90 Horror Movies So Scary You'll Never Sleep Again

The first movie widely considered to be truly scary is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), pictured above.

"Louis (Dale Midkiff), the patriarch of the Creed family, discovers an ancient cemetery behind his new house that has the power to revive dead animals — and, as he discovers later, revives people too. Without spoiling the plot, Louis makes several regrettable choices with some pretty regrettable consequences for his whole family. If you enjoyed Hereditary, you might enjoy this story about a similarly wretched family. The 2019 remake is also excellent, by which I mean terrifying."

—eazm24

"It felt so real and so heartbreaking to watch for the victims in the movie. I couldn't get it out of my mind for weeks."

—katd497fa0216

"I couldn't look at any reflective surface for about a week after I watched it. This movie is soooo creepy, but it's got a good twisty story and Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford are great in it. Definitely recommend if you like ghost movies."

—43920c533

"I was forced to watch it and then I had to force a friend to watch it. It’s like the ring, except you live but you’re definitely going to hell for watching it, so to make them pain bearable you gotta make someone else watch it."

—Perry

"I’m not that scared of monsters and stuff so I’m good with a lot of horror movies, but ughhhh *shivers*"

—purple72

"Holy crap. I don’t scare easily and I slept with the bedroom light on after watching this."

–CaitlinB

"The movie terrified my brother and I to the point that we covered our mirrors with blankets and slept in the same room for a few nights."

–jessamars

"I couldn't sleep for a good couple weeks thinking I was next, until that movie was out of my system. It was a cheesy movie, but a great type of cheesy."

–Rimuru Tempest

"It disturbed me so bad, I refuse to ever watch the movie again."

–vvvcorbin

"My dad got so scared that he kept waking up at 3 a.m. (the time when all the bad stuff happened in the movie) for an entire WEEK and he had to sleep with the lights on."

–lilithstormgoddess

"It’s one of the few horror movies that really got to me. While I LOVED the symbolism and metaphors, it just unsettled me too much to watch again."

—xcrunner1

"The film is brutal and scary in ways I’ve never experienced — one scene in particular made me audibly gag. I love horror movies, but I will never be able to watch this one again."

—paitay21

"This one messed me up for a while. I can never look at goats the same way again."

—charlief00

"I felt so disgusted that I actually had to shower right after the movie was over. I would definitely recommend it, but I could only stomach watching it once."

—ryno718

"It's not the actual film that got to me — there's just something about that mask that freaks me out."

—freudshock

"My grandma used to get me these porcelain dolls every year for my birthday as a kid, and I had to lock them all in a closet for a week after watching Annabelle."

—kennedyd4895ba3fb

"Mother! is probably the best movie I've ever watched. It was truly a masterpiece. But it made me so anxious from the beginning to the end, and that baby scene…I don’t think I could go through that again."

—lilysmiley7

"Yes, it’s a bit cheesy at some points, but the special effects are top notch, the monster design is great, the concept is cool, the set is awesome, etc. All in all I think it’s a really great 'fun' horror movie....Also, the Juggernaut was probably my favorite ghost because he felt like the most intimidating and the one you’re least likely to escape."

—Get_Jiggy41

"This movie is just so utterly devoid of hope — it reminded me so much of what grief really feels like. I actually sobbed in the movie theater and was in a funk for weeks after seeing it. I think it's an amazing movie, but I don't know that I ever want to voluntarily feel like that again."

—delorienaz

"I saw it opening weekend when no one had a clue. I thought it looked like a mildly interesting horror movie and decided to give it a shot. I was totally blown away. Not just the ending, it was the first scary movie I'd ever seen that was as good a drama as it was scary."

—Thegooddoctorcapaldi

"The thing that’s so scary about the first act of Jeepers Creepers is that it’s all taking place in broad daylight and it’s so. Fucking. Plausible. The back-and-forth bickering between siblings, the shortcut-that-isn’t, the crazy aggressive driver who seems to have a hard-on for ruining your drive for no reason. All totally real, mundane things that happen all the time."

—CrouchingDomo

"As Above, So Below was the last movie to actually scare me. I have seen so many horror movies that even jump scares have no effect, as producers have this habit of using music to lead into the scare. This movie just threw the jump scare in, no lead up or anything."

