Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
There’s a lot to choose from, but one movie from 2012 seems to trigger something deep inside us.
Spiders, snakes, ghosts, heights – you could ask 1,000 people what is the most scary, and you’d probably end up with 1,000 different answers.
There are a number of different symptoms of being scared, and you probably know of signs like a racing heart rate, breathing quickly, sweating, and feeling faint.
Knowing this, it might seem strange that horror movies are so popular – because why would anyone seek out something that does those things to them?
Why do we seek it out?
According to behavioral scientists, we seek out the thrill of being frightened, due to it happening in a controlled environment where there is no actual danger.
Additionally, the adrenaline rush of having fear triggered in the brain can become borderline addictive.
Best movies to get your rush
The Science Scare Project has developed a scoring system, making them able to rank the scariest movies of all time.
A score of 1 means the movie is not scary at all. 100 means it’s the scariest anything can be.
So let’s dive in!
#10 – Hell House LLC
Hell House LLC is a 2015 American found-footage supernatural horror film.
The film, shot as a documentary, follows a group of Halloween haunted house creators as they prepare for the 2009 opening of their popular haunted attraction, Hell House.
It gets a Scare Score of 75.
#9 – Talk To Me
Talk to Me is a 2022 Australian supernatural horror film.
The film follows a group of teenagers discovering they can contact spirits using a mysterious severed and embalmed hand.
It ties with Hell House LLC with a Scare Score of 75.
#8 – The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a 2005 American supernatural-horror legal-drama film.
The film follows a self-proclaimed agnostic who acts as defense counsel representing a parish priest accused of negligent homicide after performing an exorcism.
It has a Scare Score of 76.
#7 – Smile
Smile is a 2022 American supernatural psychological horror film.
It centers around a therapist who witnesses the bizarre suicide of a patient, then becomes overwhelmed with increasingly disturbing and daunting visions that lead her to believe she is experiencing something supernatural.
It has a Scare Score of 78.
#6 – Hereditary
Hereditary is a 2018 American supernatural psychological horror drama.
The film follows a grieving family tormented by sinister occurrences after the death of their secretive grandmother.
It has a Scare Score of 81.
#5 – The Conjuring
The Conjuring is a 2013 American supernatural horror film.
It centers around Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of haunting.
It has a Scare Score of 88.
#4 – Insidious
Insidious is a 2010 supernatural horror film from Canada, the U.S., and the U.K.
The story centers on a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.
It has a Scare Score of 90.
#3 – Skinamarink
Skinamarink is a 2022 Canadian experimental horror film.
The film follows a young brother and sister who wake up during the night to discover that they cannot find their father and that the windows, doors, and other objects in their house are disappearing.
It has a Scare Score of 91.
#2 – Host
Host is a 2020 British independent supernatural horror film.
It centers on a computer screen film that takes place entirely on a Zoom video call, following a group of friends who attempt to escape from a demon they inadvertently summoned during an online séance.
It has a Scare Score of 95.
#1 – Sinister
Sinister is a 2012 supernatural horror film.
It stars Ethan Hawke as a struggling true-crime writer whose discovery of snuff films depicting gruesome murders and strange supernatural elements in his new house puts his family in danger.
It has a Scare Score of 96.
You can find all of the 50 entries on the list right here (opens new tab).
