My Top 5 Favorite Horror Movies I MUST See at Halloween Time

 


Halloween movie marathon watching is standard this time of year, but there are certain movies that you feel you MUST see as Halloween approaches. 

It's time to crack open a pumpkin ale, make some Halloween bark with melted chocolate poured over mini pretzels, candy corn, and peanuts, refrigerated on a cookie sheet and broken off in chunks. 

Here's my creepy list that reminds me of Halloween -


The Haunting

This 1963 beautifully-woven tale by director Robert Wise and based on the book The Haunting of Hill House (my favorite) by Shirley Jackson, is the finest horror movie of all time. Its black and white wonder is woven into a tale of tension and the unseen. One never glimpses the enemy - is it external or within? The tensely orchestrated score take you down a path of your own imaginings in the big haunted mansion where a team looks for evidence of the other side....


This one totally satisfies my gothic, spooky, haunted house needs.

Phantasm

Halloween is about darkness and nightmares, graveyards and morgues. At least, it is if you are like me. The spooky score for this movie creates anticipation for the next crazy thing and the next. Imagine a night in the cemetery and morgue, strange shrunken creatures in black hoods, and a dream-like quality as to whether it's really happening to the main character or not? 


This film gets me with darkness and nightmarish anticipation.

 

Night of the Living Dead

Although I have a few black and white horror movies I enjoy around Halloweentime, if I could only keep one for that month, this is the one!


Something about the abandoned farmhouse, the mix of strangers, the desperate need to hold back the mayhem, and the fear of not making it until dawn makes this movie a great one for Halloween. 


This film satisfies my need for us-against-them theme. 


Halloween

It goes without saying that "Halloween" should be on the list and honestly I play it a LOT during October and even September. Just the sound of it in the background feels like coming home to the season of horror. 


This movie to me embodies the vibe of the season from the nighttime to the stalking, the creepy music and the bogeyman. 


Hocus Pocus 

There are so few movies that take place on Halloween and have the creepy New England vibe I dig. This movie satisfies as it happens on Halloween night, involves witches and curses, graveyards and costumes. This fun family-oriented Halloween favorite is a total blast. 


This movie satisfies my Halloween night in New England needs. 


I find that these are the go-to ones that I feel like the season didn't happen if I don't watch them at least once, but honestly when it comes to The Haunting and Halloween, I am likely top play them many times!


These satisfy the need for the Halloween night feel, the black and white scary movie your folks didn't want you to see, the ones with the scores that are so spooky that you can just have it playing in the room and not watching it and it feels scary. 



Comments