The Best Classic Horror Movies Of All Time

Written and directed by Wes Craven - who is widely considered to be a master of the horror genre - A Nightmare on Elm Street cleverly blurs the lines between reality and fantasy with terrifying consequences.

The plot follows a group of teenagers (including Johnny Depp in his film debut) who are targeted by Freddie Kruger, (Robert Englund) an undead child killer who can murder people through their dreams.

Honestly, this film is the stuff nightmares are made of - literally and figuratively.

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford play warring sisters and former movies stars Jane and Blanche as they emotionally torture each other due to jealousy and guilt.

Not only did Whatever Happened to Baby Jane receive five Academy Award nominations in 1962, but Baby Jane Hudson is often hailed as one of the best villains of American cinema. Need any more convincing that Whatever Happened to Baby Jane is one of the best classic horror movies? The film originally received an 18+ rating in the UK.

Obviously there had to be a Stephen King adaptation making its way onto the list, and naturally we chose Carrie. The film has been spoofed and remade so many times over the years, but the original is still an absolute classic.

Carrie White (Sissy Spacek) - an unpopular 16 year old girl who is bullied for having a fanatically religious mother - has the same dreams as most American high schoolers: to go to prom. But thanks to her telekinetic powers, nothing goes to plan - and prom may just be the last thing that these high school students ever experience.

If nothing else, Carrie will always serve as a reminder to be nice to everyone!

The The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise has grown to include nine films, but the original 1974 movie is the most terrifying of the lot.

The film follows a group of friends on a road trip who fall victim to a family of cannibals whose choice of weapon - as well as hammers and meat hooks - is of course the chainsaw.

With certain scenes filmed as though from the victims' perspectives, this is definitely one of the most gruesome picks on our list of the best classic horror films.

We're all familiar with the creepy slasher doll known as Chucky, with his iconic red hair and dungarees, but the first film to introduce him was Child's Play.

The classic horror movie tells the story of six year old Andy (Alex Vincent) who receives a Chucky doll from his mum (Catherine Hicks), who was unaware that the seemingly innocent toy actually contained the soul of serial killer Charles Lee Ray. As if dolls weren't creepy enough, right?

Look at that little face! Bet you didn't think that was the face of a boy who can supposedly see and talk to the dead.

Starring Bruce Willis, Toni Collette and of course Haley Joel Osment, The Sixth Sense could probably be categorised as more of a thriller than a horror film, but we're including it because A) It's phenomenal and B) There's about ten solid minutes which feel very at home in a classic horror movie and will leave you terrified to look under your bed for weeks.

This French horror film has truly stood the test of time and is still one of the creepiest movies that we've ever seen.

The plot of Eyes Without A Face follows plastic surgeon Dr Genessier as he attempts to perform a face transplant on his daughter after her face was disfigured following an accident. But in order to succeed, Dr Genessier requires plenty of fresh faces which leads him to kidnap and brutally mutilate innocent girls.

Perhaps the most iconic and recognisable of all horror movies, The Shining - based on another Stephen King novel and directed by Stanley Kubrick, so you just know it's going to be completely sick and twisted - stars Jack Nicholson as Jack, a recovering alcoholic who starts working at the Overlook Hotel with his son Danny (Danny Lloyd) who has psychic abilities.

The film is so terrifying that the creepy hand-holding twins aren't even a major part of the plot, just an extra surprise!

Despite recent confusion, Frankenstein was the name of the crazy scientist who created a living creature from body parts, not the name of the monster itself - who in this 1931 version is powerful and terrifying.

For those of you who have read the book, the Kenneth Branagh/ Robert DeNiro version stays truer to the Mary Shelley novel, but this version is definitely the scarier of the two.

Another day, another horror film featuring a small child, far more terrifying than their cute outward appearance.

The Omen tells the story of young boy Damien Thorn (Harvey Stephens), who isn't actually Robert (Gregory Peck) and Kathy (Lee Remick) Thorn's son, but rather the Antichrist in human form who won't rest until everyone that comes near him is dead.

