The 15 scariest horror films we've ever seen to get you in the Halloween mood

The team at The National name the terrifying films that haunted them long after the end credits rolled

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  'Jurassic Park' – Not really a horror movie, but it scared the living daylights out of me when I saw it for the first time as a four-year-old. The animatronics used in the movie were way ahead of their time and looked realistic (even today). I remember how my heart would beat faster and how I got tense every time the infamous T-Rex rain scene started. Such a classic. (Arthur Eddyson - Podcast Producer) Courtesy Universal Pictures

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  'The Grudge' – I saw 'The Grudge' shortly after its release in 2004 and remember nothing of the plot except that Sarah Michelle Gellar was in the remake of what was originally a Japanese film. Having just re-watched the trailer, I’m wondering what all the fuss was about, but the memory that 15 years ago I was terrified by this film lives on. The other movie to have this effect was 'What Lies Beneath'. Again, a fairly standard, creepy horror flick. I watched it late one night in a darkened room while at university, and when the two friends I was with fell asleep, I couldn’t cope solo and had to turn it off. (Ian Oxborrow – Online Editor) Courtesy Columbia Pictures

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  'Path of Blood' – A documentary about Al Qaeda's activities from after 9/11 until about 2012 might not sound terrifying at first, but it manages to be blood curdling with its footage of real-life extremists. The vast majority of the documentary is about the young and deluded radicals, with the footage taken from mountains of tapes found after raids on the terrorist group. The scenes of them training and plotting are terrifying on their own, but it's made more scary by the scenes of them just being kids, which makes you think how dangerous it must have been for everyone around them to live completely unaware of the harsh reality. A very important historical document. (Faisal Salah - Social Media Journalist) Courtesy Paladin/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock

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  'The Evil Dead' – When it came out it was billed as the scariest movie ever. Now it looks more like a comedy and the gore is almost laughable. (Alan Griffin - Head of Digital.) Courtesy New Line Cinema

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  'Ringu' – English-speaking film bores frequently claim (often wrongly) that movies remade in English are vastly inferior to the foreign-language originals, but this is actually the case with Japanese horror 'Ringu'. It had a US makeover as 'The Ring', but the first one has terror a-plenty. This is made all the more extreme by not having any of that tiresome Hollywood gloss, a cinematic affectation which is usually sufficient to render the most horrific scenes as tension-filled as an episode of 'Friends'. (Simon Wilgress-Pipe – Online Editor) Photo by Moviestore/Shutterstock

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  'Rec' - This Spanish movie (later remade to an English version called 'Quarantine'), kept me shrugging away and slightly covering my ears because of the amount of jump scares and great sound design. To make matters worse, I saw it for the first time after midnight, at around 2-3am (during the devil’s hour, ironically). Thankfully, I had two family friends to join the scare fest. I will always remember that night, and ever since then I have recommended it to everybody I see, horror-movie buff or not. (Arthur Eddyson - Podcast Producer) Snap Stills / Shutterstock

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  'Under the Shadow' – The fear of jinn in Arab societies is very much real and palpable. Kids grow up hearing the scariest stories about these elusive beings that share our realm. Many films have attempted to portray them and make them as scary as they sound, but none come close to Babak Anvari's 'Under the Shadow'. Focusing on an Iranian mother and her child during the Iran-Iraq War, the film shows us the real fear of war and death from bombs with the perceived fear of jinn and spirits - a terrifying ordeal. (Faisal Salah - Social Media Journalist) Photo by Kit Fraser

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  'The Ring' – I was a teenager when I saw the American version of this movie and the memory of how it affected me haunts me to this day. For weeks afterwards I couldn’t be left alone in the house (to the point that I even went grocery shopping with my mum) and I certainly couldn’t be anywhere near a blank TV screen that, in my imagination, could at any point turn itself on and produce a living girl that would crawl, dripping wet, long hair covering her face, across my floor. The concept – about how watching a videotape of creepy images leads to the death of the viewer in just seven days – is the stuff teenage nightmares are made of. I watched it again recently – it still gave me goosebumps. (Katy Gillett - Weekend Editor) Courtesy Universal Pictures

