When it comes to Halloween, horror movies tend to be one of the main things that come to mind. One of the things that people might look forward to every year is sitting on the couch watching scary movies, but the tough choice is always “Which one do I watch?”

To help you decide, here’s a list of the top 10 horror flicks you should watch on Halloween night or the nights leading up to it. This list was compiled through surveys and consulting different websites and videos. 

 #10 “The Purge”

“The Purge” takes place in the U.S., which is  overloaded with crime and crowded prisons. The government’s solution to this issue is to allow one day a year annually where ALL crime is completely legal for 12 hours. The main character is a man trying to protect his family from the crazy outside world and keep them safe. This movie deals with real world aspects and nothing that could happen to this family is entirely fictional, which is why it makes this list. 

#9 “Hereditary”

 Annie Graham has just lost her mother. Shortly after the family begins to have a series of strange, paranormal events happen to them. The family discovers terrifying secrets about their ancestry causing these paranormal events. Everyone at some point wonders what their parents were like when they were younger and this movie takes that and turns it into one of the scariest supernatural consequences of their choices. 

#8 “Night of the Living Dead”

“Night of the Living Dead” is about a group of individuals who seek refuge in an abandoned house from people rising up out of their graves to devour human flesh. The groups of people fend off the horde of zombies in hope of survival. Zombies are one of the most popular supernatural figures and everyone wonders what would happen if they were real. Although this movie is old, it demonstrates how people would react if they had nowhere to go. 

#7 “Friday the 13th”

A group of camp counselors set up a summer camp in the woods of Crystal Lake. The town is known for its haunted past of murders, but the counselors don’t care. They are then stalked and brutally murdered by a man named Jason Vorhees. This movie makes the list for obvious reasons being that nature and camping can be scary. All alone in the woods, no one around you and the only sounds you can hear are bugs and other animals. 

 #6 “The Shining”

A writer takes his wife and son up to stay in an isolated hotel in Colorado with hopes of curing his writer’s block. While staying at the hotel, he discovers dark secrets about the hotel’s past; and getting nowhere with his writing, he turns into a homicidal maniac that is determined in terrorizing his family. To have your own family turn on you in the middle of nowhere with no one to help would be terrifying to say the least.  

#5 “The Exorcist”

A little girl named Regan begins to act odd and her mother seeks medical help trying to figure out what’s wrong. A local priest then begins to think Regan might be possessed by a demon and comes to the house to extract it. Demons and possessions are scary enough as it is, but this movie makes you spend two hours with a little girl who has one in her!

#4 “The Conjuring”

In 1970 two paranormal investigators and demonologists, Lorain and Ed Warren, are summoned to the Perron family to their new secluded farmhouse, where a supernatural presence has made itself known. The events start out relatively normal until they escalate horrifically. They then find out about the house’s violent past. Reasons for making this list are similar to the last, demons and supernatural presences are terrifying. 

#3 “Nightmare on Elm Street”

A man attacks teenagers in their dreams, this then kills them in the real world. A girl Nancy and her boyfriend Glen seek the truth about this strange phenomenon. Nothing would be scarier than going to bed at night knowing that there was a man who would be waiting for you once you shut your eyes. 

#2 “Psycho”

A secretary named Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her employer and runs away with her boyfriend. She finds herself at the Bates Motel where she spends the night hiding from the authorities and meets owner Norman Bates. Strange instances occur while staying the night. This movie makes this list because it’s a classic, it may not be as scary as some of the others but definitely helped contribute to what horror has been made into today. This film was also created by Alfred Hitchcock who was a major influence on this movie genre. 

#1 “Halloween”

Michael Myers, a man who brutally murdered his own sister and spent 15 years in jail. While transferring to a different prison, he escapes and returns to his hometown where he goes on a killing spree. Babysitter Laurie Strode finds herself caught in the middle. Being in Lauries position would be terrifying being a defenseless victim to a psychotic killer.