This supernatural horror film (which used real life skeletons as props btw) is about a family who find their home invaded by evil spirits who corrupt and then kidnap their five year old daughter, Carol Anne (Heather O'Rourke).

Considered one of the best films of 1982, Poltergeist was nominated for three Academy Awards, but lost out to Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra Terrestrial for every single one. Ironically, Steven Spielberg served as a writer and producer on The Poltergeist...

Pegged as a horror-comedy, The Lost Boys features an all-star cast (we're talking Corey Haim, Keifer Sutherland and Corey Feldman to name just a few) battling it out as vampires VS vampire hunters.

It's gory, gruesome and sarcastic - what more could you want?

Of course Alfred Hitchcock was going to make an appearance on this list. After all, the man practically invented the horror/thriller genre!

Psycho is perhaps the most iconic of all of Hitchcock's movies (nothing quite sends shivers down our spine like that instantly recognisable high pitched strings soundtrack, matching the stabbing motion for the shower scene). It's scary, twisty and everyone's ridiculously attractive... well, not everyone.

Following the disappearance of on-the-run embezzler Marion Crane (Janet Leigh, aka Jamie Lee Curtis' mum), her boyfriend (John Gavin) and sister (Vera Miles) begin investigating what has happened to Marion - only to find themselves staying at the eerie Bates Motel, run by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his mother.

Based on the novel of the same name by H G Wells, The Invisible Man tells the story of Dr Jack Griffins (Claude Rains), who is turned invisible by a secret experiment and thus forced to cover his body in bandages so that people can see him. Frustrated but also amused by his new situation, Dr Griffins tests out the limits of his new superpower.

Will he use it for good or evil? It is a horror film, so you can probably guess...

Mia Farrow stars in Roman Polanski's Rosemary's Baby as Rosemary - the only person who seems to be a normal person in the Bramford apartment building in New York City. Unfortunately she's spot on being suspicious of her neighbours, because they're satanists and will stop at nothing in their mission to turn Rosemary's unborn child into the Antichrist. And you thought your neighbours were bad...

It's a pretty graphic film at points, but well worth a watch (even it's from behind a cushion).

Before the hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House there was the The Haunting released in 1963 (there was also a remake in 1999 starring Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor, but we don't like to talk about that).

Based on the book of the same name that triggered all these remakes, the plot follows four friends (Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn) who are invited by a paranormal investigator to explore a supposedly haunted house.

Cleverly filmed, this classic horror film will have you on the edge of your seat.

What's more terrifying than a classic horror movie? Well, a classic horror movie based on a true story of course...

The Amityville Horror follows a young couple (James Brolin - the spit of his famous son Josh Brolin - and Margot Kidder) after they purchase a home in Amityville. What they haven't realised is that their new house is where the entire DeFeo family were murdered by Ronald DeFeo Jr (that's the true bit) a few years earlier. Cue some spooky, supernatural occurrences.

Surely that face is more than enough to convince you that this film will give you nightmares for days to come.

Yes, it's another film where a formerly innocent child is possessed by the Antichrist (he sure does get around), but it's perhaps the scariest one yet. We'll leave you to decide.

The Exorcist stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Jason Miller and Linda Blair.

For those of us who don't even like the pigeons in London, Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds will always take the crown for the best classic horror movie.

Very loosely based on the Daphne du Maurier short-story of the same time, this film documents a series of unexplained and violent bird attacks in a small beach town in California and stars Rod Taylor and Tippi Hedren in her screen debut.

Although this film is fictional, The Blair Witch Project is filmed in such a way as to make you feel like you're watching a documentary and it's truly terrifying.

After three student filmmakers go missing after heading into the Black Hills in Maryland to film a documentary about the Blair Witch - who supposedly lives in the forrest and abducts and murders children - their discarded footage is discovered years later.

