With Halloween around the corner, it’s time to get spooked with some of the best haunted house movies ever. The fall brings a beautiful, yet terrifying holiday as well as cozy nights perfect for horror movies. Most horror movies feature some cliches like dolls coming to life, mass murderers hunting down teens at lake houses, or the ever-screaming worthy haunted house.
Haunted houses are amazing attractions that you can wander around, but the best ones with the most screams are the ones on the big screen. Explore the best haunted house movies ever by watching these too five recommendations.
5. Insidious, Prime Video (2010)
One of the best haunted house movies ever is Insidious, a 2010 supernatural horror film by James Wan. The film stars Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, and Barbara Hershey. It’s the first installment of the franchise and the third of the story’s in-story timeline. The movie follows the story of a married couple whose boy inexplicably enters a comatose state and becomes a vessel for a variety of demonic entities in an astral plane.
This causes a family to be trapped in a haunted house with a dangerous boy, and while it’s still not a house that acts alive all the time, it’s still terrifying. The movie is followed by two sequels, Insidious: Chapter 2 released in 2013, and Insidious: The Red Door released in 2023. It also has two prequels, Chapter 3 and The Last Key released in 2015 and 2018 respectively.
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4. The Shining, Prime Video (1980)
The iconic film, The Shining, is one of the best haunted house movies ever. The 1980 psychological thriller movie starring Jack Nicholson, Danny Lloyd, Shelley Duvall, and Scatman Crothers. Directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, the movie is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name released in 1977.
The movie follows Jack Torrance, a writer and recovering alcoholic who accepts a new position as an off-season caretaker of the Overlook Hotel. His young son, Danny, plays his young son who has abilities, and learns that the hotel is haunted, which affects Jack’s sanity, causing him to act violently towards his family. The Shining is one of the most iconic horror movies and is regarded as one of the most influential movies.
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3. Poltergeist, Prime Video (1982)
The 1982 supernatural horror film, Poltergeist, is one of the best haunted house movies ever. Directed by Tobe Hooper, the film was written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais, and Mark Victor, and it is based on a story by Spielberg himself. The film follows a family living in the suburbs whose family is invaded by malevolent ghosts that abduct their youngest daughter.
Poltergeist is one of the highest-grossing films upon release, and while it had a few sequels, none came close to the financial success of the first one. Since its release, the film has been considered one of the best horror classic films, a must-see for all horror connoisseurs.
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2. The Innocents, Amazon (1961)
The Innocents is a 1961 gothic psychological horror film and is considered one of the best haunted house movies ever. Starring Deborah Kerr, Micheal Redgrave, and Megs Jenkins, the movie is based on the 1898 novella by Henry James.
The plot follows a governess who watches over two children and comes to fear that their large estate is haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed. The original screenplay was based on the premise that the paranormal events depicted were legitimate, but upon the adaptation, it was rewritten to have more psychosocial themes.
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1. Changeling, Peacock (1980)
Starring George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, and Melvyn Douglas, The Changeling is a 1980 Canadian supernatural horror film. The plot follows an esteemed New York City composer who relocates to Seattle, Washington where he moves into a mansion he comes to believe is haunted and is one of the best haunted house movies ever.
The original screenplay is based upon events that writer Russell Hunter claimed to have experienced while he was living in the Henry Treat Rogers mansion in the Cheesman Park neighborhood in Denver, Colorado in the late 1960s.