Here's Where to Stream the Best Horror Movies of All Time
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Science shows that there are benefits to being scared, including a feeling of euphoria and a sense of resilience. Fans of scary movies know this first-hand. For some, nothing measures up to the catharsis you get when you've faced your fears head on — on the screen, at least — and come out the other side unscathed. And Hollywood knows this, too, inventing scary movies pretty much right from the moment they realized that pictures could move. (One of the first films ever to use special effects, for example, used them to show a beheading — the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots.)
And while there's pleasure in unearthing an obscure horror film from the depths and going into it without any expectations, the classics — well, they're classics for a reason. They've stood the test of time because they have that extra something special about them, be it a performance by a cinema great like Boris Karloff or Bela Lugosi's, an unforgettable special effect, a music sting that stays with you long after the movie is over or something so gnarly and gruesome you have to cover your face with your hands when you watch. The best, all-time classic horror movies on this list have one or a combination of these things, starting franchises, pioneering new genres and generally living on in the lives of horror fans.
Looking for more great, scary movies? Check out these Good Housekeeping guides:
Best Ghost Movies | Best Witch Movies | Best Vampire Movies | Best Werewolf Movies | Best Scary Movies for Kids
Nosferatu (1922)
There's just something about Dracula stories: They've been captivating audiences since movies were first made, and are still being made today. (See: This year's The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield.) F.W. Murnau's offers a silent, German Expressionist take on the vampire tale that still sends shivers down the spine.
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Psycho (1960)
While several of Alfred Hitchcock's movies really ratchet up the suspense, Psycho is the most horrific. It follows a young woman who goes on the run after stealing some money — and happens to stop at the exact wrong motel. The classic strings in the Bernard Herrmann musical score are still shorthand for "something scary is happening" today.
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Rosemary's Baby (1968)
For those who aren't fans of gore or jump scares, Rosemary's Baby goes for more of a slow-burn, unsettling dread that gets more intense as the movie goes on. It follows a young, pregnant woman, played by Mia Farrow, who gradually realizes that forces are conspiring behind her back about her unborn baby's future.
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RELATED: 15 Best Psychological Thriller Movies That Will Make You Question Everything
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Freddy Krueger, Wes Craven's signature horror creation, is the stuff of nightmares to be sure, with his scarred face and bladed glove. But, as the franchise goes on, Freddy almost becomes the hero of the series — or at least he's a character audiences love to see again and again. Which is a lucky thing, because after this first film, he goes on to be in seven other movies, a reboot and a TV series.
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RELATED: How to Watch the 'Nightmare on Elm Street' Movies in Order
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
There would be no zombie-movie genre if it were not for the great George A. Romero, who used zombies as a subtle commentary on mass culture. After this first feature, Romero went on to direct Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Land of the Dead, Diary of the Dead, Survival of the Dead and the upcoming Twilight of the Dead.
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Dracula (1931)
With respect to Nosferatu, when people think of Dracula, they think of the inimitable Bela Lugosi's turn as the Universal monster. And, after watching this film, it's easy to see why he made such an impression.
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Suspiria (1977)
In this Dario Argento film, an American is invited to study at a prestigious German academy, only to find that there's nefarious doings behind-the-scenes. The movie isn't dark and shadowy like most horror films, but the bright colors don't save audiences from the big frights.
The Witch (2015)
Robert Eggers heightened, highly stylized movie follows a Puritan family who is banished from their community. Forced to struggle against nature on their own, the members of the family start to suspect supernatural forces for their downfall. It's an example of what's being called "A24ror," or horror films from the studio A24, which favor slower paces and more arthouse styles. (See also: Ari Aster's Hereditary and Midsommar.)
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Eyes Without a Face (1960)
If you think that older movies don't have the power to shock, disturb or scare the way new ones do, Eyes Without a Face (also known as Les Yeux Sans Visage) proves they absolutely do. The French film follows a doctor who, guilt-ridden after causing an accident that disfigured his daughter, lures women to his home to try to graft their faces onto hers.
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An American Werewolf in London (1981)
This movie is worth it for the werewolf transformation alone — it won the first-ever Academy Award for Best Makeup, which was done by the legendary Rick Baker.
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The Mummy (1932)
What would a list of classic horror movies be without a mummy? While most recent mummy movies go for action or adventure, this one — starring Boris Karloff again — goes deeper, with Imhotep seeking the reincarnated soul of his true love.