—rebelgirl87

"First of all, I really identified with the sense that danger is everywhere, demons are everywhere, nothing is ever safe... Second, nothing scares me more than losing my mind, being trapped in my own hell."

—JavierLoustaunau

"I watched it when I was a little girl. I’m 25 now and still extremely traumatized by it and I love horror movies. I can’t even say the name of the movie. Even to type it was hard. When they made the show about it recently and there were commercials on Hulu for it, every time it’d come on my heart would stop and I'd just shut my laptop and not continue lol. I just watched the trailer for Pulse because Japanese horror movies are the best but it made a similar sound to the G word (lol sorry) and I’m too scared."

—totoropotatoes

"Home invasion is one of my biggest fears. Really, anything that could actually happen to you on an average day is scarier to me than anything I've seen in The Exorcist or its ilk."

—Lady_Scruffington

"This movie literally made me pee my pants. I was part of a film club at my high school, and we watched this for Halloween. I'm usually a wimp about stuff like this, but I wanted to watch it and get over my fear. Bad idea. When it got to the part where the family was standing in the driveway and they suddenly moved, I actually screamed. It wasn't until the period ended and we turned the lights back on that one of my friends yelled, 'Hey! Did you pee your pants?!' The whole class saw and I had to tie a sweater around my waist for the rest of the day! I still haven't lived it down."

—slothgirl

"Jordan Peele is a mastermind, but that movie messed with my sleep schedule for a week. I always get nervous whenever I see a rabbit now."

—morganalexissk

"This movie was a f**king experience. For one, absolutely terrifying and gut-wrenching the from beginning to end. For two, I don't think I've ever felt more uncomfortable and disturbed while watching any movie. For three, the amount of twists and turns that the movie goes through while ending up with an amazing and coherent story is fantastic. For four, it almost feels like you the viewer are being put through some kind of torture. I almost wanted the movie to end not because it was bad but because I didn't want the characters to suffer anymore."

—TrappedInLimbo

"I watched the 9 p.m. showing of this with some friends and literally stayed up all night, cuddled in a blanket, sitting in a well-lit room, watching Bob's Burgers until the sun came up."

—tylersmith1

"It's on Amazon Prime and is absolutely unnerving. I love horror movies, so it takes a lot to spook me, but this one had me checking and rechecking my basement, door, and window locks multiple times a night."

—jessicad4b02081cc

"I know it’s considered a silly movie now, but when I left that theater with my friends, we were all terrified. That night when we all got home, a door blew open in our apartment building and we all screamed. Definitely lost some sleep over that one."

—abbyj6

"I watched this when I was really young. I thought it would be cute because of the puppets. I still have nightmares about it to this day."

—Chipotle Ducks

"There’s a terrifying scene where a woman gets hit by a car and her face gets deformed, but that’s nothing compared to the twist ending. I had to look at pictures of dogs on my phone for over an hour before I could even think about trying to go to sleep."

—lizlandmine

"A lot of people think the remake is just a dumb movie, but I’m a fully grown adult, it’s been YEARS since I saw it, and I STILL have a ridiculous fear that those little things are going to show up."

—jamiet47102d295

"The only horror movie I’ve seen that I have no desire to ever see again is this one from Turkey. The whole time, I felt like it was something I shouldn’t be watching. It’s bizarre, and I still find myself thinking about it every now and then. This might sound dramatic, but it kinda hurt my soul. I’ve seen a lot of gory and demonic films, but this is truly diabolical."

—Pawl Vahskez

"Don't forget The Human Centipede; that movie is fucked!"

—reannah3

"It's about the videographer who takes a job to help this guy record a film for his unborn son, since he has cancer and wanted to have something for his son to watch when he’s passed. Let me tell you, NOTHING scares me, but this was so (for lack of a better word) CREEPY. Each scene gave me so much anxiety that I had to watch The Office afterward to fall asleep."

—gabforga7

"It’s a Spanish-language found-footage movie. I’m pretty much only afraid of clowns, but this movie made me cry and gave me nightmares."

—Samantha Rose

"The kids in that movie were both unbelievably cruel AND realistic. To be a stranger in a strange town and to then be targeted by kids who are protected by their parents is actually pretty frightening. It stayed with me for a long time."

—D

"Like an appetizer platter from hell, this anthology series contains eight separate horror short films by eight different Mexican filmmakers. The stories mainly focus on urban legends involving things like trolls, demons, and zombies...so, you know, the stuff childhood nightmares are made of." 

