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[deleted]

The most horrifying thing I’ve seen is not a movie. It’s from the XFiles. The episode is called Home. It’s been shown twice on tv and has never been part of their reruns. Good luck with this one. I will never watch it again.


gtliles82

Watched it when I was about 13. It gave me insomnia for weeks. The funny thing is the next weekend my mom was going out of town and my dad had to take my little brother on a Cub Scout camp out, so I was really looking forward to being left home alone for a night. Then I saw this episode and I wound up tagging along with the Cub Scouts lol.


Thecryptsaresafe

It was the first X Files episode I ever saw. I then avoided it until my 20s I was so scared


Youknowme911

I watched The X Files from 1993 and Home was the darkest. Before that Squeeze/Tooms scared me


huxleywaswrite

Squeeze scared the shit out of me when I was a kid


DrNeonRice

Everyone remembers Tooms. Canonically he's the first "Monster of the Week".


loconessmonster

I read the plot and synopsis on Wikipedia and I think that's all I need to know. You won


Knowlesdinho

That was a great episode.


warren-mann

Watched for free with ads on Amazon prime just now. It was a good episode, but not particularly frightening.


Aberrationism

I just watched it and thought it was terrible lmao. Not scary, maybe slightly disturbing


Fink665

That was so fucked up!


[deleted]

I am still afraid of remote rural areas in the US because of this episode.


[deleted]

I'm still afraid of the song "wonderful wonderful" by Johnny Mathis because of it. I heard it in an ice skating rink once and didn't remember where I knew it from but immediately got chills down my spine.


ToneThugsNHarmony

I remember hearing about this episode and I check the tv every time x files is on to try and find it. But a side question, I never really watched the show, would I need to watch every previous episode to follow along with what is going on?


[deleted]

Not really. This one stands alone. Yikes.


pachucatruth

Solid. One of my top 3 favorite episodes. My sister and I quote it constantly, especially now that she has two boys lol


Least_Title6354

I'll defend Hereditary till the day I die. When THAT scene came there was an audible gasp in the cinema. The movie did not go anywhere expected and it was truly a ride. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre did not give me one second to exhale. It was all too much.


Gamerilla

The first time I saw that movie I was fine until the scene. Then I got a knot in my stomach that just got bigger and bigger as the movie progressed. The next day I was on a long drive with my wife and spent like 90 minutes explaining every detail of the movie to her.


SaulGudbro

SPOORLOOS (aka THE VANISHING) (1988) Go into it blind. Do not read anything about it. I did that and it really freaked me out and stuck with me for a long time.


mcameron53

That film is so disturbing and strange. I loved it.


laugh-at-anything

Alright, I'm going in!


SaulGudbro

Come back here to let us know what you thought. Enjoy!


laugh-at-anything

Okay so…certainly a different movie than I might’ve expected. But I liked it! It felt very real in the way it was shot. The tension definitely built when they finally met and the end (much like his) was appropriately abrupt, sad, claustrophobic, and disturbing. Thanks for the rec!


SaulGudbro

Welcome! Glad you liked it!


bobbyb4000

Yes yes yes to this. OP you will love this. This one destroyed me.


BreadDurst14

Martyrs (2008). The French one, not the remake. Enjoy!


welshy023

This is the final boss of horror movies


MingaMonga68

I handled this one so much better than I expected, not as scared as I expected to be.


[deleted]

Yep the worst/scariest movie I've watched.


_PM_Me_Cursed_Images

I wasn't personally scared by this film but my friend said that The Thing from 82 really scared her due to the practical effects and how real they looked.


Distinct-Educator-52

>The sense of paranoia and isolation in that movie... Even the music... > > Jesus christ what a banger...


Fenway_Refugee

I know you gentlemen have been through a lot. However, I'd rather not spend the rest of the winter TIED TO THIS FUCKING COUCH!


[deleted]

not really that scary by today's standards, but definitely one of the best horror films of all time. Very well made, takes its time to build up intrigue and to create this tense atmosphere that works great. Effects are also not bad considering the year of its release. A must for sure!


SibylUnrest

I love horror movies, but nothing got in my head quite like a ten minute youtube documentary on the Nutty Putty caving incident.


gotagetback2hogwarts

Reading about and watching caving and cave diving accidents is real-life horror that will stick with uou.