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The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Three film students are intrigued by the Blair Witch legend and head into a Maryland forest to film a documentary about it. They never return, but their terrifying video was unearthed. This movie kicked off the "found footage" craze in horror movies, inspiring many imitators that followed.
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The Birds (1963)
Another Hitchcock great: When Melanie meets Mitch at a pet store in San Francisco, she decides to buy him the birds that he was looking for in an effort to gain his interest. When she arrives to deliver the gift, birds of all kinds become enraged and begin to attack.
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The Exorcist (1973)
When a young girl becomes possessed and starts to behave in disturbing ways, her mother seeks out help from a local priest, but things take a deadly turn as soon as he arrives. Can his faith save him? A new Exorcist movie, The Exorcist: Believer from director David Gordon Green, comes out this year.
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Halloween (1978)
John Carpenter, another master of the horror genre, directs this movie, about the unstoppable Michael Myers and the lengths he will go through to get revenge on his family. Even though this came out in 1978, the Halloween franchise is still ongoing: Halloween Ends came out in 2022.
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RELATED: Here Is How to Watch Every 'Halloween' Movies with Michael Myers in Order
Ganja & Hess (1973)
Dr. Hess Green, an anthropologist, goes to do research with his assistant on the Myrthians, an ancient African nation that has a thirst for blood. One night, his unstable assistant attacks Green and stabs him with a Myrthian dagger, ultimately turning him into a vampire.
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Scream (1996)
A serial killer targets a group of teenagers by making them play along in his wicked games, throwing the whole town into a frenzy. Also created by Wes Craven, this movie is almost an anti-horror movie, since it calls out the conventions and tropes of the genre as it goes along. And it's still running them down: Scream VI came out this year; another is on the way.
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Frankenstein (1931)
It's Boris Karloff in his signature role, taking on another larger-than-life Universal monster. Four years later, Karloff and director James Whale reunited for the sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein.
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The Haunting (1963)
A group of investigators stays at the 90-year-old Hill House that is supposedly haunted. As they learn about the house’s history and the people that have died within it, they start to witness paranormal activity that haunts them throughout the night. Hill House has a hold on people: There was a remake in 1999 with Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor, along with The Haunting of Hill House series on Netflix.
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The Shining (1980)
After newly sober writer Jack Torrance goes to an isolated hotel with his family to help with his writer’s block, his son begins to see horrific forebodings. Soon after, Jack becomes manic, leading the family into heightened fright. Pay attention to the pattern on the carpet in the hotel: Once you notice it, you'll recognize it everywhere, from rugs to pillows to purses.
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The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
When a family goes to visit their grandfather’s grave, they end up falling victim to a family of cannibals. This movie spawned one of the all-time great horror monsters, Leatherface, who continues to inspire scary filmmakers today: a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie debuted on Netflix last year.
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Jaws (1975)
There is something lurking in the water off Amity Island. When a great white shark unleashes a series of attacks, it’s up to the sheriff, a marine biologist and a seaman to make the beach safe again. This movie is notable for what director Steven Spielberg doesn't show — withholding the shark makes it scarier than any gore.
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Saw (2004)
This horror movie is about two men who fall victim to the killer known as Jigsaw. They wake up in a run-down bathroom chained to pipes and are forced to go along with his maniacal games. This was the first film by James Wan, who went on to make others like Insidious and The Conjuring. After Saw's success, horror movies became more graphically violent, starting a wave of extremely gory films. But don't call it a flash in the pan: The tenth SAW sequel is set to come out this year.
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The Invisible Man (1933)
This sci-fi horror flick, another Universal classic, is based on H.G. Wells' novel of the same name, about a man rendered invisible by a top-secret experiment who slowly becomes mad... and murderous. The interesting thing about this one is that it's not an origin story; when the movie starts, Dr. Jack Griffin, played by the inimitable Claude Rains, is already invisible.
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Gaslight (1944)
You might have heard of the term "gaslighting" — well, this movie is where the word comes from. It features a manipulative husband that goes through great lengths to convince his wife that she is going insane, all to conceal a big secret from her.
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Carrie (1976)
In this Stephen King adaptation, Carrie is the girl in school that everyone makes fun of. During prom night, the school tries to prank her, but she takes revenge and no one is laughing by the end of the night.
