Lights Off: Name the Scariest Halloween Films
Written by Pamela Mooman
Last updated · 12 min play time
What is fear, and where does it begin? Test yourself and your knowledge of the most fearful Halloween films to creep across cinema screens with this quiz.
Some films take fear to the limits. Terror does not necessarily involve graphic violence. Indeed, it begins and lives in the mind, and from it ripples horrific cinematic images that are not easily forgotten, if ever. This is the lair of the most frightening Halloween films you can imagine. Take it now, but do not be surprised if you need to leave the lights on afterward.
Quiz written by
Pamela MoomanTerror-Filled Films Quiz Questions
30 Questions · 9K Plays · 2 Comments
Question 1
This 1991 film featuring two horrifying murderers won five Oscars. A young FBI agent, on the trail of a savage killer who skins his victims, must consult with a brilliant cannibal psychiatrist behind bars for insights into the murderer's mind. Can you name this film?
-
ASteel and Lace
-
BBad Karma
-
CThe Silence of the Lambs
-
DBody Parts
The Silence of the Lambs
Directed by Jonathan Demme, "The Silence of the Lambs" is an extremely intelligent, carefully made horror film that stays with viewers long after the last frame.
Question 2
This 1973 film has been named the most frightening film of all time, with good reason. No matter what you believe, scenes throughout the film, especially the emotional and frightening climax, will stay with you for a long time.
-
AThe Exorcist
-
BDark Places
-
CThe Devil's Wedding Night
-
DThe Crazies
The Exorcist
"The Exorcist" is disturbing on so many levels, and, once seen, it is not easily forgotten.
Question 3
Open, empty spaces are even more frightening than confined ones, and long hallways with many closed doors are terrifying. This 1980 film tells the story of the terrible things that happen when an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic moves his family into a large, remote hotel for the winter when he agrees to serve as caretaker. Can you name this film?
-
AThe Children
-
BThe Shining
-
CThe Changeling
-
DDemented
The Shining
Everything about "The Shining" is drenched with ominous dread, from the opening tones of the medieval hymn "Dies Irae" to approaching blizzards to the steadily deteriorating condition of Jack Nicholson's character, also called Jack.
Question 4
This 1990 miniseries is an adaptation of Stephen King's 1986 eponymous novel, in which children are terrorized and haunted by a dreadful being. Can you name it?
-
AThe Bye Bye Man
-
BIt
-
CThe Evil Within
-
DJigsaw
It
"It" in this incarnation is directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and is horrifying for many reasons beyond the fearsome clown, in large part because of the effects trauma has on the children and what they must live with their entire lives.
Question 5
This 2004 film begins in a filthy bathroom, with two men chained to pipes and a bloody corpse splayed on the floor. The story of how they came to be there is told in flashbacks until the slow realization comes to them both that the only way to escape is through self-mutilation, which is meant to prove their strong drive to survive. Can you name this film?
-
A12 Days of Terror
-
BBone Sickness
-
CCreep
-
DSaw
Saw
"Saw," penned by Leigh Whannell, who starred in it, and James Wan, who directed it, is a study in human limits. How far are you willing to go to live? Though many critics panned it, it is nonetheless a compelling film that viewers keep watching.
Question 6
This 1968 film delivers horror in eerie black and white as a group of people try to stay alive as hordes of flesh-eating zombies close in and attack them. Can you name it?
-
ANight of the Living Dead
-
BThe Ghastly Ones
-
CGenocide
-
DThe Devil Rides Out
Night of the Living Dead
Although "Night of the Living Dead" was criticized after its release for being extremely gory, it has since been added to the National Film Registry, being noted as a film that is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
Question 7
This 2002 British horror film portrays post-apocalyptic devastation after a terrible virus is released into the population, and chronicles the efforts of four survivors making their way through the newly bleak landscape of their world. Can you name it?
