10 Terrifying Movies
to Stream This Halloween

The end of October means it's time for watching spooky movies in the dark. And the big three streaming sites have stacked their line-ups with horror flicks that are all but guaranteed to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. There are slashers, thrillers and just plain creepy cult classics for viewers of all fear thresholds. So kill the lights, curl up and press play on one of these ten.

Hush

By far, one of our favorite horror films in recent years. This low-budget home-invasion thriller centers around a deaf and mute writer who heads to a remote cabin in the woods, only to be terrorized by a masked home invader. Tense, breathless and realistically frightening with plenty of scares, the inherent cat-and-mouse aspect of the story only gets more intense as time goes on.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer

The Babadook

This twisted tale follows a troubled widow who discovers that her son might be telling the truth about a monster that's entered their home through the pages of a book. The movie is one hell of a jump scare-filled fright fest, but it's most effective in the slower quiet moments that explore a parent's natural fears.

Streaming on Netflix and Hulu (via Showtime)  |  Watch the trailer

The Invitation

A psychological thriller built upon slow-simmering tension, this dinner-party-from-hell story starts out like a dramedy about 30-something yuppies and their relationship woes. But it soon becomes about a guy who realizes that his ex-wife and her new husband have sinister plans for the guests.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer

Children of the Corn

A touch campy, with all the production value you'd expect from an '80s horror film, this Stephen King classic still has one thing going for it—those creepy ass kids. They're part of a sinister cult that offers human sacrifices to a bloodthirsty deity dubbed "He Who Walks Behind the Rows." Nine sequels have been spawned but the original still holds up.

Streaming on Netflix and Amazon Prime  |  Watch the trailer

It Follows

There's no gruesome monsters or masked madmen in this low-budget cult hit. The unseen terror can come from any direction at any time and seemingly can't ever be stopped. All you can do is run ... or damn someone new by transmitting the possession through sex. The STI metaphor is definitely on the nose, but the creeping suspense is a welcome alternative to usual screeching horror fare.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer

The Wailing

A metaphysical masterpiece drenched with local mythology and classic horror tropes, this is an epic film. It all starts with a foreigner's mysterious appearance in a quiet, rural village. This causes some suspicion among the locals—suspicion which turns to paranoia and then quickly escalates to hysteria as the townspeople begin killing each other in brutal outbursts for seemingly no reason.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer

The Nightmare

A documentary about sleep disorders doesn't sound all that scary, especially when you think about Freddy Krueger. But this examination of sleep paralysis (where sufferers are awake but can't move their bodies) chills thanks to dramatizations of the people, creatures and things they sometimes see when immobilized.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

Starring Donald Sutherland, Brooke Adams and a young Jeff Goldblum, this 1978 remake of the 1956 classic film is set in a moody San Francisco besieged by an invisible enemy. Paranoia sets in as they realize the human race is being replaced one by one, with dangerous emotionless clones. Despite being nearly four decades old, this one is still plenty scary.

Streaming on Hulu  |  Watch the trailer

The Witch

This thoroughly creepy atmospheric film, set in 17th century New England is a grisly and gruesome take on the folk tales of the time. When a farmer's youngest son suddenly vanishes under the care of his older sister, paranoia and fear takes hold. The girl is accused of witchcraft, testing the clan's faith, loyalty and love to one another. To say that this movie is eerie is a vast understatement.

Streaming on Amazon Prime  |  Watch the trailer

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Okay, so this last one isn't terrifying. It's downright charming. But this stop-motion masterpiece from the height of Tim Burton's inventiveness is definitely macabre enough to make the list. The film follows the misadventures of a beloved pumpkin king, who has become bored with the usual scares so he and the other ghouls co-opt Christmas for their own malevolent means.

Streaming on Netflix  |  Watch the trailer