20 Best Horror Movies of All Time, Ranked

George Romero's Night of the Living Dead is probably the definitive zombie movie — a film that created the standards that all other zombie movies are held up to. In it, a group of people hole up in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania when flesh-eating monsters, who've come back from the dead, attack the US East Coast.

The original The Amityville Horror is based on true events and has spawned a number of remakes and sequels over the years. It's the truly haunting tale of a husband and father who, after moving into what's to be a known haunted house with his wife and kids, begins to believe the home is possessed … and suffers a psychotic break that leads him to turn on his family.

Starring film legends Kathy Bates and James Caan, Misery is a seriously disturbing film based on the novel of the same name by horror icon Stephen King. It's about an author whose obsessed fan holds him captive in her remote home when he's stranded after crashing his car during a blizzard. Unfortunately, she's a violent psychopath and spends the following days torturing her favorite author.

Another classic from author Stephen King, the 1989 film adaptation of Pet Sematary is one creepy movie. When a man's daughter's beloved cat dies, he follows a neighbor's advice and buries it in what the local kids call the "pet sematary," which is actually an ancient native burial ground harboring the power to re-animate anyone buried there. When tragedy strikes, the man returns to the burial ground to invoke its powers once again.

Stephen King's following is obviously quite loyal as 1990's It, starring Tim Curry, also tops the list of the best horror films of all time. It is about a group of social outcasts that must fight off a deranged demon who disguises himself as a clown in order to lure children, was originally released as a TV mini-series, but has since been released in theaters as well as spawned a two-part modern remake.

This bone-chilling film, starring Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne, is about a little boy who has hidden astral projection abilities. He thinks he's dreaming, but all the while he's visiting an alternate realm where demons are attempting to trap him, making it seem as if he's in a coma from the outside. Desperate to save their son, his parents recruit the help of a paranormal specialist, inciting a terrifying series of events.

Another zombie flick, 1981's The Evil Dead is about a group of young friends who escape for a getaway at a remote cabin, discovering a strange book upon their arrival. The book leads them to unknowingly awaken the dead who've turned into flesh-eating demons. The friends must fight for survival, or risk being possessed by the demons themselves.

From another great horror mind comes The Thing. This John Carpenter film follows a group of American scientists researching in Antarctica, who, after an accident, visit the continent's Norwegian base — only to find everyone dead. As they try to figure out what happened, they discover that a deadly shape-shifting alien is on the loose, and the gore fest begins.

In the haunting film, The Conjuring starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga, a family living in a remote farmhouse in Rhode Island is being terrorized by paranormal forces. They recruit the help of paranormal investigators who determine there's a satanic spirit haunting them and subsequently set out to banish it before it's too late.

The Omen is another classic horror film so memorable that it's inspired a number of remakes and sequels. The 1976 original, starring Gregory Peck, is still arguably the spookiest. It's about an American ambassador and his family who begin experiencing a series of tragedies they soon attribute to their adopted son … who they suspect is actually the anti-Christ.

Of course, the absolutely iconic horror film, Carrie — starring Sissy Spacek and John Travolta — makes the list of the best of all time. This film, also based on a Stephen King novel, is the shockingly scary story of a friendless, sheltered teen girl who, after months of being brutally bullied by her classmates, turns her powerful telekinetic abilities on them.

This sci-fi horror, starring Sigourney Weaver, is horrifying simply because, while the story line is totally bizarre, the alien itself is insanely scary. When the crew of a spaceship returning home receives a distress call, they land on the moon to investigate and discover a dangerous fledgling lifeform that threatens to destroy them all.

In the unforgettable 1982 horror film Poltergeist, written by Steven Spielberg, a young family's home is being haunted by ghosts that initially seem harmless. After gaining the trust of the family, though, they begin to terrorize them, ultimately kidnapping the youngest daughter, Carol Anne. Her family must figure out how to rescue her before she disappears forever.

Blood, guts, and gore are the name of the game in any iteration of the The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, but there's just something about the 1974 original that has yet to be matched. This gore fest follows a group of teens on a road trip to Texas who stumble upon the home of a family of insane cannibals intent on making the teens their next meal.

Since its release in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho has incited terror in generation after generation of film fanatics. It's about a woman on the run who ends up staying at a remote motel run by a docile young man named Norman Bates — who's been driven mad by his domineering mother. This film has made so great an impact that there's also a successful TV series called Bates Motel that was inspired by it.

The 1991 film, starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, The Silence of the Lambs, has made an indelible mark on American pop culture. The film's brilliant villain, Hannibal Lecter, is still referenced and quoted in everyday conversations nearly 30 years after the film's release. Based on the book of the same name, it's about a young FBI agent who enlists the help of an imprisoned, cannibalistic killer to help her catch a serial killer.

There's a reason John Carpenter's original 1978 Halloween — starring a young Jamie Lee Curtis — has garnered a trove of loyal fans, near countless sequels, and a spot on everyone's must-watch Halloween movie list: It's absolutely terrifying. This is the scary movie that will literally give anyone who sees it nightmares. It somehow manages to build mystery and tension while still bringing lots of thrills and chills. It is, of course, about a woman whose estranged psychopathic brother escapes from a mental institution intent on killing almost anyone who crosses his path.

Freddy Kruger will forever deserve a place on any list of the best horror movies. The original A Nightmare on Elm Street, directed by Wes Craven, features a young Johnny Depp and Robert Englund as the blade-fingered killer. It's about the spirit of a child murderer who seeks revenge by haunting the dreams of the teenagers whose parents he blames for his death.

Stephen King makes the list of best horror movies of all time once again at No. 2, with The Shining, starring Jack Nicolson in a performance that helped cement his place in Hollywood. This chilling film is about a family staying at a remote resort where the father works as the hotel's caretaker. The father begins to slowly go insane as he's haunted by sinister forces lurking throughout the property. His young son simultaneously discovers that he has strong psychic abilities that allow him to see the beings terrorizing his father.

The 1972 film The Exorcist — about a young girl who begins acting oddly, leading her parents to discover that she's been possessed by an evil spirit — will likely never lose its spot on the throne of the horror movie kingdom. The film, which was inspired by true events, has itself inspired an entire sub-genre of horror movies, including a number of sequels and remakes of the original.