The idea of a haunted house can be fascinating yet terrifying. The very thought that a place of residence could be a source of terror triggers a sense of unimaginable dread. Haunted house horror movies explore this mix of fear, curiosity and the familiarity of the home to tell stories that have captivated audiences for decades.
Many haunted house horror movies are part of the broader Gothic genre, in which a large, old mansion serves as the setting for the characters. Others feature contemporary locations, where anything from a council house to an isolated cabin can be the source of the haunting.
It is important to note that the supernatural elements in such films are always tied to the dwelling. The house itself becomes a character, preserving secrets that are directly connected to the cause of the unsettling phenomena. There is usually an unresolved grievance, though the events may also stem from pain, suffering, guilt or conflict at the heart of the characters’ lives. This makes it distinct from other horror movies in which the supernatural events are not connected to the house but exist independently of it. An example is The Exorcist (1973), which is about a demonic possession of a young girl.
In haunted house movies, the atmosphere is almost as important as the ghosts or other malevolent forces at work. Characters find themselves in settings that grow increasingly mysterious and threatening. The more they explore, the more they discover just how unfamiliar the place they thought they knew so well really is.
For our favourites among the many haunted house movies, we considered only titles rated 7.0 or higher on IMDb. Beyond the films on this list, horror fans may also appreciate House on Haunted Hill (1959) and We Are Still Here (2015), both of which are highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes.
The greatest haunted house horror movies of all time
1 /11
The Uninvited (1944)Directed by: Lewis Allen
Cast: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Gail Russell
Runtime: 1h 39m
IMDb rating: 7.2
RT rating: 95 per cent
Synopsis: Composer Rick Fitzgerald (Milland) and his sister Pamela (Hussey) purchase an abandoned Gothic mansion in a seaside town in England. Soon, they discover that the 18th-century house is haunted by two spirits who seem to have a connection with Stella (Russell), who is the granddaughter of the property’s original owner.
More about the film: Cinematographer Charles Lang received an Oscar nod for Best Cinematography, Black-and-White for The Uninvited.
2 /11
The Innocents (1961)Directed by: Jack Clayton
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave
Runtime: 1h 40m
IMDb rating: 7.7
RT rating: 95 per cent
Synopsis: Miss Giddens (Kerr) takes up a job as a governess of two children at a large country estate. The children’s erratic behaviour alerts her to the presence of malicious spirits in the house.
More about the film: The Innocents is based on Henry James’ 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw, which also inspired the 1950 play by William Archibald from which the film takes its title. The psychological horror movie was nominated for two BAFTAs, including Best Film from any Source. It was one of the films which Guillermo del Toro cited as his inspiration for Crimson Peak (2015).
3 /11
The Haunting (1963)Directed by: Robert Wise
Cast: Richard Johnson, Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn
Runtime: 1h 52m
IMDb rating: 7.4
RT rating: 87 per cent
Synopsis: Anthropologist Dr John Markway (Johnson) wants to investigate if a 90-year-old mansion named Hill House is haunted, as people claim. He takes up residence at Hill House with Eleanor (Harris), Theodora (Bloom) and the mansion’s heir Luke (Tamblyn). While everyone is troubled by the strange occurrences in the house, Eleanor feels that the house is calling her.
More about the film: The Haunting is based on Shirley Jackson’s acclaimed 1959 Gothic novel The Haunting of Hill House. The film was remade in 1999, with Liam Neeson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Owen Wilson appearing as the main characters.
4 /11
The Changeling (1980)Directed by: Peter Medak
Cast: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas, John Colicos, Jean Marsh
Runtime: 1h 47m
IMDb rating: 7.1
RT rating: 85 per cent
Synopsis: John Russell (Scott), a music composer, rents a mansion in Seattle after losing his wife and daughter in a car accident. After sensing a young boy’s ghost in the house, he begins an investigation that leads him to a gruesome tragedy from several decades ago.