There aren't many films that are perfect... except for His House apparently. Starting the list off strong with an iconic 100% rating, the film - from BAFTA-winning Brit director Remi Weekes - follows Bol and Rial as they flee their war-torn home country of South Sudan, seeking refuge in the UK. But once they arrive, they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has evil lurking beneath the surface.

As if Zoom meetings weren't scary enough, this horror film is the most 2020 thing ever. Set entirely over a video call, in Host, six friends get much more than they bargained for after inviting a demonic presence into their homes. Much like your most Zoom calls, you simply won't know where to look. What's next - haunted banana bread?

After watching a haunted VHS tape featuring that iconic creepy girl having a bad hair day, newspaper reporter Rachel Keller discovers she has exactly seven days to unravel the mystery behind it. A classic for any horror movie marathon, The Ring is bound to have your heartbeat doing some interval training.

Think about your typical 90s rom-rom, and then turn it very dark. Lola Stone invites Brent Mitchell to prom - but when Brent says no, it turns out to be the worst mistake he’ll ever make. With the help of her father, Lola puts together a prom where Brent is her prom king, whether he likes it or not. Horrifying yet humourous, this cult classic The Loved Ones is a warning of when puppy love goes horribly wrong.

Is there anything scarier than creepy children? Young widow Amelia and her son Samuel fall into a deep wall of paranoia after a freaky pop-up book titled 'Mister Babadook' suddenly manifests in their home, telling the story of a murderous top-hat wearing creature who's out to get them. This psychological thriller, The Babadook, will have you on edge from beginning to end as you figure out what's real... and what isn't.

Five months into their relationship, it's time for Chris to meet his girlfriend Rose's parents upstate. But Chris can't help but feel slightly worried about how that'll react - after all, Rose hasn't told them that he's Black. And after stumbling into their world, Chris starts to realise that things are very, very wrong. Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Get Out explores racism in what is perhaps the most clever - and unsettling - horror film of all time.

Some fresh meat on the horror scene, this film follows Cecilia - otherwise known as Sissy - who is a social media wellness influencer living the dream. That is, until she runs into her ex-bff Emma, and bags herself an invite to her bachelorette party. Suddenly, Sissy finds herself stuck in a remote cabin with her school bully... and a major taste for revenge. Glittery, unpredictable, and incredibly satisfying, a rating of 97% makes Sissy very almost perfect.

There’s a reason why Stephen Spielberg’s film about a huge, killer shark, is still a cult classic today. When a killer shark shows up in a popular tourist town, police chief Martin Brody teams up to catch the sharp-toothed beast before it takes any more lives. Granted, the special effects aren’t quite as chilling as they were back in the day – but with the lights turned off, the Jaws theme tune is enough to get you thinking twice about any night-time dip.

Kevin and Beth's eight-year-old son is spending a lot of time playing with his imaginary friend, Z. But what seems like harmless fun soon turns into something destructive and dangerous. Tapping into a very real fear, Z is a film about what happens when your child isn’t turning out quite how you imagined they would – in fact, they might just be totally psychotic.

On the 31st October in 1963, six-year-old Mike Myers brutally murders his older sister. And after being locked away for 15 years, Mike makes a lucky escape and returns to his hometown to hunt down his next victims. Featuring a teenage Jamie Lee Curtis, the first film came out in 1978 whilst the final film, Halloween Ends, came out last year. Movie marathon, anybody?

This Norwegian horror film, The Innocents, had critics spooked when it was released– and with a host of creepy children, it’s no surprise. During their summer holidays, a group of children begin to reveal their mysterious powers. But what starts out as innocent fun soon takes a dark turn. With a rating of 96%, this film will get those anxiety levels sky high.

A home invasion thriller with a major twist, Hush tells the story of Maddie Young - a deaf-mute author who spends much of her time in her peaceful, secluded woodland home. Until a masked killer turns up on her doorstep, that is. Containing less than 15 minutes of dialogue in total, this horror film is a cliché with a twist that will have every single one of your senses heightened to the max.