My Top 7 Halloween Horror Movies

​I love horror movies - at least, now I do. It’s not always been that way. Up until 16, I had never watched a horror film and I had no desire to either; I mean, why would anybody want to scare themselves silly and have nightmares? Then at a sleepover with friends, they wanted to watch The Funhouse Massacre. So, I said ‘fine, but I’ll be hiding behind my phone.’ My eyes kept being drawn to the TV until I eventually gave up and watched. The film was pretty bad, but it opened my eyes. The following morning, we watched Ouija where my love flourished and has grown ever since. 

I know a lot of you are probably in the same mindset as I was - why would anyone voluntarily be terrified? Well, there's actually scientific research which explains. I will link the articles below so you can read more but here are the most commonly given reasons. 

1. People like being able to experience fear and the adrenaline rush in a safe environment 
   
2. People experience physiological arousal which heightens their emotions often in a positive way
   
3. The events of a horror film are a novelty which we are drawn to 
   
4. We are fascinated by the monstrous and psychopathic tendencies of the villain
   

It depends on the person as to why they like horror. For me, I guess it's a novelty and I find it entertaining. I am fascinated by psychopathic killers/villains, but I'm drawn more to crime shows for that reason, than horror films. 

I prefer modern horror films to the older ones as with the SFX and CGI now, horror films can be so much more complex and scary. I mean look at the Pennywise from the original IT and IT 2017. The original Pennywise was only scary because of how bad it was, in my personal opinion. 

So onto my top 7 Halloween 'horror' films. I say horror but use that term as loosely as you like as some of these may fall into the subgenres other than horror. I will put them in order of my favourites and rate them on a spoopiness, as I call it, scale of 1-5 (1 being a little bit spoopy, 5 being shit my pants.) Of course, I haven't seen every horror film ever so I'm sure in ten years, this list will have vastly changed. 

1. IT (2017)
   

In the Town of Derry, the local kids are disappearing one by one. In a place known as 'The Barrens', a group of seven kids are united by their horrifying and strange encounters with an evil clown and their determination to kill It.
👻👻👻👻 4 out of 5 spoops - I was terrified to go and see this film and rightly so! 

1. Annabelle: Creation (2017)
   

Twelve years after the tragic death of their little girl, a doll-maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, where they become the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.
👻👻 2 out of 5 spoops - a couple of good jumpscares but didn't find it massively scary but it is one of my favourite films! 

1. Conjuring 2 (2016)
   

Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren travel to London, where a single mother believes something evil is in her home. When the youngest daughter starts showing signs of demonic possession, Ed and Lorraine attempt to help, only to find themselves targeted.
👻👻 2 out of 5 spoops - it was fascinating and enjoyable to watch, a little predictable but I love it all the same. 

1. Scary Movie (2000)
   

A group of teenagers accidentally hit a man when driving, and dispose of the body, but now they are being stalked by a very recognisable masked killer. The victim count increases, whilst they must survive the carnage that they have seen in so many films before.
👻 1 out of 5 spoops - not even slightly scary, more hilarious but that's why it's so good. 

1. Insidious (2010)
   

A gripping story of a family in search of help for their son, Dalton, who fell into a coma after a mysterious incident. Little do they know that there is much more to this endless sleep than meets the eye as they explore the paranormal, face their demons and rediscover the past; the key to getting their son back once and for all.
👻👻👻 3 out of 5 spoops - there were a couple of scary moments where I jumped watching it and I got very freaked and scared.

1. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
   

Nancy is having nightmares about a frightening figure who wears a glove with razor-sharp "finger knives". When others who have similar dreams begin to die, Nancy realizes she must stay awake to survive. Uncovering the identity of the killer and his connection with the children of Elm Street, she draws him out into the real world.
👻👻👻👻👻 5 out of 5 spoops - totally 100% terrifying, that’s all I have to say, I was glued to the screen.

1. The Ring (2002)
   

A mysterious videotape is killing off anyone who watches it. The phone rings, telling them they have only one week to live. A young reporter named Rachel is investigating these events, but after she and her son watch the tape, it becomes a race against time to find out why the tape is killing and how it could be stopped.
👻👻👻 3 out of 5 spoops - it wasn’t as scary as I anticipated it to be because everyone who I knew had seen it said it was the most terrifying thing they’d ever watched but there were a few really good scary bits.

What are your favourite horror films/scary films to watch? Have you seen any of the ones on my list? Are you inspired to watch any of them after reading this article? If you do watch them, please comment on this article and let me know what you thought! 

Happy spooks!

Links to the articles:
Why Do We Like Horror Movies - Tufts: https://now.tufts.edu/articles/why-do-we-horror-movies
Why Some People Love Horror Movies While Others Hate Them - Psych Central: https://psychcentral.com/blog/why-some-people-love-horror-movies-while-others-hate-them/
Why Do We Like Watching Horror Movies and Being Scared: https://brobible.com/culture/article/why-do-people-like-watching-horror-movies-being-scared/