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Child's Play (1988)
For a young boy’s birthday, his mother gifts him a popular toy, a doll named Chucky. Little do they know that Chucky is possessed by the spirit of a killer, and he begins to terrorize everyone around him. After a long film franchise, Chucky is now a TV series, and a second season returns to USA and SYFY in October.
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RELATED: How to Watch the Child's Play Movies in Order
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
When there is a serial killer on the loose, a young F.B.I. cadet gets help from a manipulative cannibal killer behind bars to capture him. When it came out in 1991, it won the Oscar for Best Picture — the only horror movie so far to have brought home the big award.
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The Ring (2002)
A reporter investigates a mysterious tape that leads people to their death after seven days of watching it. After she watches the tape herself, she tries to solve the mystery before her time is up. This movie is based on a Japanese film, Ringu, and ushered in an era of "J-horror" remakes.
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The Omen (1976)
Gregory Peck stars in this horror movie by Richard Donner, the director of the 1978 Superman. In it, after a politician's son dies at birth, he takes another baby from the hospital to raise as his own. As the child, Damien, begins to grow into a young boy, a series of deaths start happening, and Damien looks like he may be responsible.
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Creature From the Black Lagoon (1954)
When a group of scientists head into the Amazonian jungle, they encounter a rare creature deep in the water. As they attempt to capture it, a multitude of obstacles prevents them from heading back to civilization.
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Poltergeist (1982)
They're heeeeeere! Five-year-old Carol Anne begins communicating with ghosts through her television screen. It all seems innocent until the ghosts and their demon leader kidnap the girl, leaving her family in shambles trying to save her.
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Friday the 13th (1980)
A group of college students go missing when taking a trip to Camp Crystal Lake, a site with a history of murders. Weeks later, a young man named Clay Miller goes into this eerie forest in search of his sister and confronts the ruthless killer, whom he thinks is former camper Jason Voorhees. This film is so popular it spawned a franchise that spanned 10 films, a crossover and a reboot.
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Alien (1979)
Consider it a haunted house movie... in space. A crew in space decides to investigate a distress call that they receive from an alien vessel. Soon, they discover a nest of eggs inside the ship that wreak havoc on the lives of the crew. While there are many Alien movies in the series, this one says closest to the horror genre.
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Get Out (2017)
Praised for its social critiques in thriller movies, a young Black man goes to meet his white girlfriend’s parents and discovers an unsettling secret upon arriving. Director Jordan Peele doesn't have a franchise to his name, but his horror films, which now include Us and Nope, are events unto themselves.
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The Curse of Frankenstein (1957)
Universal wasn't the only movie studio that took a crack at the Frankenstein story. The legendary horror production studio Hammer Films also loosely adapted Mary Shelley's tale, this time with Peter Cushing as Victor Frankenstein and Christopher Lee as the monster. Cushing went on to make other Frankenstein movies with Hammer, including The Revenge of Frankenstein, The Evil of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Created Woman, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell.
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The Thing (1982)
Another Carpenter classic, this movie follows a group of scientists who make an unusual discovery in Antarctica. When finding what was buried in the snow, they are confronted by an alien that can take on the form of those that it has killed. Suddenly, everyone is a suspect.
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The Amityville Horror (1979)
When a family moves into a house that was previously a crime scene, they discover that it’s haunted and the presence of evil spirits is trying to destroy them. The movie claims it is based on a true story.
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Candyman (1992)
Say the name "Candyman" five times in a mirror and he'll come to kill. It's just an urban legend — or is it? While investigating how the legend began, researcher Helen Lyle gets too caught up in the Candyman myth. A remake/sequel came out in 2021.
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American Psycho (2000)
Patrick Bateman, a wealthy New York City executive, works at his father’s investment bank and has a big secret: He's a psychopath that kills to fulfill his violent desires. Mary Harron's film is shocking and disturbing, and it's also a satire of '80s consumer culture.
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The Conjuring (2013)
A family seeks out help from demonologists after witnessing strange paranormal activity when moving into an old home in Rhode Island. While the story is pure Hollywood, it's based on the real lives of paranormal researchers Ed and Lorraine Warren, who also investigated the Amityville house.
