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21 Horror Movies That Are So Scary, People Were Screaming Or Holding Their Breath The Whole Time

Casey Rackham

31 October 2024 at 11:29 am·5-min read

WARNING: Due to the nature of the topic of this post, there are some SPOILERS AHEAD for the following movies. We've listed the titles first so you can decide if you'd like to read on or skip. Please proceed with caution!

Recently, Reddit user u/MythicalMicrowave asked the question: "What’s the scariest horror movie you’ve ever watched?"

A woman in dramatic scream, wearing 1950s style clothing, in a black-and-white scene — TCM / Via tonygraff.wordpress.com

Here are some of the most top-voted responses:

1.Event Horizon (1997)

Futuristic cryogenic pods with people inside from a sci-fi movie scene — "I love Event Horizon even though I can only watch it every few years because it's true horror to me. It's this nigh-inescapable, inexorable malevolent force that is never really explained, and the protagonists react realistically to it."

—u/Dig-a-tall-Monster

Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

2.The Descent (2005)

A creature from "The Descent" crouches by a fire, looking menacingly at an unseen figure — "I saw it when I was 23. It hit me instantly. It was that movie that made me realize I was claustrophobic. I just rewatched it for the first time in 20 years, and, now with full adult realizations, it was even more terrifying."

—u/BadBoyDad

Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection

3.The Wicker Man (1973)

Three people wearing animal masks (fish, rabbit, goat) standing outdoors with greenery in the background — "I thought it was a lot more odd than scary...until I got to the ending and realized that we, the viewers, had been led along the garden path like Howie, and we hadn’t yet grasped the totality of what was going on. It’s awful. It’s so, so, so awful."

—u/Orzhov_Syndicalist

British Lion Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

4.Sinister (2012)

A person is dramatically posed, arching backwards over a box, with arms outstretched, in a theatrical scene — "I think the first half of Sinister is peak horror. The second half isn't bad, but I think it gets a lot less scary once the child ghosts show up. Still, it's one of my favorite horror movies to come out in the 2000s!"

—u/Psyl0

Summit Entertainment / courtesy Everett Collection

5.The Grudge (2004)

A ghostly figure with long hair and a pale face peers through staircase railings — "When I first saw The Grudge, it totally messed me up. Even getting into my car after a late shift at work was terrifying. I refused to look in the rearview mirror in case I saw that creepy bastard behind me."

—u/Scottiedogg

Columbia Pictures / Via youtube.com

6.Paranormal Activity (2007)

A person stands over someone lying on the floor in a dimly lit room, creating a tense atmosphere — "People can say what they want about the films, but the first two were some of the most realistic depictions of spooky stuff I've seen, especially if you've ever experienced that shit in real life."

—u/EsrailCazar

Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

7.Hereditary (2018)

A woman with wide eyes and mouth open, appearing shocked or scared, stands indoors wearing a light shirt — "I was so immersed in it that I FELT the son's dread of what he had done. I felt the horror and grief of the mother's screams. I'll never watch it again."

—u/mossfae

A24 / Everett Collection

8.The Fourth Kind (2009)

Milla Jovovich screaming in the fourth kind — "My wife is still absolutely terrified of white owls because of this movie. It was the last horror movie she ever watched with me. She ain't dead, she just refuses to watch scary movies with me anymore."

—u/Renek

Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

9.Poltergeist (1982)

A young girl, Heather O'Rourke, screams while being pulled by supernatural forces in a scene from the movie "Poltergeist." — "Poltergeist scared the shit out of me. Changed me really. Forever."

—u/CH1974

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Getty Images

10.Fire In the Sky (1993)

a scene from Fire in the Sky — "That scene when he's crawling through the snot tunnel and has nowhere to move. I don't have claustrophobia, but I get really anxious during that, even now."

—u/wei-long

Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

11.The Strangers (2008)

A masked figure stands outside a window waving, while a woman in a plaid shirt looks at them from inside — "The scene where the woman is smoking in the kitchen and the dude comes in the door silently, no music no nothing, is genuinely one of the most unsettling scenes I’ve ever watched."

—u/SxanPardy

Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection

12.Signs (2002)

Two men stand in a dimly lit room, one holding a flashlight, facing a figure turned away from the camera — "Signs is amazing. Not a single death. No gore. Just the ominous descent of aliens on Earth. Terrifying movie and one of my favorites for sure."

—u/Happydumptruck

Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection

13.The Ritual (2017)

A surprised man with an open mouth is seen in a dark forest setting, wearing a casual shirt — "The Ritual has the most creative monster in all of horror films. They did their homework, made it based on Scandinavian folklore, and RAN with it. Love that film. I want a poster of the Jötunn."

—u/merliahthesiren

Netflix / Everett Collection

14.It Follows (2014)

A person floats peacefully in an above-ground pool surrounded by trees — "Terrifying. I think the reason why it fucked me up is because there's no boundaries. It happens literally anywhere and all the time. Fuck that movie, man."

—u/ohhfasho

Weinstein Company/Courtesy Everett Collection

15.Midsommar (2019)

A group of women in embroidered dresses, comforting one another, are shown in an emotionally intense scene — "Midsommar made me very uncomfortable. Found myself randomly zoning out and thinking about various scenes for a few days after watching."

—u/StanleySteamboat

A24 / Everett Collection

16.The Blair Witch Project (1999)

Close-up of a person's face in distress from a scene in the film "The Blair Witch Project." A beanie is visible on their head — "I saw it in the theater and a lot of the audience also thought it was real. As a therapist, I was watching the other moviegoers’ body language. Everyone tensed up when it was night and relaxed once the sun came up. It was scary."

—u/turkeyman4

Artisan Entertainment/Everett Collection

17.The Thing (1982)

Creature from "The Thing" with distorted face and extended limbs in a menacing pose — "For me, the scariest part of The Thing wasn't the effects — it was not being able to trust anyone."

—u/CBate

Universal / Via youtube.com

18.The Evil Dead (1981)

A character with cracked skin and dark eye makeup peers through a chained trapdoor in a scene from a horror movie — "The original Evil Dead remains the only one that genuinely scared and unnerved me. The banging from the cellar and the recordings, especially."

—u/AjaniTheGoldmane

New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection

19.The Exorcist (1973)

A girl with a possessed appearance lies in bed with a tube in her nose, featuring facial scars and disheveled hair — "The fucking spider walk down the stairs, man...it still creeps me the fuck out."

—u/Mr_Wrecksauce

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

20.The Conjuring (2013)

Person crawling on a wooden floor, appearing distressed, gripping a door frame. Scene suggests tension or danger — "Hard to believe a movie without gore can be so frightening."

—u/Academic-Business-45

Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection

21.Alien (1979)

Scene from sci-fi movie "Alien" showing the iconic chestburster moment at a dining table. The creature is emerging while shocked crew members watch — "That movie taught me how long I could hold my breath."

—u/spiffiestjester

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

What other horror movies do you think deserve to be on this list? Let us know in the comments!

Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.