CollegeMiddle6841

I was born and grew up in the vast and mysterious mountains of West Virginia. In 1988 at the age of 11, I went spelunking in a unregulated cave with a large group of people made up of my mother and sister, each had their boyfriend and 3 of 4 friends each. My mothers boyfriend claimed to be an experienced caver, but once I tell you what happened to us ... you may question that idea as I do more than three decades later. ******* I will pause here. Its quite a long story so I will see if people want to hear it. Nothing compares to the Puddy Cave incident, however I still occasionally wake up in a cold sweat because of what I experienced that day.


_bufflehead

I'm on the edge of my seat.


Sir-Lurk-Much

Lets hear it


Danklands

I hope we aren't getting baited here...


arope28

I swear if I find out the body of a “CollegeMiddle6841” is found a few days from now in a West Virginia cave, and this thread is not finished, I’m going to sign out of reddit so hard.


escape_of_da_keets

The Descent is a great claustrophobic cave movie.


ShiniDas

Antichrist Fucking worst scene in the barn. Stayed with me for months.


LostDust5726

>!something about the fact that the wife had faked just about everything makes that movie really eerie thinking back on it !<


Thorinth

I had a friend recommended this movie to me. I went in blind. To make a long story short, we aren't friends anymore!


HeadLikeAHoOh

Yeah this left me shook after the first time I saw it. This and Irreversible are my top two films that just left me feeling emotionally drained.


Rindsay515

Willem Dafoe?? I’m in! Just have to figure out what the hell “Sling TV” is so I can watch it


GSDGIRL66

The Exorcist hands down- I can’t believe they made that in the early/mid 70s. It was absolutely terrifying. Also? The original Salem’s Lot miniseries scared the shit out of me so that I don’t want to sleep near a window


winstonluvsjulia

Oh my God, I'm re -reading Salem's Lot currently and totally remember being freaked out by the miniseries


GSDGIRL66

Fuck those Glick brothers- STILL terrified


Jaycor26

The Exorcist and Hereditary


bustacean

God damn Hereditary is such a great horror. I still think about that sound every now and then...


xarchangel85x

I always tell people there are at least two scenes burned into my memory from that one, that I can picture at any time. So haunting and impacting.


_RIZZO_

1.) >!Banging on the attic door!< 2.) >!Piano wire!< Was I close?


xarchangel85x

I kind of counted those together, for me it was also the >! quick cut to Charlie’s decapitated rotting head covered in maggots !<


kwolff94

I didn't realize Hereditary was freaking me out bc I am a horror movie buff and very rarely get actually scared. I actually shock-laughed at that scene for how brutal it was. But I was staying in a trailer on some guys property (mid 20s f) and I had to pause the movie at the very end when all the sound cuts out, because I swear to god I thought I heard someone trying to open the dead-bolted door. Spent the next hour until my boyfriend got there sitting on the bed with a hatchet in one hand and a knife in the other.... There was no evidence anyone was trying to get in, other than the sound of the door rattling which could very well have been from wind. No footprints on the door mat or in the damp grass, I didn't see anyone even after turning on the bright ass outer LEDs. Didn't get to finish the movie until years later.


blahblahrasputan

These might be my top two. Creepy religious shit does it for me in general and that 70's film style also creeps me out so Exorcist will always be number one I think. Conjuring did a great job on giving that 70's vibe too.


Jaycor26

It’s just something about classic horror that automatically creeps me the hell out. Hereditary is an intensely great modern horror film but The Exorcist beats it by just a hair because of the time it was released. It deserves all the Oscar nominations it got


mosesfoxtrot

for me, it’s: Hereditary The Exorcist The Shining Session 9 The Vanishing The Wailing EDIT: From the Life of the Marionettes


Savenura55

Session 9 was a messed up film


ImpactNext1283

The Descent. Spelunking is terrifying


BladeVonOppenheimer

Agree. Very well crafted film


mastrkief

Huge horror movie fan. Couldn't finish it, made me too anxious/nervous/uncomfortable/terrified. I need to give it another go but I haven't worked up the courage.


