My Top Ten List of All-Time Scary Movies

What? You didn’t think I was going to list Christmas movies, did you? Well, I might, but only if they were truly scary (and “Scrooged” doesn’t count).

First, the obligatory disclaimer. Most of these movies are pretty old, and may or may not have stood the test of time. The point is that they scared me at the time I first saw them. Today, I might laugh, or snooze, through the same movies, but it was a much different thing back then. So, with that, this…

Fantasia (1940) – I first saw this in the late 50s, in a movie theater in Denton, while visiting my grandmother. The combination of dancing brooms, eerie music and a strange locale gave me nightmares. Not what Walt intended, I’m sure.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) – Flying monkeys with evil grins. Wicked witches – really ugly ones. And little people with voices that made me twitch. These are a few of my scariest things.

The Tingler (1959) – This Vincent Price classic came out when I was 7, and the trailers alone were enough to freak me out. I didn’t actually see the movie until I was in my 20s, and, of course, it was pretty lame at that point, but it’s still #8 on my list. (Incidentally, when did they stop being “previews” and start being “trailers”?)

The Legend of Hell House (1973) – Richard Matheson wrote both the screenplay and the novel from which this movie sprang. Matheson is a masterful writer of macabre and sci-fi stories, and this cheesy horror classic has his imprint all over it. It was the first of the “supernatural thriller” movies I’d ever seen. My wife-to-be and I saw it at the Pecos Theater, which wasn’t located in Pecos, but in Fort Stockton (the county seat of Pecos County…still with me?). The theater’s no longer there, but the memory of jumping about three feet out of our seats during this movie remains.

Alien (1979) – You remember how the opening scene in “Star Wars” forever changed your perception of what a movie could be? “Alien” one-upped that feeling for 117 minutes. The chest-bursting alien entrance will remain one of sci-fi’s most shocking scenes (and it’s even better when you know that the actors were as clueless as the audience about what was about to happen!).

Manhunter (1986) – Anthony Hopkins was not the first actor to portray Hannibal Lector. Brian Cox was, in the movie version of “Red Dragon.” Lector was only a minor character in this film, but that didn’t prevent it from being truly horrifying. (CSI’s William L. Petersen is the hero that finally nails the bad guy, btw.)

Silence of the Lambs (1991) – The climactic scene where the lights go out while Agent Starling stumbles her way through that real-life house of horrors gave me the Gran Mal Willies.

Night of the Living Dead (1968) – This low-budget classic had the look and feel of a documentary, and it just worked. In fact, it still works. The in-color slick gore-soaked let’s-wink-at-each-other-campy sequels and “updates” just don’t get it.

The Sixth Sense (1999) – M. Night Shyamalan created a new classic horror/suspense movie, as well as a line that has transcended its original usage. “I see dead people.” I don’t…but I could, and that’s a very, very bad feeling.

The Exorcist (1973) – OK, I admit it. This movie scared the crap out of me the first time I saw it. Strike that. The only time I saw it. Yep…been there, done that, got the t-shirt. Got no need, no desire to see it ever again. I suppose it didn’t help that I believe that’s there really is such a thing as demon possession. I really didn’t need to see it brought to life on-screen. Still creeps me out just to think about it. (I wasn’t the only one. We went to see it in college with another couple. The girl called in the middle of the night, crying, seeking some comfort and reassurance. I wasn’t up to the task.)

Honorable Mention: The Shining (1980) – Jack’s slow descent into madness took me along with him. The ability of a homocidal maniac to crack wise while wielding an axe against the love of his life is scarier than the thought of another Clinton White House.

So, there you have it. Happy Holidays!

Update [2003-12-03]: Mark over at Kaedrin has called to my attention his own recent list of scary movies, and he’s got some really good ones that I just missed (how could I forget about “Jaws”?!). Being the literary type he is, he’s also thrown in a section of horror novels. Since I can’t read, that part’s lost on me…but you might find something of note.