Two girls plan a surprise for their mom's birthday, but mother dear has a surprise of her own. For filmmakers, horror is one of the toughest genres to get right. What’s it about: 5 must die, 1 must live. As the girls creep through the house to make their escape they come face-to-face with a supernatural apparition that could only be imagined in your worst nightmare. Is This The Most Sinister Ghost Picture Ever Taken? It clearly hit the mark as The Maiden has been so successful that it’s been optioned for a feature-length film, so stay tuned for more. However, when she answers it’s her husband calling to explain that he’s going to be home late. This now legendary horror short (which was recently made into a major Hollywood feature film of the same name) follows a woman getting ready for bed, who discovers that something is lurking in the shadows. Putting the child back to bed she tells her that it’s just a bad dream… Or is it? It follows a shapeshifting demon who takes the form of a sadistic child-killing clown named Pennywise (Tim Curry). The majority of the film is portrayed through the video diaries of two students who are planning to attack their high school. Sure, it may be dated, but John Carpenter's original Halloween film – released in 1978 – remains the daddy of all horrors. When his new girlfriend finally convinces him to delete Alexia from his friend’s list and move on with his life he soon learns that a click isn’t always enough to leave the past behind. Another one from the maker of 'Lights Out'. Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes and Ruth Gordon's performances tip this psychological chiller into classic status. Kids can be supremely creepy, as this one proves, much to her nanny's dismay. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Just when you thought found-footage had had its day, Oren Peli's small-budgeted festival favourite became one of 2009's biggest hits. Detectives study the case of a missing child and a mysterious woman. Paranormal Activity 3 earns its place on this list for its final 10 minutes. Japanese horror maestro Takashi Shimizu – who also directed the pretty scary 2005 remake starring Sarah Michelle Gellar – balances mystery with horror in Ju-On: The Grudge, a story based in a cursed house in Tokyo. Horror films don’t always need a full two hours of build-up and suspense to pack the scares in. Directed by: Takashi Miike . Wrong. An animated short about how the only way to beat a monster is to become one yourself. A true gore-fest for the strongest of stomachs only. What’s it about: The aptly titled Selfie from Hell will have you burning your selfie sticks and swearing off duck faces forever more. For those on the hunt for scares, it can be quite hard out there, but fret no more – we’ve compiled the scariest horror films on offer, ranging from German Expressionist films from the 1920s to last year’s indie smash hit, Hereditary. Directed by: Pascal Laugier. To that end, here's a list of some short films that are scary as %$#@! Below, we rank all the horror films that will genuinely scare you – click through the gallery to see what made the cut. © 2018 The Occult Museum.com | All Rights Reserved. While the inevitable Hollywood remake in 2002 was better than it had any right to be, Nakata's original is as terrifying as horror films come. Directed by: Bernard Rose. The most insightful comments on all subjects will be published daily in dedicated articles. Want an ad-free experience?Subscribe to Independent Premium. It's perhaps the scariest 12-certificate film of all time. If you’re searching for spine-tingling chills and nightmarish monsters that will haunt your nightmares long after the credits roll, you’ve come to the right place. Considering the budget it was made in, the one's a favourite. This is the short film that inspired Guillermo del Toro's horror movie of the same name. For the most part, it's not what you see in The Witch that terrifies, it's what you don't see. What happens when you almost know exactly when and how you're going to die? Check it out! People genuinely believed they were watching real clips of three student filmmakers being terrorised by a Maryland legend known as the Blair Witch. The Witching Hour: 13 True Ghost Stories You Shouldn’t Read at... 30 Scary Two Sentence Horror Stories To Read In The Dark, True Crime: The 10 Most Infamous American Murder Mysteries, Urban Legend: 25 People Share the Scariest Stories from their Hometowns, 10 Short Creepypasta Horror Stories That Will Make You Shudder, The Haunting Stories Behind Six Strange and Unusual Graves, Campfire Stories: 13 Terrifying Accounts of Paranormal Encounters in the Wilderness. Cover your eyes moment: When we see just what is under the sheets with her. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. It allows our most engaged readers to debate the big issues, share their own experiences, discuss real-world solutions, and more. A sheriff comes under fire when two S.B.I. No jump scares here, just straight up horror. A scary little bit with a moral to boot. Directed by: Robin Hardy. The House of the Devil (2009) follows a student named Samantha who is hired to guard an isolated house with one rule: don't go upstairs. With a mom like theirs however, it's a little different. Del Toro gives an introduction to the video, so skip to 0:50 if you just want to watch the film. Equal parts creepy and strange, this one will have you going WTF for a while, but it does have a deeper meaning. Eggers unsettlingly holds his camera a fraction too long in places as he retells the story of a Separatist family who encounter supernatural forces in the woods beyond their farm. Younger viewers may be desensitised by the more extreme horror films to have been released in recent decades, but the scares featured in Romero's Night of the Living Dead – including the young girl zombie reveal – remain some of the most chilling committed to celluloid. And with the rise of YouTube and Creepypasta, the digital folklore of the modern age, film directors have found new and inventive ways in which to terrorize their audiences. What list would be complete without the runaway hit Lights Out? Directed by: FW Murnau. We’ve put together a list of our top short horror films, showcasing the film-makers who have made us scream in less than 5 minutes. The tension, as babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) attempts to evade masked murderer Michael Myers, only heightens with every new watch. I am mainly looking for pre-production crew. What’s it about: This now legendary horror short follows a woman getting ready for bed, who discovers that something is lurking in the shadows. This now legendary horror short (which was recently made into a major Hollywood feature film of the same name) follows a woman getting ready for bed, who discovers that something is lurking in the shadows.