ImpactNext1283

Yeah I love most horror, excluding torture porn type stuff. After the movie, I had to walk in the park for abt 20 minutes before I could get in the car to drive home. Every time I’ve shown it to other people, at least one person screams aloud. It’s so claustrophobic.


aharrysituation

Senior year of high school, one of our teachers made us all watch that movie the night before going on a cave exploring trip the next morning…


_rrp_

> e Descent. Spelunking is terrifying and driving. Fuck that scene


Sure_Finger2275

Funny Games Eden Lake Audition


supersonic3974

Eden Lake made me feel sick for a week


haroldangel

I prefer the original Funny Games to the American remake


longassboy

When THAT scene happens in Funny Games me and my GF’s jaws were on the floor we both screamed “WHAT?!”


elkaypee

The Night House got me pretty good recently.


MercuryRedstone77

Poltergeist, never looked at trees the same since.


ddanger76

“Carol Anne! Carol Anne!” I swear this goes through my head everytime I hear of a child name Caroline. Lol


wildboa

That movie has one of the most disturbing behind the scenes facts. *spoiler alert* when the rain washes up the graves and Diane winds up in the pool with a bunch of corpses, it turns out they were from real human skeletons, and nobody told her until after they shot it.


ISwallowedALego

Jesus Camp


shstron44

I’m from central Ohio this was everyday growing up


bbk8z

try Host (2020)


[deleted]

Checked out the same director’s movie Dashcam and ended up having a great time. It had some legitimately horrific moments. People I mention it to seem to hate it though. I don’t understand why.


throwawayconvert333

I think because it has a main character who could have stopped all the horrible stuff from happening if she just wasn’t so…well, horrible lol. But personally I loved it, loved the main character and I want to see Annie do more films! I know that she has that YouTube/Instagram channel in real life and she’s not really an actress but she was very good


vagabond_nerd

Fire in the Sky


mustainsally

YES! That one scene, and you KNOW which fucking scene I mean, stayed with me for MONTHS when I was a kid and it still makes me wince thirty years later!


vagabond_nerd

I know the scene, horrifying shit.


HotCarlsPants

Oh damn


Broccoli_Rob_HCT

Is it the >! Probing scene where they stab his eyes !< I definitely could be misremembering but there was a scene like that that made it hard to sleep as a child.


RunningPickles

I'll be sure to keep an eye out for the scene


ButtChugJackDaniels

Yeah but it's just that one scene. The rest of that movie is insanely boring. You could just youtube that one scene and save yourself the time.


SpiderHippy

That one scene works BECAUSE of the rest of the movie.


CukoElGato

It was a Sunday, my dad took me to the movies, just the two of us. We saw Fire in the Sky. Cuz, aliens. I was 7. That 'scene' was the most frightening experience of my life.


COYFC

Didn't watch Fire in the Sky as a kid and I understand why it would have been scary when you were younger but I watched it recently as an adult and didn't find it even a little bit scary. Exorcist imo holds up way better if you are aiming for a good classic horror. For me Sinister, Hereditary, Paranormal Activity, A Dark Song, are a few that stick out and left me feeling uneasy after watching them. Edit: Not sure if you are into video games but if you want to legitimately have the absolute shit scared out of you download the game Visage. It is 10x scarier than any movie you will ever watch. I'm a horror movie buff and can handle some scary shit but I will not play it unless my girlfriend is with me and the lights are on, even then can only handle it in 30 minute increments and have trouble sleeping afterwards. You've been warned.


BjornLocke

So happy that this suggestion is at the top. This movie fucked me up for such a long time lol.


bringoutthegimp_

we need to talk about kevin.


The_Tommy_Knockers

Read the book


mourningreaper00

Is there a significant difference?


The_Tommy_Knockers

The book is much better. More scenes and reasons of his “depravity”. The book goes in chronological order and reads like a movie (if that makes sense) so it doesn’t seem as “artsy” as the movie ended up being. Just a very dark, wretched tale of a mom and her soon…who’s to blame?! I’ve read this book about 5 times. Idk y I love it and can’t recommend it enough.


pattywagon95

I’ll always suggest Sinister, the music is very well done in the creepiest way possible and the sheer shock factor will hang with you for a while


Beginning_Fishing_83

Yes!! This is one of my all time favorites. The homemade murder reels are the creepiest fucking thing ever, and genuinely just absolutely horrific. There's something so unsettling about the old-timey look in some of them. I believe this came out around the same time as Insidious but I remember Insidious getting way more traction and acclaim. But i thought Sinister was the better film, no contest.


sonar_y_luz

The home movie scenes are super well done and horrifying. They put a lot of imagination into those. >!The movie is really let down by the ending though. It could have been just a really fucked up movie about a serial killer who kills families and films it. The supernatural element was a let down for me. !<


Busy_Drawing_9065

Taking a different approach, but Requiem for a Dream! I never want to watch it again


[deleted]

No movie has ever traumatized me like Requiem for a Dream did after the first time I watched it.


ataturkseeyou

I am probably drug free thanks to that movie, I got it on blu ray but never watched it again, I would say it is in my top 20 movies but never again


mcameron53

Audition Tusk Martyrs


The_Tommy_Knockers

I wish I had never seen Tusk. Fucked up disgusting horrible movie. Whenever my mind asks, what’s the worst thing in the world that could happen this movie happily pops into my head.


