Top Scary Movies of All Time

A great scary movie will frighten even the most unshakable scary movie lover. Movies that provide enough fright factor to keep you up at night are priceless. The horror genre of movies includes all types of movies. The movies selected for the "Top Scary Movies of All Time," do not include any of the "slasher movies," popular in the late 1970's and on. Instead, many of the movies selected rely on psychological scare tactics and the supernatural to provide the horror.

After selecting the movie on this list, I realized that all were from a golden age in scary movies, mainly the years from 1973 through the mid-eighties, peaking between 1976-79. Many of these horror classics paved the way for today's terror thrillers.

The Shining (1980)

Jack Nicholson never looked better as a crazed lunatic possessed by something unholy, in The Shining. Shelley Duval plays his terrorized wife, who soon learns that that both Jack and the deserted hotel out in the middle of nowhere, have a touch of madness. The "Red Rum" message was a highlight in the movie that seemed to intensify the growing sense of panic and doom.

Poltergeist (1982)

This movie was an early 80's hit at theaters. Ghosts that talk through television sets before they begin to possess the house, meat with maggots, and a little lady who talks to the bothersome poltergeists, all add to the scare factor of Poltergeist. Who can forget little Carol Anne's announcement stating, "they're here," or the scene when brother Robbie gets attacked by the clown doll? This movie brought poltergeists into the minds and homes of many when it debuted in 1982.

The Exorcist (1973)

Linda Blair was only an adolescent when she made this ultimate horror movie in the 1970's. This movie was one of the first to show the graphic and sometimes violent actions of a girl possessed by the devil. The voice changes are disturbing and the idea of possession as a movie plot makes this horror classic stand out among all the other sequels and copycat films. Nothing can compare to the first Exorcist. Rumor has it that this horror movie scared people right out of the theater when it first came out in theaters.

Jaws (1975)