Top 50 scary movies of all time

“Rosemary’s Baby,” “Psycho,” “The Exorcist” and “The Shining” are among the best scary movies. (WTOP collage via AP)
WTOP's Jason Fraley salutes scary movies (Jason Fraley)

WASHINGTON — The state of the horror genre is as strong as it’s ever been with Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” (2017) the reigning Oscar champ for Best Original Screenplay and John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” (2018) this year’s top-grossing original concept (excluding sequels).

So what makes a great scary movie? And which is the best of them all? Time for our annual WTOP tradition of ranking the top scary movies. With each passing year, new films enter the conversation, forcing others off the list. Some rise, some fall, but the cream rises to the top.

Here are the Top 50 Scary Movies of All Time:

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March 28, 2024 | Monster Mash-Up: How many movies can you name? (Jason Fraley)
Jason Fraley

Hailed by The Washington Post for “his savantlike ability to name every Best Picture winner in history," Jason Fraley began at WTOP as Morning Drive Writer in 2008, film critic in 2011 and Entertainment Editor in 2014, providing daily arts coverage on-air and online.

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