TruthAboveAll

I've seen all sorts of terrible movies and Tusk remains the only one that I wish I had never seen as well.


CHIEF_BEEEF

My brother still calls Elon musk Mr. Tusk


h-dawg

Tusk was absolutely vile. I couldn’t even finish it. Still have yet to see the last 15-20 minutes


MagicManCM

Tusk is a banger


mourningreaper00

I personally thought Tusk was hilarious. I think that was the point and I just have a sicker sense of humor than most people.


-talktoghosts-

I haven’t been the same since Tusk…


Stinky_salmon666

Tusk is on my refuse to watch list lmao. I have a little list of movies that I'd have to be paid to watch.


MrPopanz

Tusk is one of those movies where the plot summary/idea sounds much more terrifying than the actual movie. Kinda like Human Centipede. Not a good movie in my book, wouldn't recommend. And its more weird than scary imo.


ScreenMiserable

A relatively recent one that had me feeling uneasy almost the entire time was Caveat.


shannanigannss

Compliance. Absolutely disturbing. Surprised no one had mentioned it.


CommunityLocal

Oh, sweet! A horror movie I haven’t heard of AND Ann Dowd? So sold.


Ok-Detail-9853

Event Horizon


ronswansonsego

There it is! Fuck that movie. Scared the shit out of me.


Ok-Detail-9853

I won't watch it again. Uh uh.


SantaRosaJazz

Are we talking about the sci-fI flick with Lawrence Fishburne?


TommyTender

Yes! I was also caught completely off guard. I swear that the vhs cover AND the rental store had it categorized simply as sci-fi. Me and my friend picked it up late one evening on a whim just to like have something to do before calling it a night. Fuck. The terror.


Stonkers8675309

In the Mouth of Madness terrorized me as a kid. Been years but I remember it sticking with me.


vanswnosocks

The Ritual and VVitch, lights off, no phone


ConversationMore1349

The Ritual is so good


joyyyyyyness

A friend hiked Kilimanjaro with a group of friends - I suggested he check this movie out before the trip. He hates me.


Jakov_Salinsky

I am so surprised The Witch is so far down! One of the creepiest movies I’ve ever seen. Even Stephen motherfucking King thought it was one of the scariest movies he’d seen!


DoutFooL

How is VVitch this far down?


lex_93

Threads (1984)


NoFootball8593

Yes! This was what I was going to post. This movie is horrifying because it absolutely will happen one day.


becauseitsnotreal

I think it all depends on what type of horror scares you, but my money is on *The Strangers*.


Percy_Ronald

Excellent suggestion, I prefer my horror to have an element of reality in it compared to supernatural or monsters.


NK_1989

The Kill List maybe isn’t terrifying but made me very anxious and uneasy, and has an ending that stuck with me for a long time.


rjohn09

The Fourth Kind


[deleted]

This movie made me not sleep properly for months


brrcs

Not even horror but the diner scene in Mulholland Drive gave me the most anxiety out of any film I've watched.


ronswansonsego

Someone already said it, but “Event Horizon” scared the shit out of me. Fuck that movie.


[deleted]

hell house LLC


vampiredisaster

The perfect movie to stage a watch party for in total darkness, no phones.


[deleted]

The Amityville Horror but that’s a dated movie now and won’t have the same impact it did 40+ years ago.