—Allie Hayes

"This one messed with me. Like, I would wake up and see her everywhere. I think it lasted about a week."

—Taryn Bobo

"The 'actual footage' shown next to the movie footage freaked me out so much that my then-boyfriend (now-husband) had to stay the night because I was NOT about to sleep alone. I have yet to watch it again."

—c48a4d893e

"No exaggeration — it took me at least five tries to finish the whole movie."

—Lind3400

"This is the absolute perfect option if you just want to throw on something inexplicably ridiculous. Basically, during a sex-fueled spring break celebration, an earthquake opens up the bottom of the lake and unleashes a bunch of angry, toothy fish onto the unexpected partyers. Also, Adam Scott is in it???" 

—Allie Hayes

"It's an anthology film with little horror shorts based around different holidays, and the St. Patrick's Day segment scared me so much that I actually burst into tears and hid under my duvet. I am a massive horror fan, and it takes a hell of a lot to frighten me, but that one pushed at an existing phobia and added a whole new level of terror to it."

—Vanessa Atkins

“It’s this movie from the late ’70s that no one’s ever heard of, for some reason. It's basically about a family that rents a large estate one summer, and a whole lot of weirdness goes down. It will mess you up for life.”

—hanak

"This bad boy's mostly terrifying because it could definitely happen in real life: Two guys hold a wealthy family hostage and play some really sick mind games with them."

—noodle192000

"The Poughkeepsie Tapes scared the shit out of me for years."

—meganm4ecb6421d

"A group of teens traveling cross-country to write a book about roadside attractions come across a hitchhiker who tells them about 'the Museum of Monsters and Madmen' — but when they arrive, they're horrified to learn they're meant to become part of the attraction."

—Lia204

"A widower holds 'auditions' for women to be his new wife, but the lady he chooses is a completely different person from what he expected. You'll be confused for all but 10 minutes of the movie, and those 10 minutes are utterly unrelenting."

—jamess47081ca88

"Years before Saw, there was Cube — another movie about a group of people finding their way through a series of traps in order to survive. Except in this movie, they're in a gigantic cube, and the only thing they can remember about themselves is their own name."

—stephaniew49799347c

"If you're not usually freaked out by horror films, this one will do the trick: A family moves into a house that's haunted by a creature named Bagul who EATS CHILDREN'S SOULS. What the heck?!?!"

—taylort4c1217cc6

"A group of friends pick up a hitchhiker who ends up being from a family of cannibals. The villain, Leatherface, was inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein. HAHAHA, NOPE."

—j4f51439b8

"This Canadian passion project was completely funded through Indiegogo and follows a pretty standard formula for horror. Basically, a group of unsuspecting people get trapped in an isolated hospital surrounded by cult members and, you know, scary monsters and stuff." 

—Allie Hayes

"You've probably heard of this one: There's a creepy tape going around, and if you watch it, you'll die in seven days. Oh, and during those seven days, the spirits will mess with you and make your life a living hell."

—krystlem440d98989

"This requires no explanation. As Raven-Symoné would say, 'Ya nasty.'" 

—Allie Hayes

"A couple retreat to the woods after losing their child. While there, they start having strange visions and partaking in grossly violent acts. People who've seen this movie say they squirm thinking about it, long after watching."

—peggynicole

"A man who writes about haunted houses and the paranormal is prompted to visit allegedly haunted Room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel in New York City, and a shitstorm of scary stuff ensues. This is based on a short story by Stephen King, so you won't be disappointed."

—ovenbakedbread

"A couple starts seeing some disturbing images in some of their photos — ghosts, demons, blood, you name it — and even worse, they learn that these strange occurrences are very personal messages from the underworld."

—maryah3

"This movie's gorgeous, but don't let that fool you — it's so terrifying. A young girl joins a prestigious ballet company but soon finds herself in the midst of a series of murders. Life hack: Never be ambitious."

—christianp4f054c963

"Even if you have the most basic, limited knowledge of horror movies, you've probably heard of Raw. The film quickly became defined by its word-of-mouth publicity a couple of years back, which involved everything from people getting physically sick to full-on fainting in theaters. I would definitely NOT recommend it if you have a soft stomach." 

