31 Movies to Prepare You for the Scariest Night of the Year

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“It” makes our list of 31 scary movies to watch each night in October to get ready for Halloween.
Photo courtesy Everett Collection

By Elizabeth Wulfhorst

Movies can tickle your funny bone, make you fall in love or, even better (some would say) scare the pants off you. As the spookiest night of the year approaches, why not spend the 31 nights of October with ghosts, monsters, giant worms, Satan and a few really creepy clowns? Some of these movies are classic horror films, some are quintessential slasher or zombie movies, some will make you jump, some might make you lose sleep, but all will get you prepared for Halloween.

One or two of these suggestions are appropriate for the younger set, but mostly you’ll want to make your watching party “adults only,” unless you’d like children sleeping in your bed for the next six months.

Here, in alphabetical order, is an unscientific list of 31 horrifying, terrifying, thrilling, sometimes funny but mostly just plain scary movies produced by writers who have imagined the worst situations for poor, unsuspecting individuals. Now don’t be afraid to turn out the lights and turn on the TV.

Many of these titles are available for streaming on Netflix, Hulu or premium cable channels (check local listings); all are available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime or iTunes.

1408” 2007, PG-13 – John Cusack plays a successful author famous for debunking supernatural phenomena who learns the meaning of real terror when he spends the night in a haunted hotel room.

A Nightmare on Elm Street” 1984, R – Freddy Kruger and his knife fingers terrorize a group of friends in their dreams.

A Quiet Place” 2018, PG-13 – Silence can be terrifying, but in this film, making any noise is much, much worse.

Alien” 1979, R – “In space, no one can hear you scream.”

American Psycho” 2000, R – A psychopathic investment banker goes on a violent killing spree.

Beetlejuice” 1998, PG – Don’t say his name three times or you’ll get more than you bargained for from the malicious titular spirit.

Carrie” 1976, R – Prom, pig’s blood and a bullied teenager who gets revenge.

Get Out” 2017, R – Jordan Peele reinvented the horror movie with this treatise on race. Never has tea drinking been so scary.

Ghostbusters” 1984, PG – “Who ya gonna call?” Yes, it’s funny, but the ghosts are also kind of scary. A good flick to introduce the younger ones to the fun of scary movies.

Gremlins” 1984, PG – Cute creatures turn deadly and decimate a small town when fed after midnight.

Halloween” 1978, R – Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns home on a killing spree. This movie cemented Jamie Lee Curtis as the “scream queen.”

Hot Fuzz” 2007, R – A British action comedy thriller with enough gore to get it on this list.

It” 2017, R – A creepy clown, red balloons and young children add up to another Stephen King adaptation that will give you sleepless nights.

Jaws” 1975, PG – If your arm hair doesn’t stand on end when you hear “da-dum, da-dum” you might want to check for a pulse. And we dare you not to jump when the shark attacks.

Misery” 1990, R – Kathy Bates rescues James Caan from a car crash and then his nightmare begins.

Night of the Living Dead” 1968, NR – The first – and some would argue best – zombie movie of all time.

Poltergeist” 1982, PG – From the opening scene of an idyllic suburb to the ending scene of dead bodies rising in an unfinished swimming pool, you will be hooked. A TV swallows a little girl, a demented clown doll attacks a boy in bed and Carol Anne is told to “go into the light.”

Rosemary’s Baby” 1968, R – Creepy neighbors have designs on a young woman’s unborn child.

Scream” 1996, R – A sendup of all the horror movie tropes, “Scream” hits its own scary mark. And it’s responsible for introducing the masses to Edvard Munch’s The Scream via the iconic ghost mask.

Silence of the Lambs” 1991, R – An FBI agent must consult with an incarcerated cannibal to catch a serial killer. Open the chianti. It won the Best Picture Oscar for a reason.

The Amityville Horror” 1979, R – As haunted houses go, this one takes the cake.

The Birds” 1963, PG-13 – Hitchcock’s “Psycho” may be better known, but flocks of birds attacking humans for no reason is pretty darn scary.

The Cabin in the Woods” 2011, R – A remote cabin, summoned zombies and a suspicious scientific facility all add up to the end of the world.

The Conjuring” 2013, R – Paranormal investigators help a family terrorized by an evil presence. Based on actual events.

The Exorcist” 1973, R – The scene of Linda Blair’s possession by the devil has been parodied many times, but that doesn’t make it any less frightening.

The Others”, 2001, PG-13 – Nicole Kidman and her two children are haunted by ghosts.

The Ring” 2002, PG-13 – What’s scarier, watching a videotape and then dying or explaining to a teenager what a videotape is?

The Shining” 1980, R – All work and no play make Jack a dull boy…and a psychotic killer in this Stanley Kubrick adaptation of a Stephen King classic. Redrum.

The Sixth Sense” 1999, PG-13 – A child psychologist (Bruce Willis) tries to help an 8-year-old boy (Haley Joel Osment) who “sees dead people.” This creepy flick has one of the greatest twists in movie history.

The Thing” 1982, R – Antarctica and aliens. Enough said.

Tremors” 1990, PG-13 – Giant worm creatures that can sense any type of seismic movement hold a small group of residents hostage in a desert town.