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  'Fahrenheit 9/11' – This documentary frightened me when I saw it in cinemas because ultimately, it portrayed how the very element of fear can prompt a society into making rash and disastrous choices. Whether it’s an unjustified invasion of another country or the forfeiture of civil rights at home, this film illustrates the ramifications of fear. When discussing the incredibly controversial Patriot Act that passed the US House of Representatives and Senate, Democratic Congressman Jim McDermott, (who voted against the bill), laments its passage by saying, “You can make people do anything if they’re afraid.” This is one of the highest grossing documentaries of all time. Don’t be afraid to see it. (Cody Combs – Social Media Journalist) Courtesy Fellowship Adventure Group

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  'The Babadook' – This Australian psychological horror by Jennifer Kent was released in 2014 but I watched it just recently. I’d been on the hunt for a film I hadn’t seen that genuinely scares me (as a pretty big horror fan I’ve become somewhat immune) – and this was it. A single mother is trying to deal with her son’s fear of some unknown monster he says is lurking in the house. It seems like a common parenting issue until it turns out the sinister presence seeps into every nook and cranny. It provides the right amount of eeriness and jump scares, plus psychological undertones. Overall it was was an impressive debut from Kent as a movie director (Katy Gillett - Weekend Editor) Courtesy Causeway Films

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  'The Shining' – A popular choice among fans of the horror genre, Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's novel is a haunting masterpiece. Seeing Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson, unravel throughout the film will scare you for years to come. Perhaps the two scariest instances in the film are: the blood wave elevator sequence, and the creepy soundtrack which unnerves and unsettles. (Faisal Salah - Social Media Journalist) Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures

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  'Jaws' – This was the movie that changed my life. Being a city dweller I had no relationship with the sea and was happy in my ignorance. Very happy. The eponymous monster that lay beneath the waves, seemingly within a few feet of the beach, has kept me firmly grounded ever since. If I have to submerge in any water, I go through a vetting process – even if it's in a swimming pool. I still check twice before I get in the bath... Jaws is the monster in the deep, we know exists, but Spielberg and John Williams brilliantly brought it into our land-locked lives and the film score plays every time I swim a stroke. (Andrew Scott – Multimedia Editor) Courtesy Universal Pictures

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  'Event Horizon' – When it comes to 'Event Horizon' (1997), there are only two types of people – those who find it rather bland and boring and those who think it’s the most terrifying film they have ever seen. I am firmly in the latter camp. The film combines sci-fi, supernatural scares and a Lovecraftian sensibility with strong performances by a cast that includes Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne. Recommended for a dark and stormy night – if you can find one – and with the lights off, of course. (Michael Coetzee – Sub-Editor) Courtesy Paramount Pictures

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  'Us' – Jordan Peele’s second film had high expectations to live up to after the runaway success of his first, 'Get Out'. To me, he excelled with 'Us'. It isn’t as obvious in its message, as his debut was a clear-cut comment on racial tensions in modern-day America, but it is scarier and experiments more within its genre – plus Lupita Nyong’o is incredible as protagonist Adelaide Wilson. It tells the story of Wilson, who returns to the scene of a traumatic childhood event with her husband and two children, when four masked strangers descend on the beach house they’re staying in. To their horror, they realise the quartet are their doppelgangers – and they’re out to kill them. It offers a great balance of horror, suspense, plot twists and subtle political commentary. (Katy Gillett - Weekend Editor) Courtesy Universal Pictures

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  'Dead of Night'– This is a portmanteau horror film split into five parts, three of which are creepy, one of which is ludicrous, and the final one, 'The Ventriloquist’s Dummy', truly terrifying. That last segment caused me to have nightmares for weeks afterwards and I have difficulty being in the same room as a doll of any kind to this day. Even a Barbie, for crying out loud. (Simon Wilgress-Pipe – Online Editor.) Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Who doesn't like settling down to a scary movie every once in a while? There's nothing quite like feeling a chill down your spine when a scene turns sinister, and the instant sense of relief you feel when you remember it's only a film.

And what better time to check out a classic horror than the week of Halloween? Whether it's a psychological thriller, a sci-fi horror or an all-out gore that scares you the most, there are dozens of truly horrifying films out there to get you into the Halloween spirit.

The National team have recalled some of the scariest films they've ever seen to lend you some inspiration for a weekend fright fest.

Scroll through the gallery above to see their choices