Love a good scary Halloween movie? I’m not talking about the family-friendly Casper variety, I mean the horror movies that make you jump and spill your popcorn across the room! If so, you’re going to love these scary Halloween movies for adults! They’ll have you sleeping with the lights on long after the trick or treaters wipe out your candy supply!
Head’s up: we’re included the trailers for each of these scary Halloween movies. They’re not on autoplay or anything, but don’t click the play button if you have sensitive little eyes around, okay?
Related:Not So Spooky, But Oh So Fun Halloween Family Movies
Best Scary Halloween Movies for Adults
House of 1000 Corpses
House of 1000 Corpses was released in 2003, directed by Rob Zombie and stars Chris Hardwick, Rainn Wilson, Sid Haig, Bill Moseley and Sheri Moon Zombie. The movie is rated R because of strong sadistic violence and gore, nudity and strong language. When two couples set out to research a local legend, Dr. Satan, they get lost and end up prisoners of a family of psychotic and bizarre serial killers.
The Haunting
The Haunting was released in 1999, was a remake of the 1963 movie of the same name and stars Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Owen Wilson and Lili Taylor. The movie is rated PG-13 because of violence and gore, strong language and intense scenes. When a team of paranormal professionals investigate the strange happenings that are occurring in an ill-fated home, they soon discover they are fighting for their lives and the house is fighting back.
House on Haunted Hill
House on Haunted Hill was released in 1999, was a remake of the 1959 movie of the same name and stars Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs, Ali Larter, Jeffrey Combs and Peter Graves. The movie is rated R due to horror violence and gore, nudity and some strong language. A wealthy millionaire offers to pay a group one million dollars if they spend the night in a house that is supposedly haunted. The group thinks it is all a joke but think twice when strange things begin to occur.
Thir13en Ghosts
Thir13en Ghosts was released in 2001, was a remake of the 1960 movie 13 Ghosts and stars F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Lillard, Tony Shalhoub, Embeth Davidtz and J.R. Bourne. The movie is rated R due to horror violence and gore, sexual images and strong language. A man, his two kids, nanny and attorney become prisoners of a home that is one big evil machine.
The Conjuring
The Conjuring came out in 2013 and I still don’t like to sleep with my feet uncovered! When that ghost grabbed the girls foot and yanked? Nightmares for months! Years even! It’s based on the works of actual parapsychologists, the incredibly famous Ed and Lorraine Warren (well-known for debunking the Amityville Horror). If you don’t believe in ghosts, it’s just a scary movie. If you do believe, the fact that they claim to base it on a true story will scare the pants right off you!
If you’re feeling super brave, have yourself a scary Halloween movies for adults marathon! Otherwise, enjoy one or two a night leading up to the big holiday. Just make sure the kids are safely tucked away and dreaming of happier haunts because these are most definitely not appropriate for little ghouls!
Oh yes, it’s nearing Halloween and these are the perfect movies to watch together with friends. Spending a night in someone’s house and celebrating the occasion in a pajama party while watching these films will be great. I bet there will be lots of screams and laughters in every movie. The Haunting is really scary!
So I am huge chicken and I have never watched a Horror Movie. I will have to pass this list of the top 5 scary Halloween movies onto my husband though! I am sure he will be checking them all out if he hasn’t watched them yet as he loves Horror flicks!
Thanks for sharing this awesome list! I love horror movie. Fun to watch and perfect for halloween ! I may have to watch them after kids go to bed
NOPE! NOPE! And double NOPE! I do not like scary movies! My son totally makes fun of me and tries to sneak me in a room with a creepy movie on. I swear – i have nightmares if I see anything creepy!
I love horror movies but find that most of them are just HORRible. I am happy to come across this list of movies that I can check out for Halloween this year!
I have only seen a few of these. My hubby is a scary movie lover and I may pop some popcorn and we can curl up on the couch, candles lit, for a scary movie marathon date night! Thanks!
I am absolutely TERRIFIED of scary movies, so I’m hoping this article doesn’t give me nightmares. My husband loves them, though, so maybe I will stick him downstairs in the creepy basement and have him watch all of the ones you suggest. I remember watching Children of the Corn as a kid and it absolutely TERRIFIED me.
I actually don’t know that I have seen any of these! I may have to see if I can find these to watch this year for Halloween. I think it would be a good stay at home date night for us this month to do a scary movie night with Halloween coming up!
I am obsessed with scary movies! I love to be scared (is that weird?) and I purposely watch by myself lol! My favorite are the Halloween series and Scream
My husband is a huge fan of scary halloween movies. We always try to stay up late after trick or treating, snack on some of the kids candy (shhhh, don’t tell) and want a scary movie. Now we have some new ones to add to our list. Now its just deciding which one to watch!
I love scary movies and have ever since I was a kid. I have only seen 1 of these movies, I will have to check out the rest though, they sound great. My husband isn’t as big on them as me but these look like some he would enjoy as much as I would. Thanks for sharing!
I can’t believe it is almost Halloween time! I love scary movies, I can’t wait till my kids are old enough to be able to enjoy them. I do have to say that I enjoy the older scary movies over some of the newer ones.
Oh my gosh! This post is right up my alley! I LOVE horror movies – they are my FAVORITE! I am not really into slasher movies, but I love anything about ghosts and aliens. I need to check all of these out! With October just around the corner, I’m already in the mood for scary movies! 🙂
Ooooh…They all sound scary to me because I am a wimp. I’m the one who sits and covers my eyes the entire time. The Conjuring sounds like a good scary movie. I don’t really believe in ghosts, but I do like when movies are based (at least somewhat) on true stories. That would probably be a good movie for me to watch. The Haunting story line sounds very familiar, but I don’t remember seeing it. Maybe I did see it, but my hands were covering my eyes!? lol
Thanks for the awesome line up of scary movies!
When I was little I was a huge Scary movie fan. I remember being 9 years old and sneaking over to my neighbours house to watch all the Nightmare on Elm St movies. I think now that I am an adult, I find the real world scary enough!! A few of my favourite scary movies is Blair Witch Project (if you can get past the moving camera!) and Paranormal activity!!
We just recorded the Conjuring. The last scary movie I watched I can’t even remember. I do watch them with my hubby and we both are usually like why are we doing this to ourselves. lol We love them but I could use an extra pair of hands to hide my eyes. haha
I have only seen Thirteen ghosts it was a good movie and it wasn’t scary. I haven’t seen a really really good scary movie that I mean will make you scream in a while.
I’ve never seen any of these! I miss the scary movies of old like jason, Freddie, and the shining. The new scary movies are so psychological in nature! It makes them even scarier if that makes sense! LOL