-
A28 Days Later
-
BDog Soldiers
-
CDarkness
-
DDead Above Ground
28 Days Later
When a young man, played by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, wakes from a 28-day coma, he finds the London streets eerily empty. In "28 Days Later," directed by Danny Boyle, the viewers find out—along with the confused, increasingly frightened man—what has been happening while he was sleeping,
Question 8
What if Nature finally gets tired of human meddling and abuses? The audience is thrown into this frightening situation just as are the characters in this 1963 film that poses the question "what if?" as flocks of black birds gather around a coastal town. Can you name this terror-filled film?
-
AThe Birds
-
BThe Terror
-
CDementia 13
-
DBlack Zoo
The Birds
"The Birds" takes place over just a few days in the film, but its effect has lingered through the decades so that it chills viewers today just as it did when released. In one scene, Tippi Hedren, who was expecting bird props to be thrown at her, did not have to act terrified because, unbeknownst to her, Alfred Hitchcock had decided to use real birds.
Question 9
This 1978 film may be labeled as a "slasher movie," but it is much more frightening than subsequent flicks involving numerous bloody deaths. A small child (wearing a clown costume, no less) murders his sister and escapes from a mental institution 15 years later to return to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois, and terrible and terrifying events follow. Can you name this film?
-
AI Spit on Your Grave
-
BAre You in the House Alone?
-
CThe Legacy
-
DHalloween
Halloween
"Halloween" is still frightening because it does not apologize for what it is. Because it takes itself seriously, so do we. In addition, Michael Myers has one of the most unnerving ways of walking in all of horror filmdom.
Question 10
This 2002 home-invasion film touches on our deepest fears. A terrified mother and her diabetic daughter find out their most sacred retreat is not safe after all when burglars invade their home, and they must fight to stay alive. Can you name this film?
-
APanic Room
-
BClose Your Eyes
-
CMake a Wish
-
DHunting Humans
Panic Room
Though not necessarily of the season and certainly not one of the blood-and-gore variety flicks many favor at Halloween, "Panic Room" is disturbing enough that you may want to check and recheck your locks after seeing it.
Question 11
In this 1982 film, spirits come out of the television and a child disappears in her closet and can later only be heard through the television. Furniture is rearranged and people's lives are turned upside down in this frightening film that begins as a deceptively normal day in the suburbs and becomes a descent into a spiritual netherworld. Can you name it?
-
APoltergeist
-
BDon't Go to Sleep
-
CThe Aftermath
-
DThe Beast Within
Poltergeist
"Poltergeist" was directed by Tobe Hooper, and he worked to develop the story with Steven Spielberg, who produced and wrote the film. Highly valued by both critics and audiences, this film is still a much-prized and respected horror experience.
Question 12
This 1967 film is based on Truman Capote's eponymous true crime book. Yes, this actually happened. Two vagrants break into the Clutter family home in Kansas and murder everyone. Can you name this film?
-
AIn Cold Blood
-
BNight of the Big Heat
-
CEven the Wind Is Scared
-
DBerserk!
In Cold Blood
You cannot tell yourself this is only a film when watching "In Cold Blood." Truman Capote's chilling book made many sleep uneasy when it was published, and the film was well received by critics and the public alike. It has since garnered numerous accolades.
Question 13
Can you name this 1984 film in which a murdered killer returns to stalk and kill teenagers in their dreams?
-
AA Nightmare on Elm Street
-
BDeadly Intruder
-
CSatan's Blade
-
DRazorback
A Nightmare on Elm Street
"A Nightmare on Elm Street" has a horrifying concept, for who has not woken up from frightening nightmares, comforting themselves that it was only a dream? In this film, however, that reassurance does not hold true.
Question 14
This silent German horror film from 1920 tells the story of an insane, immoral hypnotist who compels a somnambulist called Cesare to commit murders. Can you name it?
-
AThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
-
BThe Golem: How He Came into the World
-
CA Blind Bargain
-
DThe Ghost Breaker
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
"The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" is frightening and deeply disturbing on multiple levels, perhaps the most profound being the loss of control of one's own mind and actions. A helpless individual is forced by an unscrupulous authority to do things he would not do of his own accord.
Question 15
In this 1974 film from Tobe Hooper, a young woman and her brother, along with three other young people, travel to check her grandfather's grave after hearing reports of grave desecration. What they find is much worse, when they discover a strange dwelling that houses a family of homicidal cannibals. Can you name this film?
