38 Horror Movies Guaranteed To Scare The Shit Out Of You (2023)

"This guy breaks into people's houses, kills all but one person, and then takes the 'survivor' to the next house as bait. Gory as hell and way scary."

—actuallyitsspring

"Eleven-year-old me was terrified of mirrors, graves, islands, children, trains, fog, windows, basements, falling asleep, and being alone after watching this movie. This lasted for about two (not really relaxed) years."

—devilonmyshoulder75

"I swear I was afraid to shower for a week. That movie did something to me. I have never been as affected by a horror movie as that one."

—anoukvanderz

"The little boy cutting the old man's Achilles tendon with the scalpel is forever burned in my brain."

—mandyj4a75940d6

"This is the movie I think about when I walk into my empty house alone at night. It gives me the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it."

—mariaa4050e6f70

"I was a little kid when I watched it with my oldest sister and her friends. To this day, I still feel like ~something~ is always there, and I have a ridiculous fear of the dark...even though I’m 25. That movie was horrifying to me. I could never, ever watch it again."

—oliviavincentk

"Stephen King can really fray your nerves when he wants to. It’s a good thing I watched it last summer on a clear day because I would have spent the entire ride home feeling paranoid otherwise."

—Dayna Morris, Facebook

"The only movie to ever truly scare me is Halloween. And it's because Michael Meyers WILL. NOT. DIE. Michael is just straight up unnerving to me. I couldn't sleep for weeks without panicking in bed. I watched it for the first time almost eight years ago and I'm still not over it."

—funkysammie

"When that hand started coming out of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s head...hell no. I was afraid to get in the shower for a month. Done, son."

—devansley

"The Strangers was the first scary movie I ever saw and it traumatized me for a while because of the realistic approach it has. Just think about all the times you're home alone — who knows if someone else knows you're alone too?! All it takes is the right timing for someone to sneak into your backyard the day you forget to lock the back door..."

—ingridm479bec7d7

"It Follows has such a subtle creep factor that gets worse and worse over the course of the movie, and by the end of it, I was afraid of a person randomly walking past my car window. It still gives me the creeps every time I think about it."

—haleysaurusrex

"Get Out is a masterfully done horror film. It doesn't rely on jump scares — it understands that the scariest thing is someone who looks totally normal and harmless on the outside yet is a nightmarish monster on the inside. The scene where Allison Williams is eating cereal is incredibly pedestrian on the surface, yet so deeply disturbing in the context of the movie. That film shook me to my core."

—Sarah Ochocki, Facebook

"Creep is one of the scariest movies I’ve seen. It messed with me for weeks after I watched it. I know found footage is kind of played out, but this one was so good!"

—shelbyjo93

"The Nightmare absolutely chills me to the bone. Sleep paralysis is very real and thinking about all the people that suffer from it terrifies me. The entire idea of being frozen in bed, vulnerable to anyone and anything, is one of the most horrifying things I can think of."

—elizabethc4d92846b0

"The scene where he sticks a razor into his eye was absolutely scarring."

—6263boom

"I’m not a religious person, but I read my Bible for a solid month after I watched it."

—sonyac4771faaac

"When I was walking to my car after seeing it, I had to check my back seat three times to make sure no one was there."

—drwhonumber10t

"After watching the original It, I couldn't walk up curbs with drains or have anything to do with clowns for years."

—Azure Adams, Facebook

"The scariest movie I've ever seen was The Mothman Prophecies. The atmosphere of dread is so palpable as the unexplained phenomena in the film escalates and gets closer to the main character. The moment when Richard Gere's reflection in the mirror is slightly out of sync is brilliantly creepy. This movie is very well directed, well acted, and well written. Very scary."

—vickitessla

"This movie masterfully builds the tension of being lost and claustrophobic for the first half of the movie, and that alone is scary enough. Then the monsters show up."

—lauratheraptor

"There’s life before watching The Exorcist and then there’s life after watching The Exorcist."

—slimetimelive

"I started watching it at a group retreat and I had to leave the room less than 10 minutes in. I'm usually fine with scary movies, but something about the grotesque nature of this one was too much for me."

—jennifervanh3

"After watching Sinister, my sister told me there were little ghost children running around my house. I slept in my mom’s bed that night and then had to sleep with my light on for weeks!"

—ashleyr4da923c2f

"I was 11 and this movie scared the hell out of me. For a good three months, I refused to sleep without my TV on since I legitimately thought I was gonna get abducted by aliens. It’s been almost six years and I still refuse to rewatch it."

—c4bdffd607

"This movie scared me so bad that I avoided my bathroom as much as possible."

—beyawesome4

"I watched it when I was 11 and couldn’t get it out of my head for weeks. I was convinced the Blood Countess was going to kill me with her pruning shears. I haven’t watched it again for fear of reviving the childhood trauma."

—annikam465142825

"Honestly, it’s so good, but it's one of the few movies that gets me every single time I see it. It plays with your head. I still can’t hear that damn tiptoe song without getting creeped out. And don’t get me started on the trademark demon face behind the dad. I can’t."

—saracourtneym

"This movie is traumatizing. Road trips will never be the same."

—lilbabynid2

"At least now I know why I can't sleep or stay in dark places."

—lehcki

"I saw Candyman when I was like eight. My brother and I would dare each other to say his name five times in the mirror, but we could never make it past four without chickening out."

—adamjunrein

"The original Rosemary’s Baby scared me to death. I rented it to watch after the kid I was babysitting fell asleep. I ended up sitting outside of the kid’s room with the phone stretched all the way from the living room so I could talk to my friends until the kid’s parents got back to take me home."

—susieunderpants

"When the hands came out of nowhere and clapped — I swear to God I felt that fear in my dang SOUL."

—katherinelouisem

"The amazing thing about this movie is how terrifying it is with only a musical score and no dialogue. There’s a lot of mystery surrounding the man who played Nosferatu, and the movie being so old only makes it scarier. 15/10. You'll have nightmares for weeks."

—sydneys19

"It’s a movie that takes place in the catacombs of Paris. It’s terrifying, and the concept of not being able to escape left me anxious for hours after (and that’s really saying something)!"

—glitteryeyebags

"I will never like dolls ever again."

—emilyclairef

"Usually scary movies don’t get to me, but I had to sleep with the TV on for a week! And every time I closed my eyes I would see that creepy nun."

—machaelae

"Hands down, Event Horizon is one of the scariest movies ever made, and it has a hell of a cast. This movie will wreck your dream cycle."

—levil666

"I saw it for the first time at a slumber party when I was eight, which also happened to be the first time I ever saw a horror movie. I couldn't get the image of Samara crawling out of the TV out of my mind the entire night! I was literally lying in my sleeping bag, in tears, petrified of the film I had just watched. Today it’s one of my favorite horror movies, but then, I was definitely scarred."

—angelissac