WTOP's Jason Fraley salutes the best scary movies (Part 1)
Happy Halloween! Are you looking for some spooky flicks to watch?
WTOP’s Jason Fraley has compiled his Top 101 Scary Movies of All Time.
The criteria included fright factor, but also artistic craft and historical significance.
The list mostly includes horror flicks, but also gripping suspense and psychological thrillers.
There’s even a bonus list at the bottom of horror-comedies that are more funny than scary.
Obviously, such lists are highly subjective, so tell us your favorites at @JFrayWTOP!
Top 101 Scary Movies of All Time
(Alphabetical)
| 28 Days Later (2002) – Danny Boyle |
| Alien (1979) – Ridley Scott |
| The Amityville Horror (1979) – Stuart Rosenberg |
| Audition (1999) – Takashi Miike |
| The Babadook (2014) – Jennifer Kent |
| Barbarian (2022) – Zach Cregger |
| The Birds (1963) – Alfred Hitchcock |
| The Black Phone (2021) – Scott Derrickson |
| Black Sunday (1960) – Mario Bava |
| Black Swan (2010) – Darren Aronofsky |
| The Blair Witch Project (1999) – Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez |
| Blue Velvet (1986) – David Lynch |
| The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) – Robert Weine |
| Candyman (1992) – Bernard Rose |
| Cape Fear (1962) – J. Lee Thompson |
| Carrie (1976) – Brian De Palma |
| Cat People (1942) – Jacques Tourneur |
| The Changeling (1980) – Peter Medak |
| Child’s Play (1988) – Tom Holland |
| The Conjuring (2013) – James Wan |
| Crimson Peak (2015) – Guillermo del Toro |
| Deliverance (1972) – John Boorman |
| The Descent (2005) – Neil Marshall |
| Diabolique (1955) – Henri-Georges Clouzot |
| Don’t Breathe (2016) – Fede Alvarez |
| Don’t Look Now (1973) – Nicolas Roeg |
| Dracula (1931) – Tod Browning (TIE) Horror of Dracula (1958) – Terence Fisher (TIE) Nosferatu (1922) – F.W. Murnau (TIE) |
| The Evil Dead (1981) – Sam Raimi |
| The Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin |
| Eyes Without a Face (1960) – Georges Franju |
| Fatal Attraction (1987) – Adrian Lyne |
| The Fly (1986) – David Cronenberg |
| Frankenstein (1931) / Bride of Frankenstein (1935) – James Whale |
| Freaks (1932) – Tod Browning |
| Friday the 13th (1980) – Sean S. Cunningham |
| Get Out (2017) – Jordan Peele |
| Gone Girl (2014) – David Fincher |
| Halloween (1978) – John Carpenter |
| The Haunting (1963) – Robert Wise |
| Hellraiser (1987) – Clive Barker |
| Hereditary (2018) – Ari Aster |
| The Hills Have Eyes (1977) – Wes Craven |
| Host (2020) – Rob Savage |
| Hostel (2005) – Eli Roth |
| House of Usher (1960) – Roger Corman |
| House on Haunted Hill (1959) – William Castle |
| The Innocents (1961) – Jack Clayton |
| Insidious (2010) – James Wan |
| Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) – Don Siegel |
| The Invisible Man (2020) – Leigh Whannell |
| It (2017) – Andy Muschietti |
| It Follows (2014) – David Robert Mitchell |
| Jacob’s Ladder (1990) – Adrian Lyne |
| Jaws (1975) – Steven Spielberg |
| Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) – Takashi Shimizu |
| Last House on the Left (1972) – Wes Craven |
| Let the Right One In (2008) – Tomas Alfredson |
| M (1931) – Fritz Lang |
| Midsommar (2019) – Ari Aster |
| Misery (1990) – Rob Reiner |
| The Mummy (1932) – Karl Freund |
| Nightcrawler (2014) – Dan Gilroy |
| The Night of the Hunter (1955) – Charles Laughton |
| Night of the Living Dead (1968) / Dawn of the Dead (1978) – George Romero |
| A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Wes Craven |
| The Omen (1976) – Richard Donner |
| The Orphanage (2007) – J.A. Bayona |
| The Others (2001) – Alejandro Amenábar |
| Paranormal Activity (2007) – Oren Peli |
| Parasite (2019) – Bong Joon-ho |
| Pearl (2022) – Ti West |
| Peeping Tom (1960) – Michael Powell |
| Poltergeist (1982) – Tobe Hooper |
| Prisoners (2013) – Denis Villeneuve |
| Psycho (1960) – Alfred Hitchcock |
| The Purge (2013) – James DeMonaco |
| A Quiet Place (2018) – John Krasinski |
| Rear Window (1954) – Alfred Hitchcock |
| Rebecca (1940) – Alfred Hitchcock |
| Repulsion (1965) – Roman Polanski |
| Ringu (1998) – Hideo Nakata |
| Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Roman Polanski |
| Saw (2004) – James Wan |
| Scream (1996) – Wes Craven |
| Se7en (1995) – David Fincher |
| The Shining (1980) – Stanley Kubrick |
| The Silence of the Lambs (1991) – Jonathan Demme |
| The Sixth Sense (1999) – M. Night Shyamalan |
| The Strangers (2008) – Bryan Bertino |
| Suspiria (1977) – Dario Argento |
| The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) – Tobe Hooper |
| The Thing (1982) – John Carpenter |
| The Vanishing (1988) – George Sluizer |
| Vertigo (1958) – Alfred Hitchcock |
| Wait Until Dark (1967) – Terence Young |
| When a Stranger Calls (1979) – Fred Walton |
| The Wicker Man (1973) – Robin Hardy |
| The Witch (2015) – Robert Eggers |
| Wolf Creek (2005) – Greg McLean |
| The Wolf Man (1941) – George Waggner |
| Zodiac (2007) – David Fincher |
Need something a little lighter? Here’s a bonus list of horror-comedies:
Bonus List of Horror Comedies
(Alphabetical)
| The Addams Family (1991) — Barry Sonnenfeld |
| An American Werewolf in London (1981) — John Landis |
| Beetlejuice (1988) — Tim Burton |
| Cabin in the Woods (2011) — Drew Goddard |
| Dead Alive (1992) — Peter Jackson |
| Ernest Scared Stupid (1991) — John R. Cherry III |
| Ghostbusters (1984) — Ivan Reitman |
| Gremlins (1984) — Joe Dante |
| Hocus Pocus (1993) — Kenny Ortega |
| Little Shop of Horrors (1986) — Frank Oz |
| The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) — Tim Burton |
| Ready or Not (2019) — Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett |
| The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) — Jim Sharman |
| Scary Movie (2000) — Keenen Ivory Wayans |
| Shaun of the Dead (2004) — Edgar Wright |
| Tucker and Dale vs. Evil (2010) — Eli Craig |
| Warm Bodies (2013) — Jonathan Levine |
| Young Frankenstein (1974) — Mel Brooks |
| Zombieland (2009) — Ruben Fleischer |
And if you need even more ideas, check out my Top Scary Movies of 2023.
WTOP's Jason Fraley salutes the best scary movies (Part 2)
