenwriters: Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers & Danny Lloyd
Did You Know?
Shelley Duvall has openly expressed resentment about how the film was received, feeling that critics and audiences credited Stanley Kubrick alone for its success without acknowledging the contributions of the actors, crew, or the strength of Stephen King's original material. Both Duvall and Jack Nicholson say this film was one of the toughest in their careers. Nicholson even says that Duvall's performance was the most challenging role he has ever seen an actress take on.
Poltergeist (1982) 😱 😰 👻
Strange, creepy happenings beset an average California family, the Freelings—Steve, Diane, teenage Dana, eight-year-old Robbie, and five-year-old Carol Ann—when ghosts commune with them through the television. Initially friendly and playful, the spirits turn unexpectedly menacing, and when Carol Ann goes missing, Steve and Diane turn to a parapsychologist and eventually an exorcist for help.
Director: Tobe Hooper
Screenwriters: Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais & Mark Victor
Starring: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Dominique Dunne, Oliver Robins, Heather O'Rourke & Beatrice Straight
Did You Know?
The skeletons used in the swimming pool scene were actual human remains because they were cheaper than plastic replicas.
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) 😱 🔮
Several Midwestern teenagers fall prey to Freddy Krueger, a disfigured midnight mangler who preys on the teenagers in their dreams—which, in turn, kills them in reality. After investigating the phenomenon, Nancy begins to suspect that a dark secret her and her friends' parents kept may be the key to unraveling the mystery, but can Nancy and her boyfriend Glen solve the puzzle before it's too late?
Director & Screenwriter: Wes Craven
Starring: Heather Langenkamp, Johnny Depp, Robert Englund, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Amanda Wyss & Nick Corri
Did You Know?
Wes Craven created Freddy's striped sweater because of research from Scientific American. The study shows that the human eye struggles to distinguish certain shades of red and green when they are next to each other. This makes the sweater feel unsettling to look at.
The Sixth Sense (1999) 😱 😰 👻
Young Cole Sear is haunted by a dark secret: ghosts visit him. Cole is frightened by visitations from those with unresolved problems who appear from the shadows. He is too afraid to tell anyone about his anguish except child psychologist Dr. Malcolm Crowe. As Dr. Crowe tries to uncover the truth about Cole's supernatural abilities, the consequences for the client and therapist jolt them both awake to something unexplainable.
Director & Screenwriter: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette & Olivia Williams
Did You Know?
Walt Disney Studios' then-president of production, Dan Vogel, read M. Night Shyamalan's spec script and immediately loved it. Without corporate approval, Vogel bought the rights to the script for $3 million, with the condition that Shyamalan could direct the film.
Insidious (2010) 😱 🔍 😰
A gripping story of parents in a desperate search of help for their son, Dalton, who, after a mysterious incident in the attic of their new home, falls into a coma and is seemingly possessed by a malevolent entity from a realm called “The Further.”
Director: James Wan
Screenwriter: Leigh Whannell
Starring: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey, Leigh Whannell & Angus Sampson
Did You Know?
Insidious was filmed in just three weeks on a $1.5 million budget. The movie grossed over $100 million at the box office, making it one of 2011's most profitable films and launching a franchise.
Sinister (2012) 😱 🔍 😰
True-crime writer Ellison Oswald is in a slump; he hasn't had a bestseller in over 10 years and is becoming increasingly desperate for a hit. So when he discovers a snuff film showing a family's deaths, he vows to solve the mystery. He moves his own family into the victims' home and gets to work. However, when old film footage and other clues hint at a supernatural force, Ellison learns that living in the house may be fatal.
Director: Scott Derrickson
Screenwriters: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, Fred Thompson, James Ransone, Clare Foley & Michael Hall D'Addario
Did You Know?
Co-writer C. Robert Cargill came up with the idea for the movie after having a severe nightmare inspired by watching The Ring (2002).
The Witch (2015) 🎭 🔮 😱
In 1630 New England, panic and despair envelop a farmer, his wife, and their children when their youngest son, Samuel, suddenly vanishes. The family blames Thomasin, the oldest daughter, who was watching the boy when he disappeared. With suspicion and paranoia mounting, twin siblings Mercy and Jonas suspect Thomasin of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty, and love for one another.
Director & Screenwriter: Robert Eggers
Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Harvey Scrimshaw, Ellie Grainger & Lucas Dawson
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Did You Know?
The Witch is based on historical records from the Puritan era and uses Jacobean English. Production designer Craig Lathrop traveled to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with filmmaker Robert Eggers, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke, and costume designer Linda Muir to enhance the film's authenticity. They researched Puritan farmers' lives and consulted with a local archaeologist.
Get Out (2017) 😱 🔍 😰
Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone, she invites him on a weekend getaway upstate with her parents, Missy and Dean. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries leads him to a truth that he never could have imagined.
Director & Screenwriter: Jordan Peele
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Bradley Whitford, Caleb Landry Jones, Stephen Root, Catherine Keener, LaKeith Stanfield, Lil Rel Howery, Erika Alexander, Marcus Henderson, Betty Gabriel & Richard Herd
Where to Watch: Peacock
Did You Know?
Jordan Peele made history by becoming the first African American to win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Hereditary (2018) 🎭 😱 🔍
When her mentally ill mother passes away, Annie, her husband, son, and daughter all mourn her loss. The family turns to different means to handle their grief, including Annie and her daughter both flirting with the supernatural. They each begin to have disturbing, otherworldly experiences linked to the sinister secrets and emotional trauma that have been passed through the generations of their family.
Director & Screenwriter: Ari Aster
Starring: Toni Collette, Milly Shapiro, Alex Wolf, Gabriel Byrne, Anne Dowd & Mallory Bechtel
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video | Disney+ | HBO Max | Hulu | Tubi
Did You Know?
Toni Collette had told her agent that she didn't want to do any more heavy, dark films and only wanted to do comedies, but she loved the Hereditary script so much she couldn't turn it down. However, her performance was so intense at times that she couldn’t speak for a day after filming the most emotional scenes.
Whether you're checking into the Bates Motel, wandering the halls of the Overlook Hotel, or trying to escape the Sunken Place, I hope these 13 scary movies add a few chills to your Halloween watchlist.
Looking for more spooky-season inspiration? Explore my other Halloween movie and TV recommendations, including family-friendly favorites, or take a deeper dive into the history of Hollywood horror films. There's plenty more to discover for your Halloween marathon!
What's your go-to scary movie for Halloween? Did I leave out one of your favorites? Share your recommendations in the comments!
Happy Halloween, happy watching, and may your dreams be as haunting as the movies that brought you here.
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