Seven Scary Movies to Spook-Up Your Night I Published November 11

By: Courtney-Joy Breeden

When the air is crisp and the leaves are hues of brown, orange, and yellow, fall sets in, and one of the season’s most prominent holidays is Halloween.

Halloween sets the tone for the season, encouraging enthusiasts and Fall Fanatics to buy into the spooky and horrorful nature of the holiday.

To set the mood and get everyone into the Halloween spirit, movies have stood the test of time. With classics like Halloween and Hereditary at the forefront of many movie buffs’ recommendation lists, here are seven more scary movies to spook up your night.

Scream (1996)

“What’s your favorite scary movie?”

A classic slasher and pop culture horror, Scream follows a teenage girl, Sidney Prescott during the year after her mother’s death where she and her friends are haunted by a masked killer who harasses them with phone calls and forces them to play a horror movie trivia game before their death.

Although a horror, its witty and comedic nature absolves watchers of nightmares, the movie never settles to keep you off the edge of your seat.

The Houses October Built (2014)

“My name is Zach … I rented an RV. I want to find the most extreme haunted house in the world.”

Not the most well-known among the general public, The Houses October Built still stands as among the most frightening Halloween movies of the decade. The 2014 found footage format of the 2011 unedited documentary style of the film follows a group of friends on a road trip to find the scariest and most unknown haunted houses in the United States but as the movie progresses it is the haunt they were so willfully searching for eventually finds them.

The movie starts with a quote from writer Walter Jon Williams, “I’m not afraid of werewolves or vampires or haunted hotels, I’m afraid of what real human beings to do other real human beings.” And quickly releases you into the world of haunted houses and the secret horrors that lie beneath them.

Psycho (1960)

“It’s not as if she were a maniac, raving thing. She just goes a little mad sometimes. We all go a little mad sometimes. Haven’t you?”

No less than a classic but more like a blueprint, Psycho tells the story of a woman on the run, Marion Crane who seeks shelter at the notable Bates Motel, managed by a man named Norman who takes care of his mentally unwell mother.

As the film continues, Norman finds himself in a situation where protecting his mother comes at the cost of the personhood of others, and in an otherworldly twist, it seems this notion extends to him as well.

Don’t let the black-and-white film dissuade you from enjoying a pivotal moment in film history.

Don’t Breathe (2016)

“Now you’re gonna see what I see.”

Intense and anxiety-inducing, Don’t Breathe keeps you on your toes and secretly coerces watchers into holding their breath along with characters. As three characters, Rocky, a young woman, her boyfriend Money, and their friend Alex decide to rob a blind man in hopes of finding money to create a better life for themselves. They fail to consider judging the book past its cover.

Trapped in the throes of the night, Rocky concludes that escaping is more important than the initial goal.

This movie is excellent with its twists and turns and clever with its settings and build-up to the final scene.

Misery (1990)

“I’m your number one fan. There’s nothing to worry about. You’re going to be just fine. I’ll take good care of you. I’m your number one fan.”

Another classic horror movie based on the book Misery by Stephen King. This movie tells the story of famous, bestselling novelist Paul Sheldon who is traveling back home after finishing his latest book at his Colorado getaway home. When a snowstorm strikes and Sheldon gets into an accident, he’s rescued by former nurse Annie Wilkes who brings him to her cabin to recover.

Sheldon’s recovery at the cabin home takes a unique turn when he learns the contents of the character Annie Wilkes, his number one fan.

This film adaptation of the book by Stephen King is great in its casting and pacing and keeps watchers alert at every turn.

Smile (2022)

“It’s smiling at me … whenever I see it I just get this god-awful feeling like something really terrible is gonna happen.”

A more recent movie, Smile, similar to Psycho, plays on the psychological nature of life and shows the audience the eerie and shocking events following a disturbing incident involving a patient witnessed by psychiatrist, Dr. Rose Cotter, while also hinting at the doctor’s traumatic past. Deemed a psychological thriller, the movie also embraces the supernatural as Dr. Cotter is convinced she is being haunted by an unknown entity who gathers victims with none other than a smile.

Even though this may be a movie best seen with your eyes closed, you won’t be able to unglue them from the screen.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

“ Hill House, not sane, stands against its hills holding darkness within. It has stood for a hundred years and might stand a hundred more. Within, walls continue upright, bricks meet neatly, floors are firm and doors are sensibly shut. Silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House and those who walk there walk together.”

Although a show, The Haunting of Hill House, broadly based on the novel of the same name by Shirley Jackson in 1959, is worth the binge. The show observes a family of seven, more specifically the five siblings, the children of an architect and house flipper who move into a large house in Massachusetts in the summer of 1992.

The show intertwines the happenings of their childhood and the present events of their adulthood communicating how their life in the haunted mansion influenced their relationships and mental wellness while foreshadowing a disheartening finale.

The Haunting of Hill House is an unsettling and evocative story that deserves recognition for its contribution to the horror genre.

The spook of goblins and ghouls may only last a day but the chill of horror lasts forever. As famous director Alfred Hitchcock once said, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.”

Enjoy these seven scary recommendations and let them lead you to even more because the more you watch the more you anticipate the scare.

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