-
ADrive-In Massacre
-
BThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre
-
CThe Bloody Exorcism of Coffin Joe
-
DDeranged
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
In "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre," certain plot points as well as the gruesome character of Leatherface were inspired by murderer Ed Gein, who was also the basis for other horrific movie murderers, including Norman Bates in "Psycho" and Buffalo Bill in "The Silence of the Lambs."
Question 16
This 1951 black-and-white horror film tells the story of what happens at a remote arctic outpost when an alien visitor frozen in a block of ice is accidentally revived. A small group of military personnel and scientists must then fight for their lives. Can you name this film?
-
AFrom Hell It Came
-
BThe Thing from Another World
-
CThe Disembodied
-
DThe Snow Creature
The Thing from Another World
"The Thing from Another World" has been both vilified and praised as one of the great science fiction films of the 1950s. Viewers will have to make their own choice. However, it is undeniable that the scenario of being hunted by a strange creature with no help coming is indeed frightening.
Question 17
In this 1976 film directed by Brian De Palma, a confused teenager struggles to function normally and fit in while dealing with a strange power and a mother who is a religious fanatic. Can you name it?
-
AAlice, Sweet Alice
-
BJ.D.'s Revenge
-
CCarrie
-
DTo the Devil a Daughter
Carrie
"Carrie," an adaptation of a Stephen King novel, premiered to both critical and popular acclaim. It is one of the few horror films to have garnered Academy Award nominations.
Question 18
This 1963 British horror film is rich in atmosphere and interesting character development as well as has a fascinating plot. A scientist and three other people meet at a large house reputedly haunted to determine whether spirits do haunt its halls. Can you name this film?
-
AThe Old Dark House
-
BTomb of Torture
-
CThe Haunting
-
DTwice-Told Tales
The Haunting
"The Haunting" may be an older, more subtle film without the gore that modern viewers seem to like and expect, but true terror is not bloody. It eats away at the mind, and the director and scriptwriter, who based the film on Shirley Jackson's novel, "The Haunting of Hill House," played on this very well.
Question 19
In this 1968 film, a waif-like young woman dreams she is raped by a beast-like creature, and she soon discovers she is pregnant. She is on her own, as her husband grows farther and farther away from her, influenced by sinister elderly residents in their apartment building. Can you name this film?
-
AEnigma of Death
-
BRosemary's Baby
-
CThe Joy of Torture
-
DSpider Baby
Rosemary's Baby
"Rosemary's Baby" and its treatment of occult themes was accepted warmly by critics and audiences, and it has been added to the National Film Registry.
Question 20
This 1922 German Expressionist horror film may be silent, but its creepy atmosphere, shadowy sets, and eerie movements say a great deal about how terrifying vampires can be. Can you name this film?
-
ANosferatu
-
BThe Haunted Castle
-
CThe Monster
-
DThe Penalty
Nosferatu
"Nosferatu" is a horror classic that is still chilling and unnerving.
Question 21
In this 1979 film, the commercial space ship Nostromo receives a beacon from an unknown vessel. When the crew investigate, a strange creature attaches itself to the face of one of the crew members, who suddenly becomes ill at a jovial dinner a few days later. Can you name this film?
-
ABeyond the Darkness
-
BUp From the Depths
-
CAlien
-
DNightwing
Alien
"Alien" is scary, but it is also taut and carefully shot to give viewers a creepy effect that is still fresh today. Though there is violence, even more frightening is the scenario of a violent monster lurking somewhere in the shadows, waiting.
Question 22
This 1988 film is fertile in psychological horror. Twin gynecologists who share everything find their twisted worlds turned upside down when they meet a woman. From grotesque medical examining equipment to the deterioration of minds, this film is harrowing.
-
AAmerican Gothic
-
BDead Ringers
-
CFaceless
-
DBad Dreams
Dead Ringers
David Cronenberg directed "Dead Ringers," which received acclaim, and Jeremy Irons won awards for his masterful portrayal of twins Beverly and Elliot Mantle.
