Screamin’ Scott’s Top 5 Scariest Horror Films of All Time

Scary Horror movies, love them, hate them — all have one common goal: to scare the pants off the person watching the movie. Now if you are a film buff like I am certain elements make up the Top 5 Scariest Horror Films of All Time.

The Season And Time You Watch Them

The Fall Season is when the changeover from Summer days to tree leaves changes. Rain and a bit of wind help set the mood. The sunset is early and it is dark after 8 pm. It’s great to curl up in front of the TV and cuddle up with someone close.

The Title Of The Film 

The title can be any length to describe what to watch. We learned a long title isn’t required anymore. Example: The movie is based on the Steven King novel. Known as, “IT.“Just two letters scared audiences for years. Check out the list of Horror Movies with long, ridiculous names by clicking this link here

Suspense 

Having viewers on the edge of their seats for horror films is essential. Keeping the audience interested and scared is the basis of making a great horror film.

Theme Music 

The best music has to go to John Carpenter’s original movie, “Halloween,” soundtrack. John says how it came to be, “The music was inspired by an exercise my father taught me on the bongos in 1961, the beating out of 5-4 time,” Carpenter commented in an interview before revealing that it took him three days to compose the entire score for the film.

Here’s My List Of The Top 5 Scariest Horror Films of All Time. 

In loving memory of Lawson J. Deming (1913–2007) Sir Graves Ghastly 

So my guests, turn off the lights and pull down the drapes. Cuddle up by your favorite spot by the telly and glue your little eyes to the TV screen for today’s tale of terror.

• BLACK SUNDAY

  #1  “Black Sunday.” Growing up this movie gave me nightmares that last to this day. Thanks to Detroit horror movie host, Sir Graves Ghastly. My only Italian gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava and starring Barbara Steele, and John Richardson. The movie plot is in the 1630s. Asa Vajda, a vampiric witch, and her relative Javutich are sentenced to death for sorcery by Asa’s brother Griabi. Asa vows revenge and puts a curse on Griabi’s descendants. Bronze masks with sharp spikes on the inside are placed over Asa and Javutich’s faces and hammered into their flesh, but a sudden storm prevents the villagers from burning them at the stake. The rest of the movie is blood and vengeance. Pretty cool, right?

• House on Haunted Hill (1959) Official Trailer - Vincent Price, Richard Long Horror Movie

  #2 Vincent Price in “The House on Haunted Hill.” The undisputed king of horror movies. My favorite actor by far when it comes to movie classics. Vincent Price as eccentric millionaire Frederick Loren. He and his wife, Annabelle, have invited five people to the house for a “haunted house” party. When one of the guests double dips a chip all hell breaks loose. Just kidding. The plot is whoever stays in the house for one night will earn $10,000. As the night progresses, all the guests are trapped inside the house with ghosts, murderers, and other terrors.

• GHOST TRAIN

  #3 “The Ghost Train.” This 2006 movie really made me jump out of my seat a few times. The only thing in searching for this movie is finding it with English subtitles. the Plot: On her way to school, high school girl Nana sees a train accident. Then Nana and her friend Kanae start to come across various bizarre phenomena, including red fingerprints and a female spirit who ‘lives’ on the station platform. One day, Nana’s younger sister is lost, and the only possibility seems to be that she has been taken by these spirits. Lots of twists and turns. Great camera tricks that have a big time, “gotcha” factor.

• THE BLOB 1958

  #4 “The Blob.”  This 1958 classic stars a young Steve McQueen. In fact, Steve McQueen was paid $3,000 for this role. Plot: This sci-fi classic follows teenagers Steven McQueen) and his girl, Jane, as they try to protect their hometown from a gelatinous alien life form that engulfs everything it touches. The best time as a kid was to see this film at an all-night Horror film fest at the Original Gratiot Drive-in when I had my first car.

• "IT" (2019)

   “IT,”  is based on the hugely popular Stephen King novel of the same name, which has been terrifying readers for decades. When children begin to disappear in the town of Derry, Maine, a group of young kids are faced with their biggest fears when they square off against an evil clown named Pennywise, whose history of murder and violence dates back centuries. We all have to agree on one thing, clowns are creepy. 

• Honorable Mention - MURDER BY DEATH

  I put this one in because I needed to clean the pallet of your brain and leave you with some comedy. There are some great horror movies that use a comic element to them.

  “Murder by Death.” My list wouldn’t be complete without one movie that was on the scare-comedy list. I mean, to laugh at someone getting murdered? This is one to watch all the way through. Best part it’s packed full of Hollywood actors. The Plot: Five of the Best private eyes, including Sam Diamond (Peter Falk), Sidney Wang (Peter Sellers), and Jessica Marbles (Elsa Lanchester), are invited to the mysterious Lionel Twain’s castle for a dinner party. There, they are told that Twain plans an unsolvable murder in the house at midnight.  No Spoilers but you will be amazed at the whole movie. I really don’t want to spoil anyone’s fun with this favorite of mine.

  Some of my all-time favorites are on this list. I could go on and on. Growing up, I watched TV’s King Ron Sweed as The Ghoul every Saturday Night on channel 50 and channel 20. On Saturday afternoons, my neighbor John and I always watched “Sir Graves Ghastly Presents,” a horror movie show with Lawson J. Deming as Sir Graves Ghastly that was screened right here in Detroit. Enjoy some of my favorites and in the words of Sir Graves, “Happy Haunting.”

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