There are 26 days until Halloween. While horror movies—unlike Christmas movies—are fun to watch year-round, this is prime scary movie time. Sure, you could watch some of the Oscar bait movies that are coming out this fall, you can catch up on the summer blockbusters you missed (spoiler: they were lame!), or you can give yourself a serious adrenaline rush and watch these 20 movies throughout October and leave yourself with at least six nights where you'll be able to sleep.
Between the major streaming services—Amazon, Netflix, HBO—there's some seriously terrifying shit to watch. And these aren't just some cheap jump thrills. These are the best horror films you can find. These range from classics to new filmmakers pushing the boundaries of the genre. They know tension and style is just as horrific as good special effects or a ton of blood.
28 Days Later
Where it's streaming: HBO
Why you should watch it: Danny Boyle + zombies + an awesome soundtrack.
How it will scar you for life: You'll forever be scared that blood will drip in your eye or someone will gouge them out.
28 Weeks Later
Where it's streaming: HBO
Why you should watch it: Well, it's the not as good, but still pretty good, sequel to 28 Days Later.
How it will scar you for life: Maybe things will be better 28 years from now.
Poltergeist
Where it's streaming: HBO
Why you should watch it: It was nominated for three (3!) Academy Awards.
How it will scar you for life: You'll definitely want to stay away from suburban TV sets.
The Witch
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: A strong, tension-filled directorial debut from Robert Eggers
How it will scar you for life: Don't hang out with any 17th century New England puritans. Or goats.
Rosemary's Baby
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: Roman Polanski's Oscar-winning masterpiece is regarded as one of the greatest horror films of all time.
How it will scar you for life: You'll never want to have kids. Or talk to your wacky neighbors.
Carrie
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: Stephen King's first book is also one of his best movie adaptations.
How it will scar you for life: High school really fucking sucks.
Let the Right One In
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: Besides the horrifying murders, the vampires, and bleak Swedish terror, it's kind of a sweet story.
How it will scar you for life: Childhood romances are now creepy as hell.
The Others
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: Nicole Kidman has a bunch of unnerving kids in a spooky old house.
How it will scar you for life: Why do people move their families to remote old mansions where weird shit has happened?
An American Werewolf in London
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: A man screaming in pain as he turns into a horrible beast over Sam Cooke's soul classic "Blue Moon."
How it will scar you for life: Great, another thing parents need to worry about when their kids travel abroad.
Goodnight Mommy
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: This is seriously a horror movie about plastic surgery that works. And for once the twins aren't the ones that are creepy as hell.
How it will scar you for life: Coincidentally, Mommy trying to fix her scars for life will scar you for life.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: In case you need an excuse to not visit a family of cannibals in the middle of nowhere Texas.
How it will scar you for life: I'm sure chainsaws weren't exactly safe before 1974, but chainsaws have never really been the same.
Nosferatu
Where it's streaming: Amazon Prime
Why you should watch it: It's one of the purest adaptations of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and it is one of most influential horror films of all time.
How it will scar you for life: Sound? Who needs sound to be scared?
The Babadook
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: Any movie that can make a word that stupid—"Babadook"—seem so horrifying is doing something right.
How it will scar you for life: No more children's books or nursery rhymes for me, thanks!
The Invitation
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: It's just a dinner party. What could go wrong? Certainly no one is crazy or anything.
How it will scar you for life: You'll be hesitant to hang out with friends and try their new bullshit forms of alternative healing.
Hellraiser
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: All the resurrection technicalities are rather hard to follow, but that doesn't make Pinhead any less unpleasant.
How it will scar you for life: Again, just don't move into an abandoned house.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: It's a vampire movie directed by a Tarantino-loving woman named Ana Lily Amirpour, who described the film as an "Iranian Vampire Spaghetti Western."
How it will scar you for life: Don't do drugs.
Sleepy Hollow
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: This is better than the last five Tim Burton movies.
How it will scar you for life: Another reason to beware of headless people.
We Are What We Are
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: Well there's both a sequel and a prequel coming, so you better catch up.
How it will scar you for life: Another reason to be fearful of the religious right patriarch.
The Taking of Deborah Logan
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: They actually did the handheld/survaillance found-footage type movie right. And it's really goddamn chilling.
How it will scar you for life: Alzheimer's, snakes, and getting possessed by demons all fucking suck.
Wes Craven's New Nightmare
Where it's streaming: Netflix
Why you should watch it: By the seventh movie, any horror franchise has probably sucked for a long time. But somehow, Wes Craven flips every genre trope for some meta thrills.
How it will scar you for life: Don't see movies. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep during movies.
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Esquire comes to life on October 13-16 for four days of live interviews, screenings and talks. And there's a bar too. Tickets are limited. Visit esquire.co.uk/townhouse to find out more.
