Boo.
It's that time of year again. Pumpkin spice lattes may as well be on a drip feed, we've dropped a little too much self-care money on luxury candles for the season ahead, and yes, finally, the best Halloween films are once again hitting our screens.
Whether it's pre-Sex and the City fame SJP playing a witch with the vocal ability of Celine Dion in Hocus Pocus, or Tim Burton's is it, isn't it The Nightmare Before Christmas (is it?), the best part of the Halloween season is undoubtedly the stellar films its produced over the years.
Inevitably, every year dredges up the age-old question of just what is the scariest film of all time – and let's be honest, with decades of horror flicks to choose from, we're hardly short on contenders.
But good news horror fans: new research may have finally settled the debate once and for all.
Drumroll, please.....
The scariest film of all time is The Blair Witch Project.
Yep, really. According to a study carried out by Beds Divans, Blair Witch – i.e. the 90s cult classic that saw everyone's parents regret ever buying them a video player – is the horror film that induces insomnia in the most people; with over 100 people claiming they "couldn't sleep" after seeing it. (Not surprised.)
Using data from IMDb and worldwide box office, the study also found that the scariest horror genre, and the one which is most likely to see you lose out on a night of kip, is actually supernatural; while IT is currently the most in-demand horror film, with an average of over 243,000 people in the UK searching it per month.
Yikes.
What else made the list of scariest horror films, you ask?
Coming in closely behind Blair Witch, was The Ring (again, not surprised), which was voted second scariest film, while The Exorcist and The Conjuring came in second and third.
Here's the full list:
- The Blair Witch Project (1999)
- The Ring (2002)
- The Exorcist (1973)
- The Conjuring (2013)
- IT (2017)
- Jaws (1975)
- Us (2019)
- The Conjuring 2 (2016)
- A Quiet Place (2018)
- Get Out (2017)
- It Chapter 2 (2019)
- The Nun (2018)
- Halloween (1978)
- Split (2016)
- Annabelle: Creation (2017)
- I Am Legend (2007)
- Alien: Covenant (2017)
- Annabelle (2014)
- A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
- World War Z (2013)
- Hannibal
- Dark Shadows (2012)
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010)
- The Meg (2018)
Definitely a few rogue choices in there. (I mean, Dark Shadows, really?)
Luckily, with another 19 days to go until Halloween, you've got plenty of time to catch up on (or avoid) all the classics you've yet to see.
Happy horror watching!
