-Melina Major, Staff

With Halloween fast approaching, it’s time again to gather family and friends to watch horror movies together. To get you prepped for the big day, here’s a list of the top 5 scariest horror movies. Watch them…if you dare.

1. Paranormal Activity

The latest movie on this list is the 2004 film, Paranormal Activity. The movie begins with a young couple who move into an apartment together. The girl, Katie, believes that their apartment is haunted by a demon that has followed her since she was a little girl. Her boyfriend, Micah, decides to put up a camera in their apartment to see if this is true.  The results are horrifying. The use of shaky footage and night vision create realism for viewers, resulting in a movie that could even make a grown man cry.

2. The Shining

Originally a book written by Stephen King, The Shining came to theatres in 1980. The movie is about a family who is hired to look after a hotel during the winter when it is closed, but they shortly find out that the hotel is haunted. There are creepy twin girls, floods of blood pouring from elevators and imaginary party guests throughout the hotel.  If you haven’t seen the film, you must at least know the famous line, “Here’s Johnny!” yelled by the father of the family, who was played by the fabulously insane Jack Nicholson. Nicholson’s convincing role of a psychopath is one that will terrify many because when you watch him in this role you actually start to believe that he’s crazy.

3. Carrie

A young Sissy Spacek stars in the original Carrie film in 1976, which like “The Shining” was based off a novel written by Stephen King. This movie is a classic tale of revenge in which the main character, Carrie, is bullied and gets pushed too far by those who have wronged her. What her bullies don’t know is that Carrie has telekinetic powers, which she then uses to wreak havoc on her enemies. If this movie doesn’t terrify people into watching what they say about people, I’m not sure what will.

4. The Sixth Sense

Created in 1999 by now-famous director M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense stars Haley Joel Osment who gave an impressive performance at the tender age of 11. The movie is based on a young boy who hears voices and believes he can communicate with the dead. I’m sure you’ve all heard the famous “I see dead people” line. Osment’s performance is believable and really does the trick of freaking you out. Spoiler Alert from 1999: Bruce Willis is actually a ghost, in case you didn’t get the memo.
5. The Ring

The 2002 film, The Ring, stars well known actress Naomi Watts as the main character. The movie centres around a haunted videotape that mysteriously kills anyone who watches it. Watts plays a journalist that makes it her mission to get to the truth behind this videotape. Like many creepy movies, The Ring is actually a remake of the Japanese film, Ringu.  It may not be the scariest on the list; some might even call it cheesy, but director Gore Verbinski created a pop culture icon with this movie.