The scariest movies of all time. You can freak out now.

October 20, 2016

I can’t say I’m a huge fan of scary movies, at least not anymore. As a teenager I loved terrifying myself to a point where my legs would shake, my knees would knock together and I was too scared to look under my bed or in my wardrobe, especially at night.

Who knew what could be under there waiting for me, or in there, ready to pounce?

The Mirror in the UK has surveyed 2000 Brits to come up with what they consider the scariets movie of all time and it is…

THE EXORCIST.

Jo Abi

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The Spill

The top five scariest movies of all time, according to the survey, are:

The Excorcist
The Shining
The Silence of the Lambs
The Blair Witch Project
The Birds

However a quick survey of the Mamamia office showed that many of us disagreed, with Aussie taste in scary movies more varied than our British counterparts.

Coming up with a definitive list of scariest movies of all time brought back many, terrible memories. Even those of us who swear off such movies these days couldn't help but look at movie clips and photos. There were a lot of chills going down a lot of spines.

Here is our list of 24 of the scariest movies of all time, as voted by Mamamia staff with our top choice about an innocent looking doll with deadly intentions.

WARNING: This list contains lots of horror as well as heaps of spoilers.

Scariest Movies

1. Child's Play"Hi I'm Chucky, wanna play?" This deranged doll from the 1988 movie Child's Play turned us off dolls for good. Image: MGM/UA Communications Co.

2. Wolf CreekTerrifying serial killer movie Wolf Creek released in 2005 was so terrifying because it was inspired by our very own criminal Ivan Milat. Image: Roadshow Entertainment

3. The Silence of the LambsNothing is more chilling than a controlled, refined serial killer who delights in eating his prey, and helping you hunt for other deranged serial killer, as we all in Silence of the Lambs in 1991. Image: Orion Pictures

4. The ShiningStephen King is responsible for so many sleepless nights, including for the 1980 movie The Shining which centres around a dad being possessed by a demon. Image: Warner Bros

5. The RingIf 2002 horror The Ring didn't turn you off mirrors and brushing your hair, then nothing will. If you watch the tape your days are numbered, hunted by a murdered girl. Image: DreamsWorks Pictures

6. The Blair Witch ProjectThe story goes that the actors involved in the making of this horror were left disturbed and afraid after filming 1999's The Blair Witch Project. They found the witch alright, or did she find them? Image: Artisan Entertainment

7. The ConjuringA seemingly innocent farmhouse that is haunted forms the basis for terrifying flick The Conjuring, released in 2013 with sequel The Conjuring 2 released in 2016. Image: Warner Bros Pictures

8. The Evil DeadHiking into the woods with friends sounds like so much fun, until you find a book that brings the dead to life. Don't read the book out loud. Image: New Line Cinema

9. The Exorcist"The power of Christ compels you!" Anyone raised with religion would find The Exorcist particularly chilling. The 1973 movie shows a girl being possessed by the devil and exorcised. Image: Warner Bros

10. The OthersMore psychological thriller than horror this absolutely chilling and sadder than sad story The Others, released in 2001, is the story of a deceased family is so scary, you'll be jumping out of your skin. Image: Dimension Films

11. The BirdsNot the best movie to watch in a country with a magpie swooping season but Alfred Hitchcock's terrifying movie The Birds released in 1963 is about random, killer birds that peck your eyes out. Image: Universal Pictures

12. The BabadookA psychological horror, The Babadook was so scary because it dealt with a single mum and her son who has an imaginary friend who isn't so imaginary after all, or friendly. Image: Entertainment One

13. PsychoWhen movie Psycho showed a semi-innocent young women being slashed in her shower, people stopped showering. Released in 1960, the movie Psycho was another contribution by terrifying Alfred Hitchcock. Image: Paramount Pictures

14. The Amityville HorrorWell if this picture doesn't bloody terrify. That, my friends, is a possessed boy in 1979 movie The Amityville Horror and is said to be based on a real-life haunting and subsequent massacre. Image: Google

15. ITIt doesn't take random, mostly fake, scary clown videos on social media to make us all scared of clowns because Stephen King's book and 1990 movie IT did that for us. This clown abducts children and eats their livers, while they are alive because they 'taste better when they are scared'. Image: Warner Bros

16. A Nightmare on Elm StreetA child killer is burned to death and comes back to kill the children of those who burned him, or so it goes in A Nightmare on Elm Street, the first of which was released in 1984. Don't worry, you'll be fine, as long as you don't go to sleep. Image: New Line Cinema

17. Paranormal ActivityThe Paranormal Activity movies kicked off in 2009 and centred on creepy surveillance footage of ghostly happenings in a family home. Image: Paranormal Pictures

18. Pet SemetaryWho wouldn't want to bring their deceased child back to life? But what if that child comes back as an evil, parent-killing demon? That's the 1989 movie Pet Semetary, based on a book from the deranged brain of Stephen King. Image: Paramount Pictures

19. PoltergeistI can safely say that each of the five Poltergeist movies are terrifying but none more than the original released in 1980, especially when two of the cast members ended up dead. These poltergeists accessed their victims through the TV but pretty much haunted the entire home. Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

20. ScreamWhen you're partner asks for 'dirty talk'. (Image: Dimension Films)

21. The Night of the Living DeadI really regretted watching this movie and highly recommend you never watch it yourself. The Night of the Living Dead shocked everyone when it was released in 1968 and to this day, is still insanely scary as the dead come to life and hunt for human brains. Image: Continental Distributing

22. JawsSharks do kill people, especially in Australia, but only in the Jaws movie does a shark hunt specific people, not mistaking surfers for seals or anything. The first was released in 1975 and surfers report not going in the water for months afterwards. Image: Universal Pictures

23. HalloweenMichael Myers starts his murderous exploits at the age of six in the 1978 movie Halloween when he murders his sisters and his rampage continues as he is hunted down. Image: Compass International Pictures

24. 28 Days LaterAn apocalypse would be bad enough but imagine life as you knew it ended, and then a hideous disease that turns everyone into crazy zombies spreads like wildfire. That's the sick premise for 2002 horror 28 Days Later. Image: Fox Searchlight Pictures