—Allie Hayes

"A TV reporter and her cameraman respond to a late-night emergency call that turns into a living nightmare. If you're into zombie movies, you'll honestly poop your pants during this one. This is the film that inspired Quarantine."

—csmith22

"An entity, referred to as 'It,' appears in the form of its victim's worst fears in order to exploit them. Um, that's TERRIFYING?!"

—uhhlayynuhh

"A family from the 'burbs is on a road trip when they encounter a group of savages in the middle of nowhere, Nevada. You'll never want to vacation again after watching this."

—jayhimself

"Bloody Reunion is a pretty good one."

—crusheduproses

"Has anyone seen Silent Hill: Revelation? I didn't sleep for four days after watching that."

—randar3

"Are we not gonna talk about Dark Water? Not the American one, the original one. That movie has some disturbing, and sadly realistic, things to say about our expectations for motherhood. It remains the scariest movie I've ever seen, I think."

—annamariej2

"The plot of this one sounds like something you'd say to your friends when you're really, REALLY drunk: "Okay, guys, but, like, what if my vagina had teeth?" That's the whole plot of the film. It's ridiculous, but somehow also amazing. The poor girl probably needs a gynecologist AND a dentist at the same time, and it sounds like an insurance nightmare." 

—Allie Hayes

"Strange Circus is one of the craziest, most effed-up movies ever...tons of plot twists and an ending that will stick with you, along with all the creepiness you've come to know and love from Japanese horror."

—sarang

"Am I alone in thinking that The Blair Witch Project should be on here? I get nightmares just thinking about it."

—jessis482c08fe9

"The Possession of Michael King is by far the scariest movie I have ever seen. Found it in a red box a while ago."

—evanscypressce

"Two American tourists and an anthropology student travel to Jerusalem at the absolute worst possible time, when it is being overrun by demons on a (literal) biblical level. It's an actual nightmare and will remind you that religion is terrifying, in case you somehow forgot." 

—Allie Hayes

"I'm fine with horror movies, but — for absolutely no reason at all — I got night terrors for three days straight after watching this."

—Jilli Ishijima

"No exaggeration, this movie nearly put me in therapy. I watched it not knowing what it was about, and I already had an irrational fear of aliens. I almost had a heart attack."

—jcantu

"This was the very first horror movie I ever saw. I was having a sleepover with a friend that night, but we did not sleep AT ALL. I couldn't look into a mirror for months afterward."

—killerrqueen

"I just watched this last night, and it's disturbing AF. I really recommend it if you're bored by ordinary monster/demon/Satan/entity horror movies and jump scares. It's disturbing and has like three major plot twists."

—Fanni Scheuer

"I used to love ghost shows and even enjoyed how cheesy they were sometimes. This movie did a good job playing on that and making me smirk at times with nostalgia, but also staying true to the creepy and unsettling. Plus it's found footage, another one of my faves. What's not to love?"

—u/thawkzzz

"Fucked-up shit right there!"

—Hannah James

"I watched this at a very young age, and I'm now an adult who sleeps with a night-light. Thanks, Dad."

—spicyspice

"It's a really good, creepy movie with Michael Keaton that not a lot of people know about, but I highly recommend it!"

—Devon Mullen

"The 'Anybody in there? Anybody home?' scene from this movie was so unexpected, it made me jump out of my seat the first time, and it gave me nightmares for days afterward. I still enjoy the film from time to time, but that scene makes me uneasy."

—Haley Drake

"The original deserves a spot on this list."

—Shehnaz Rehman

"It’s a surrealist film about the story of creation, and it’s pretty much just those Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book illustrations by Stephen Gammell come to life. Need I say more? It'll give you nightmares for life." 

—peytonbeard

"When I was little, I watched it and was petrified of the 'Thanks for the ride, lady!' story. My parents would chase me around the house yelling it to scare me! Thirty-plus years later and my mom STILL brings it up (and it STILL gives me goosebumps). I don't like dark roads, even as an adult."

—Kristin McCoy

"I saw it when I was about 8, and — although I had already seen other horror movies because my parents were huge horror fans — this movie was the only one to give me nightmares. To this very day, I get apprehensive around undertakers, especially if they are tall and wearing a dark suit."

—Gimpypimp

"I know some people don't consider it a horror movie, but man, that movie is fucked."

—Amanda Davis