Question 23
This 1973 film follows events on a Scottish island when a policeman arrives to investigate the death of a child. Pagan rites are obviously picking up steam, until residents bring out the ultimate horror, devised by ancient Celts to be used only in terms of dire emergencies but perverted in the 20th century. Can you name this film, starring Christopher Lee and Edward Woodward?
-
AThe Hanging Woman
-
BAnd Now the Screaming Starts!
-
CThe Wicker Man
-
DThe Iron Rose
The Wicker Man
"The Wicker Man" had moderate success upon its release, and it was overlooked for many years. However, modern viewers are rediscovering its particular approach to terror in a subgenre called "folk horror."
Question 24
In this black-and-white film from 1960, a young woman who stole money to start a new life with her lover stops at a remote hotel to rest and rethink her decision. This choice will prove fateful. Can you name this film?
-
APeeping Tom
-
BPsycho
-
CTormented
-
DVillage of the Damned
Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" got mixed reviews upon its release, but it was so popular that the movie community looked again and decided it was worthy of four nominations for Academy Awards.
Question 25
This 2007 horror film is about malevolent supernatural entities that terrorize a young couple in their home. The slow pace builds up suspense to a maddening level, as the audience must wait, along with those in the film, for something to happen, dreading that finally, it will. Can you name this film?
-
ABeneath the Surface
-
BBlack Swarm
-
CParanormal Activity
-
DBuried Alive
Paranormal Activity
"Paranormal Activity" was wildly successful upon its release.
Question 26
This stylish 1973 film eschews jump-and-startle violence and instead focuses on a different sort of terror. Two parents grieving the recent accidental loss of their daughter travel to Venice for the husband's work, where they meet two strange sisters and begin to experience unusual sightings that hint at their daughter's return. Can you name this scary film?
-
AAssignment Terror
-
BDon't Look Now
-
CAnd Soon the Darkness
-
DThe Baby
Don't Look Now
"Don't Look Now" has recurring themes and images that tie the plot together like silken threads.
Question 27
Playing on what we do not see, this 1999 film is styled to be found footage shot by young people going into the Maryland woods to investigate legends of a supernatural being. Can you name this film?
-
AThe Blair Witch Project
-
BBats
-
CThe Nameless
-
DDesecration
The Blair Witch Project
"The Blair Witch Project" was popular with critics when it was released, though audience reactions were not so clear cut. Still, it spawned the subgenre of found footage films, and the last 10 minutes are genuinely disturbing.
Question 28
This 1998 Japanese film is a psychological horror-fest about a video tape that kills its viewers within seven days of watching it. Can you name this film?
-
AI've Been Waiting for You
-
BDeep Rising
-
CThe Ring, aka Ringu
-
DThe Killer Eye
The Ring, aka Ringu
"The Ring," or "Ringu," is a Japanese film that has more icy punch than its American remake. Still, both are unnerving and may make you wary of your television screen for awhile.
Question 29
In this 1976 film, an American diplomat and his wife notice there is something strange about their son, especially when death and disturbance follow him everywhere. Can you name this film?
-
ADeath Machines
-
BWho Can Kill a Child?
-
CThe Omen
-
DThe Rat Savior
The Omen
"The Omen" was received well both by critics and audiences. Its themes and images still horrify today's viewers, even though it bypasses surface blood-and-guts effects to play upon subtler, deeper fears.
Question 30
This 1964 film from American International Pictures follows the disintegration of a man's second marriage and his mind, because he is haunted by the spirit of his dead wife. The true terror comes in watching the human psyche degenerate. Can you name this film?
-
ACastle of the Living Dead
-
B2000 Maniacs
-
CThe Tomb of Ligeia
-
DThe Black Torment
The Tomb of Ligeia
"The Tomb of Ligeia" is not violent in the way in which many modern horror film buffs are accustomed. Rather, the violence is in the mind of a man trying to move forward but finding himself stalked by a spirit he cannot leave behind.
Comments (2)
We want to hear your feedback! Share your scores and discuss the quiz, but keep it civil.
Very refreshing . I like that this quiz is in place,it brings back a lot of memories. You have me really thinking.. Thank you??✌
Every single answer was A... once I realized that I didn't even read the questions and got 100%. Disappointing.