With Halloween just around the corner, I decided that I would try to finally sit through horror movies and rank them. I sat down excitedly scrolling through the different streaming services, and I began to watch trailers. As it turns out, I’m even more scared of scary movies than I thought, but I tried to overcome my fears and watch some new movies. Here is my ranking of the top 5 scariest movies (that I could sit through).

5. Halloween

“Halloween,” which is arguably one of the most iconic Halloween movies, it was released in 1978 and is a multi-movie series. I’ve only watched the first one, which starts with six-year-old Michael Myers murdering his older sister and then escaping from his confinement years later. Myers stalks a high-school-aged girl and begins killing again. Honestly, I was able to sit through the movie without feeling really scared, which is why it’s at the bottom of the rankings today. The thing that did scare me, however, was the music. The soundtrack really added to the atmosphere and general feeling of the movie, and I think whenever I got startled or nervous, it was because of the music. It’s interesting to see how far horror films have come in the past 40 years, and how what used to be scary to our parents’ generation isn’t as intense to younger people.

4. Zodiac

I know that “Zodiac” isn’t really a Halloween or horror movie, but if you’re looking for something to get into the spirit of Halloween, or need a movie to ease into scarier movies, definitely give it a try. Released in 2007, it follows the historic events of the manhunt to catch the infamous Zodiac killer. The movie centers around Robert Graysmith, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who was an actual cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle at the time and deeply involved in the case. He cracked the ciphers that the Zodiac sent, and dedicated years of his life to get closer to catching the killer. The movie is incredibly authentic and uses real facts of the case. Don’t worry about never being scared while watching the movie either, because there were parts, especially near the end, where I was on the edge of the couch with my heart racing. And, for the record, it was totally Arthur Leigh Allen.

3. Hush

“Hush” is a psychological thriller that follows Maddie Young, a deaf and mute author who lives a private life in her relatively secluded house in the woods. On the way to Maddie’s house, her friend Sarah is murdered. Sarah tries to grab Maddie’s attention, but because she can’t hear, Maddie doesn’t see Sarah’s bloody body by her door. The killer realizes that Maddie is deaf and starts to target her by breaking into her house and cutting her power. Her house is now dark and she doesn’t have contact with the outside world. The rest of the movie portrays the battle between the two and her attempts at escaping. While I personally haven’t watched an extensive amount of horror films, I thought that this movie was done really well. It was scary, but I was still able to sit through it. The plot was well thought out, and just a great movie in general.

2. The Conjuring

This movie is one for the books (if you can handle it). “The Conjuring” is a film about a family of 7 who moves into a new house. They begin to experience odd and supernatural moments. Eventually, these moments get worse, and they reach out to a pair of demonologists, who determine that their house needs an exorcism. Without going too far into the plot, I’m going to say that this movie is not for the light-hearted. I can handle jump scares or psychotic murderers or intense music, but paranormal activity freaks me out like nothing else. This movie is on my never-watch-at-night list, but by all means challenge yourself to the possessed characters, dead pets, and haunted spirits.

1. Monster House

Hands down, this is the most frightening movie I have ever seen. It was released in 2006, and every time I watch it, it feels like a fever dream that gets worse and worse. There is a house on the block owned by the incredibly cruel Mr. Nebbercracker, and all of the kids in the neighborhood know what happens if your ball lands on his porch or your tricycle wheel touches the grass – you don’t get it back. DJ is a 12-year-old boy who lives across the street from Mr. Nebbercracker and his house that somehow seems to act like a human. He, his best friend, Chowder, and Jenny, a Girl Scout that both DJ and Chowder compete to impress, start investigating, and they learn more and more about the house at every turn. The animation, which is now outdated, adds to the eeriness of the movie. This movie is a must-watch for absolutely everyone. You have not experienced Halloween or real terror until you’ve sat through all 91 minutes of this masterpiece.