5 /11
The Shining (1980)Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
Runtime: 2h 26m
IMDb rating: 8.4
RT rating: 84 per cent
Synopsis: An isolated hotel in Colorado becomes the temporary residence of writer Jack Torrance (Nicholson) and his family during the winter. When his young son, Danny (Lloyd), starts seeing horrific premonitions, Jack begins to dig deeper into the hotel’s dark past and uncovers secrets that turn him into a raging, homicidal maniac.
More about the film: Based on Stephen King‘s 1977 novel of the same name, The Shining was not a major critical or commercial success at the time of its release. However, it has gained a cult status over the decades and is now widely hailed as one of the greatest horror movies ever made.
6 /11
The Evil Dead (1981)Directed by: Sam Raimi
Cast: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss
Runtime: 1h 25m
IMDb rating: 7.3
RT rating: 85 per cent
Synopsis: Ashley “Ash” Williams (Campbell) is a college student who joins his girlfriend and their three other friends for a stay in an isolated cabin in the woods. They inadvertently summon a legion of demons and evil spirits, who possess four of them. Ash, left alone now, must fight to save himself.
More about the film: This independent film is the first in the media franchise of the same name.
Watch it here7 /11
Poltergeist (1982)Directed by: Tobe Hooper
Cast: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Beatrice Straight, Oliver Robins, Heather O’Rourke, Beatrice Straight
Runtime: 1h 54m
IMDb rating: 7.3
RT rating: 88 per cent
Synopsis: The Freelings, an ordinary family in California, are forced to confront a nightmarish situation when an evil supernatural entity kidnaps their five-year-old daughter through a portal. The family must take the help of parapsychologist Dr Lesh (Straight) to get their daughter back.
More about the film: Poltergeist received three Oscar nominations, including one for Best Visual Effects, and was one of the highest-grossing movies in the year of its release.
Watch it here8 /11
The Others (2001)Directed by: Alejandro Amenábar
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston, Elaine Cassidy, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
Runtime: 1h 44m
IMDb rating: 7.6
RT rating: 84 per cent
Synopsis: Grace (Kidman) is a devoutly religious woman who lives with her two children in a large family estate in the days immediately after the end of World War II. She hires three new servants to work at the estate. Things seem fine for a few days, but when her daughter tells her that she sees ghosts, Grace believes that the three servants have something to do with it.
More about the film: The Others is one of the best horror movies of the 21st century. It is the first film not in the Spanish language to win the Goya Award for Best Film. It was also nominated for two BAFTAs and a Golden Globe.
Watch it here9 /11
The Cabin in the Woods (2011)Directed by: Drew Goddard
Cast: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins
Runtime: 1h 35m
IMDb rating: 7.0
RT rating: 92 per cent
Synopsis: Five American college students arrive at a remote cabin in the woods owned by one of them for a vacation. Unbeknownst to them, the cabin serves as a secret facility for a clandestine network that uses a variety of monsters from horror stories to complete a sadistic ritual.
10 /11
The Conjuring (2013)Directed by: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor, Shanley Caswell
Runtime: 1h 52m
IMDb rating: 7.5
RT rating: 86 per cent
Synopsis: Paranormal investigators Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Farmiga) attempt to protect the Perron family from a malevolent entity haunting their new farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, in 1971.
More about the film: The Conjuring achieved tremendous success at the worldwide box office, grossing around USD 320 million on a budget of approximately USD 20 million. Its critical and commercial fame gave birth to the franchise of the same name.
Watch it here11 /11
The Conjuring 2 (2016)Directed by: James Wan
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Frances O’Connor, Madison Wolfe, Simon McBurney, Franka Potente
Runtime: 2h 14m
IMDb rating: 7.3
RT rating: 80 per cent
Synopsis: The Hodgson family lives in a council house in the London borough of Enfield in 1977. They begin to experience disturbing events in their home after one of the children uses a Ouija board. The family turns to the Warrens for help, and the couple soon discovers an evil far more powerful than they had imagined.
More about the film: This is the second film in The Conjuring universe. Like the other movies in the franchise, The Conjuring 2 is also based on true events concerning the real-life Warrens. The film was followed by The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021) and The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025). Both films failed to match the critical acclaim of the first two titles.
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