Yes— October is all about pumpkin spice and over-sized knit sweaters and that two week period when the leaves are actually orange AKA time to glam up your Instagram. But sometimes, it’s fun to break up the warmth of October and step out of the comfort zone of your fuzziest socks.
There are so many ways to do this- learn a new skill, set a goal, run a mile. Or,if you can’t be bothered to leave your couch, rewatch one of the scariest movies, at least from our lifetime:
Saw II
Scare Scale: 3/10
This one is more gory than scary, but you will want to cover your eyes. In the second installment of the SAW franchise, Jigsaw’s game involves seemingly strangers, a mansion of death traps and a ton of blood. You will never hear “I want to play a game” the same way again, but if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s something intriguing to play in the background while you do your homework.
The Orphan
Scare Scale: 7/10
In this movie, something is wrong with Esther, the 9 year old a young couple adopts after the loss of their baby. Orphan goes from simply unsettling to sheer horror in just a few scenes, and has one of the craziest plot twists that you definitely will never see coming. What’s awesome about this scary movie is that it keeps churning and churning, throwing one shocker after another, that by the end, you forget how the whole movie even started.
The Conjuring
Scare Scale: 9/10
Advice: Do not attempt to eat popcorn while watching this one. What’s so frightening about this movie is the jump factor. You’ll go flying at every bump on the screen in this haunted house themed movie. What makes this movie super scary is that the most terrifying element never comes back, which is kind of a cop out because you’re waiting for it to stir the plot, but it’s been set up for a spin off film called Annabelle, premiering October 3rd.
Insidious
Scare Scale: 10/10
You don’t think this movie is terrifying until you realize you are in tears. When a young boy slips into a coma, the family digs into the paranormal past to bring him back. There’s a terrifying dream world, a too-knowing medium, and a father’s recurring fear of having his photo taken (clearly not a Snapchat user). You may spend most of the movie laughing by how much you’re jumping, but you’ll be holding your breath until the final scene… before you scream, of course.
The Ring
Scare Scale: 13/10
“A young journalist must investigate a mysterious videotape which seems to cause the death of anyone in a week of viewing it-“ IMDB. What IMDB doesn’t say is that this movie disrupted an unfortunate chunk of my childhood. I still can’t go anywhere within a 15-foot radius of a well, and every time the TV fuzzes I try really hard not to cry. But that was ten years ago (okay, 12) and I have officially stopped seeing Samara’s shadow in car windows at night. This movie is the perfect scare for a stormy night, but if you’re trying to not pull an all-nighter, watch this before the sun goes down with a big group of friends and take yoga breaks every twenty minutes.
And, afterwards, when don’t think you can ever be alone in the dark again, just remember there’s a pumpkin spice latte and wool sweater to warm away your fears.