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RELATED: How to Watch The Conjuring Series in Order
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The small community of Santa Mira, California, becomes terrorized when their loved ones are snatched away by aliens and are replaced with emotionless lookalikes. It's an idea so chilling Hollywood keeps revisiting it: There we re-makes in 1978 (with Donald Sutherland and Jeff Goldblum), in 1993 (directed by Bad Lieutenant's Abel Ferrara) and in 2007 (with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman).
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Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Did Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves really get married on the set of this epic vampire movie? We may never know the truth, but this Francis Ford Coppola film is still worth a watch for horror fans, especially ones that dig baroque sets and elaborate costuming.
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The Lost Boys (1987)
Directed by Joel Schumacher, this movie follows brothers Michael and Sam, who move to Santa Carla, California with their recently divorced mother. Once they start hanging out at the boardwalk, Sam fears that his brother Michael is falling in with the wrong crowd — a crowd of vampires who want Michael to join them.
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X (2022)
Could Pearl be the next, all-time great horror movie villain? This movie follows a group of friends who rent an old farmhouse with the intent to secretly film a pornographic movie on the grounds, which would dismay the elderly landlords, Howard and Pearl. When Pearl gets wind of what's going on, she makes it clear she does not approve. If you saw this in the theater and stayed past the credits, you'd have seen a trailer for the sequel, simply called Pearl, which came out just months later. A third film, MaXXXine, is in the works.
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Eraserhead (1977)
This trippy, David Lynch-directed horror movie tells the story of Henry Spencer, whose wife has left him to care for her alien-like baby. Through the course of doing so, bizarre things start happening to Henry, including dreams that his head is being used to create erasers.
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Insidious (2010)
Another Wan film, though this one is more spooky than gory: After a family moves into a new home and their son falls into a coma, they realize that something dark is lurking in the house. They will have to fight off the evil spirits that are trapping the young boy. Like The Conjuring, this one also spawned a series, and the most recent entry, The Red Door, came out this summer.
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RELATED: How to Watch the 'Insidious' Movies in Order
House of Usher (1960)
When a young man enters his fiancée’s house, he discovers a wicked family curse. As he tries to escape the house with his love, he is confronted by his brother-in-law (played by Vincent Price) who won’t allow them to leave. It was directed by iconic director/producer Roger Corman, who re-teamed with Price for other Edgar Allan Poe adaptations, including The Raven and The Pit and the Pendulum, among others.
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RELATED: 15 Best Haunted House Movies You Really Shouldn't Watch Alone
The Evil Dead (1983)
When a group of friends go camping in a wooded cabin, they find a book that harbors an ancient evil. Directed by Sam Raimi, who's known for the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films (and the recent Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), this film is equal parts scary and bonkers. It's followed by Evil Dead 2, the more comedic Army of Darkness, a reboot Evil Dead, the Ash vs. Evil Dead series and the new Evil Dead Rise.
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Misery (1990)
When a famous author gets into a car crash, he is rescued by a woman who is his “number one fan.” As she takes care of him, he soon realizes that he is being held captive by an obsessive psychopath.
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House (1986)
In this horror comedy, Roger Cobb, a scary novelist, hasn’t been himself since his recent divorce and the disappearance of his son. On top of that, he is struggling to write his new book about his experiences during the Vietnam War. After moving into a new home that he inherited from his aunt, Roger’s fears take hold through graphic nightmares.
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Final Destination (2000)
A group of teens escapes their death after one of them has a haunting premonition of a plane exploding. Even though they escaped this situation, they soon learn that they can’t avoid their fates forever.
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The Purge (2013)
In an alternate universe, all crime is legal in the U.S. for a 12-hour period. When a wealthy family’s fortress becomes disarmed during the annual Purge, all hell breaks loose.
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RELATED: How to Watch All of The Purge Movies in Order
It (1990)
Every 27 years, an evil awakens that terrorizes the town’s children. This time, a group of childhood friends reunite in Derry, Maine and come face to face with this nightmare known as Pennywise the Clown. If you don't like the 1990 miniseries version with Tim Curry, you can try the newer remake, which split the Stephen King story into two parts.
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The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
What happens when a group of college friends go away for the weekend? They inevitably stay in a desolate cabin and are terrorized throughout the night by unknown forces. This movie becomes a meta-horror film, since at a certain point it becomes very self-aware.
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