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5 of the Scariest Movies for the Halloween Season

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Salisbury chapter.

It’s the start of October meaning it’s the beginning of holiday season! That means pumpkins, haunted houses, scary movies and of course, Halloween! There’s a few more weeks until the day and I know here at HerCampus everyone can’t wait to get into the Halloween Spirit. Yeah a trip to the pumpkin patch will work but how about some over the top, super creepy, keep you up at night movies that will remind you that October is the month for scares and sleeping with one eye open. Here’s the list of 5 horror filled movies that’ll get you going this October.

5. Insidious

This 2011 paranormal film makes number 5 simply because this movie is beyond creepy. There’s children, old ladies and demons. This isn’t your typically paranormal film either, it’s far more terrifying because the demon itself isn’t some shadow, it has a big, red, face and it’s almost human like. There dimension travelling, murder, moments where you’ll scream your head off, but unlike every other horror movie Insidious had a clear plot. It told a thorough story with a beginning, middle and end which has you feeling satisfied with the fact you actually enjoyed a horror film not because it was scary, but because it was actually really good.

4. The Conjuring

Now a witch is one of the top costumes for women these days, but there is nothing cute about the witch in the movie: The Conjuring. I found this movie to be very haunting because of the very intense exorcism scene. In this film there is possession, spirits, witches, and children and while that may seem a little redundant, The Conjuring was a box office success and won plenty of awards, has a sequel, a spin off, and 2 more spin off currently in production. Unfortunately, I’d probably never watch this movie again, but if you choose to, keep your bible close.

3. Sinister

Imagine moving into a new home and finding a bunch of tapes around. You watch them one by one to realize that you are watching murders happen by a paranormal entity and you’re probably next. Not to spoil what happens in this film, but the plot isn’t what makes this scary it’s the demon that is haunting this family. Yeah another demon movie right, well this demon movie will have you sleeping with the lights on for a month even by just watching the trailer!  Bughuul is not your average demon, his face is strange, he’s tall and is human like, but his motive of killing entire families and snatching a child to consume their soul? Very sinister. (No pun intended) This is one movie I couldn’t bear to sit through, but it’s Halloween season it’s worth a try.

2. The Purge Series

This series is the least scary but is the most realistic. With our country going into a downward spiral, The Purge almost prophesizes our demise in this country. A day where all crime is legal, including murder (since the writers emphasize that so much) shows that when there is a time where there is no rules, we as people might rebel. The reality of these events correlate directly to this year election. What would really happen if Donald Trump got elected? The Purge 3 even marketed the film with Donald Trump’s favorite thing to say, “Make America Great Again” Well in The Purge there’s nothing great about it. Just a night of risking your life for the sake of population control.

  1. VHS

Out of all the horror films I’ve seen, VHS is by far the most disturbing film yet. Presented in a found footage format, a group of boy wander into a home on Halloween night watching a bunch of VHS tapes. What the audience sees are the tapes the boys watched. The group watched about 5 tapes all including disgusting, gory, outrageous tapes like, winged girls, aliens, and the worst of the worst… you’d just have to see it yourself. This movie made my stomach flip and turn and haunted me for weeks. Luckily for our readers VHS 1, 2, and 3 are currently streaming on Netflix and give the right amount of scare for the season. Just don’t watch it alone.

Naomi is a 21 year old senior at Salisbury University studying English and minoring in Professional Business Writing. Naomi loves everything about TV and Film and hopes to be the next Shonda Rhimes with hit television shows on a major network. She loves writing and creating stories but ultimately wants to be very prominent in the entertainment world.