Kick off your October right: take it nice and easy by watching cute classics such as Matilda, a movie about an orphan girl with telekinetic powers.  As we delve further into the month of October, however, be prepared for a plethora of blood and gore.  For the faint of heart, I recommend stopping just after Jaws, which is placed at number 14 on this list.  Right at about number 15, The Cabin in the Woods, the boys start being separated from the men.  The month starts off with the likes of Ghostbusters, and culminates with films such as The Shining, which is arguably one of the most atrocious horror movies of all time with directing by Stanley Kubrick, acting by Jack Nicholson, and a plot based off the Stephen King novel by the same name.  Newer horror movies which I anticipate will eventually become classics are also included in this list.  For example, the recent thriller, Get Out, received an astonishing 99% on the notably critical Rotten Tomatoes with an impeccable combination of horror, comedy, and an underlying social message.  Indubitably, older films such as The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and A Nightmare on Elm Street made this list as Halloween simply wouldn’t be the same without the likes of Leatherface and Freddy Krueger.  Of course, I also included animated films such as Coraline and Monster House, which I find utterly terrifying despite their predominantly being children’s movies.  (PSA: do NOT let your child watch Coraline, a movie in which a little girl finds a sinister parallel universe where, for some heinous reason, everyone has buttons for eyes.  Speaking from personal experience, it is scarring.  Not to mention, it completely ruined buttons for me.)  The grand finale at number 31 is, naturally, Halloween.  This movie franchise features the killing sprees of serial killer, Michael Myers, each Halloween.  Without further ado, I present the list itself.  Proceed with caution – viewer discretion is advised.

1. Matilda

2. Halloweentown

3. Hocus Pocus

4. Ghostbusters

5. The Addams Family

6. A Corpse Bride

7. Young Frankenstein

8. Monster House

9. Coraline

10. The Witches

11. Zombieland

12. Beetlejuice

13. The Evil Dead

14. Jaws

15. The Cabin in the Woods

16. Paranormal Activity

17. Scream

18. Aliens

19. It

20. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

21. Sinister

22. The Conjuring

23. Halloween (2018)

24. The Silence of the Lambs

25. Get Out

26. A Nightmare on Elm Street

27. A Quiet Place

28. The Exorcist

29. Hereditary

30. The Shining

31. Halloween

In the case that you develop PTSD from any of these movies, ask our staff’s senior consultants, Mason and Max, how to deal with it.