Welcome to The Attic, and Happy Halloween! Let’s watch some horror movies.

Every year, while gearing up for Halloween I spend at least part of September and all of October watching as many horror movies as I can. I love to catch scary films on TV that I’ve never seen before, and typically we get at least one blockbuster worth seeing. Among these, I tend to watch a lot of duds. Listen, when it comes to horror, you gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you can find a prince. It’s the price we must pay on this neverending search for the scariest movies we’ve ever seen. Although, sometimes it’s not always just about what freaks us out or makes us sleep with the lights on. Sometimes the best horror movies are the ones that stand the test of time and repeated viewings. Maybe they don’t all scare me like they did on the first viewing, but whether they terrified me or not, there is a magic in each of these 10 best movies to watch on Halloween. Please keep in mind this list is in no particular order, and that this article is purely an opinion piece. So let’s get into it…

The Sixth Sense – 1999
When The Sixth Sense came out, the movie industry was buzzing, and every spotlight was on M. Night Shyamalan who was being heralded as the next great horror director. Not only was this a terrifying horror film with a top notch actor, Bruce Willis, in the lead, but he was almost overshadowed by this adorable newcomer, Haley Joel Osment. The infamous line, I see dead people, became equally adored and mocked as anything of this pop culture stature does. The ending was a shock to anyone that was lucky enough to not have it spoiled for them. I remember watching the rented VHS with my family, and all of us being blown away. We immediately wanted to watch it again to look for all of the clues that were right in front of us. While the surprise is long gone, I still love watching The Sixth Sense as much as ever.

Poltergeist – 1982
Poltergeist is one of my favorite movies, period. Not just in the genre, I generally consider it to be one of the very best films I’ve ever seen. It has the horror powerhouse in Tobe Hooper (Director of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, 1974), and the blockbuster magic that only Steven Spielberg can deliver. When you combine these talents, you get solid gold. Poltergeist is the ultimate haunted house movie, and while it has spawned numerous sequels, a television show, and of course, a remake, the original is a classic. I have been watching this movie on a regular basis since I was a young teen, and I love it now more than ever. Every Halloween, Poltergeist is at the top of my “must watch” list.

Paranormal Activity – 2007
Paranormal Activity is one of my very favorite horror movies of all time. When I first saw this in the theaters, I was truly scared. It usually takes a lot to get under my skin these days, but this was unlike anything I had seen before. Yes, it was riding the found-footage coattails that have been flying along ever since The Blair Witch Project came out in 1999, but it felt unique. It felt special. It felt real. I knew it wasn’t, but it felt so authentic that it really got under my skin. That night, I downloaded a night-light app for my iPhone, and slept with that on for 3 nights in a row.

Annabelle – 2014
I really hesitated at putting such a new movie on this list, as I haven’t had as many years to really say it will stick with me for a long time. However, it’s not Halloween if I don’t watch a possessed doll movie, and while I truly adore Child’s Play, Annabelle is much scarier and darker, so it wins out on this list. I have already watched this movie countless times, and it hasn’t lost its impact on me at all. I love how they tied in Manson and his followers with the story line. This movie feels more like it was made in the late 1960s thanks to its subtle way of dating things without throwing it in your face or going overboard. They place the focus on fear instead of gore like many horror movies do these days, and for that I am eternally grateful. Annabelle is my ultimate killer doll movie.

Night of the Living Dead – 1968
When many people think about Halloween, they think about zombies. You may have images of The Walking Dead or 28 Days Later going through your head, but none of these would exist without the genius of George A. Romero. The original Night of the Living Dead is a work of art in every sense of the word, and it struck a chord immediately when it was released in 1968. The black and white film is simplistic, but when set against the horrors of the dead rising from the grave and trying to consume the living, it is a striking contrast. Night of the Living Dead has always garnered political and societal conversations, especially for having a black male in the lead during the late 1960s. It spoke volumes of a changing time, but regardless of any society comparisons, this is one of the finest films ever made.

Psycho – 1960
I was introduced to horror movies as a young child, and I had the pleasure of growing up watching Psycho. What can I say? I was spoiled. Alfred Hitchcock was already a widely respected director in the 1950s, but when the French film Diabolique (or Les Diaboliques, originally) was released in 1955, he was inspired to really shock his audience with a left turn. He wanted to capture that shocking ending, and darker story, that H.G. Clouzot had pulled off so brilliantly. And so Hitchcock got the rights to Robert Bloch’s Psycho, and with it, came one of the most shocking and iconic horror films to this day. I can sit there, mute the TV, and say the dialogue along with them, but Psycho still remains one of my most enjoyable horror films to watch.

The Blair Witch Project – 1999
You either love it or you hate it, but if you’re a horror fan at all you have to respect how revolutionary this indie movie was. It exploded when it was released in 1999, and people were actually convinced it was real, thanks to the genius marketing and corresponding website that only furthered this belief. I absolutely love The Blair Witch Project, and even though it doesn’t have the same effect on me as it used to, I still get a strong desire to watch this at least once every Halloween. And that ending still gets under my skin to this day. I will never go camping, and I blame it all on this movie, but I am more than content to watch the woods from the comfort of my couch. The Blair Witch Project will always hold the title of grandfather to every other found footage horror movie.

Halloween – 1978
What can I say? It’s my favorite horror movie, and one of my top 5 all-time movies hands down. For whatever reason, I never really saw Halloween until I was a teenager. I wish I had a good excuse, but I think my parents just didn’t own it and finally I bought the VHS myself one day. I remember studying for my driver’s ed test while I turned it on for the first time: I was enamored and quickly dropped my studying. John Carpenter has expressed the influence that Psycho had on Halloween, and you can tell that he really wanted to do this movie right. To this day, Halloween has a class and an art that can’t be duplicated. Laurie’s friends are more likeable than almost every other horror movie’s supporting cast, the score is simple yet perfect, and John Carpenter’s direction to Nick Castle (who played The Shape) was genius; he told him to “just walk”. And thus, a legend was born. If you don’t watch any other movies on this list, you have to watch this one.

A Nightmare on Elm Street – 1984
Where would the horror world be without Freddy Krueger? I don’t even want to know. Robert Englund was a master at work when he stepped into Freddy’s shoes, and there will never be another horror icon like him. The late, great, Wes Craven was inspired to make A Nightmare on Elm Street after reading actual news stories about kids who had been terrified to go to sleep. They had been drinking coffee to stay up all night, convinced they would die if they let themselves drift off. The stories took a horrific turn when the kids died in their sleep, for no apparent reason. When turning this into a movie, the premise could have taken a very cheesy turn, but Wes Craven painted this masterpiece into something that will be widely loved for as long as there are horror nerds like me.

The Exorcist – 1973
At the top of this article, I said this list was in no particular order. This is true, but I had to save The Exorcist for last. This movie remains the scariest horror film I have ever seen, and no matter how many times I watch it, I am floored at the talent behind such a powerful piece. The young, cherub-faced Linda Blair was phenomenal as the possessed Regan. She literally took a beating filming this movie, and she claims that to this day her back still gives her problems. Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, and Max von Sydow all hold special places in my heart for their breathtaking performances. Whether you believe in possession or not, I think everyone has some belief in good vs. evil, and The Exorcist is the ultimate battle among the two. It transcends the horror genre, and many believe it is one of the most powerful films ever made.

Well, there we have it, my list of the 10 best movies to watch on Halloween. I’d love to hear what yours are! Please feel free to leave a comment below, and I hope you all have a very happy, and safe, Halloween!

Stay scared,
Dark Princess