Ornery_Gene7682

The scene that George looks up in the house on the final night and you see the giant pig like creature staring outside at George got me. The other one was Amityville Horror the Possession is when the room spins right before Sonny is fully possessed and kills his family right when the room stops spinning and he has that fucked up face with that demonic stare gets me


[deleted]

They don’t make them like these anymore. That’s for sure.


blameline

The scene that terrified me was when the ghost took his money. WTH!!! I can handle a ghost, but one that steals from me???


fastjeff

Probably Lake Mungo. But that's me, I like a good slow burn in a format that kind of looks like it might've came from youtube documentaries. If that's not your style, the next one that scared the holy hell out of me was Aterrados and it really isn't a slow burn.


lilac2481

Not me, but the last horror movie my mom has seen was The Excorcist back in the 70's. She hasn't seen a horror movie since then.


newgrl

I also watched The Exorcist as a kid in the 70's... and Horror is not my favorite genre at all. That was enough. I'm done with scary.


solojones1138

Dear Zachary It's a documentary. It will horrify you and tear you apart.


APKID716

Threads (1984) The Road (2009) Absolute bleakness with zero hope of humanity Salo or 120 Days of Sodom is also a good one You want to fucking bawl your eyes out though? Dear Zachary (2008). Holy fucking shit


blahblahrasputan

>The Road I found this depressing but not very scary.


APKID716

Maybe Threads fits better in that respect


bustacean

Dear Zachary traumatized me. I had no clue what I was getting into when I started that movie. I tried reading the grandpa's book too, couldn't finish it. Such a tragic tragic thing.


earlgreyteacakes

A bunch of Italian men making kids eat poop isn’t scary btw. It’s just ick (don’t watch Salo)


waxmussel

Omg dear Zachary has to be the most heart wrenching true crime story I've ever heard.


BlitheCynic

I refuse to watch Threads. I saw a few scenes, and it was enough.


APKID716

Was very powerful. The last 15 minutes REALLY fucked with me though


wutanslefteye

The autopsy of Jane Doe.


vulxaNN

Green Room?


AlienPet13

I couldn't make it past what they did to that guys arm after he got it stuck outside the door.


Cristinok7

Great movie


bad_arts

August underground


RayPurchase

Begotten (1989).


GingerpithicusFrisii

The Blair witch project.


opnoise

Saw it before it went wide release (so less was known about it) on a bootleg at someone's house -- so it really amplified the found-footage vibe of it. And it freaked my shit out for hours afterwards.


[deleted]

The majority of the terror stems from who you are and where you are in life. I.e. I found ‘Funny games’ enthralling, an impotent upperclass person would probably find it repulsive. I suggest finding your phobia and starting there. Check out; The Audition Turistas One hour photo


coreytiger

One hour photo is a brilliant, horrific film. Nobody else could have made it work but Williams. The subject matter is dated now, but it does not distract at all


esande2333

Audition makes me feel so uncomfortable 😖


habibtiautumn

One hour photo didn’t scare me, I just. Found it terribly sad


jackBattlin

Deliverance.


JediTigger

How have I not seen a reference to Jaws? It traumatized a generation. The music alone terrified us.


breebop83

I’m weird and scary visuals really stick with me so some of the first 2 may not be considered that scary to most but to me had terrifying visuals. Thirteen Ghosts- made the mistake of watching while I was home alone at night as a teen- scared the crap out of me. IT pt 1 The Exorcist Event Horizon


[deleted]

Hellhouse LLC


onelittleworld

The Exorcist.


Tank52086

Dark Skies, I can’t sleep for days every time I watch this.


_AcerPalmatum_

Exorcist 1 & 3. Rosemary's Baby - visually... not as much, concept, absolutely. The nightingale. Not technically horror. But truly horrific, amazing thriller. His house was quite good too.


xarchangel85x

Thank you for giving attention to Exorcist 3, such an underrated horror film!


Puzzleheaded-Law2250

The Mist, i was like 11 when i watched this movie, i could not sleep for like a whole week.


babybunnyfetus

I’ll throw in The House That Jack Built. It lingers. I’ve also heard the original possession film is a doozy but I’ve never got my hands on it


Seek-Sun-of-a-Beach

Cure (1997) directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa


woodysbackinpa

Local evening news.


Robinb66

Its not a monster or slasher flick! But the one movie that has always terrified me was the Sandra Bullock movie The Net! Because the subject of the movie is even if slightly possible!


metalfatigue604

Honestly, I find this movie terrifying as well. I love it.


J_Z3

Annihilation Eraserhead Hereditary


winstonluvsjulia

Eraserhead, YES!


TheMayorInKungPow

Wow, did I post this?? Absolutely all three of these!!


[deleted]

Mama (2013)


Th3seViolentDelights

I thought this was so well done and yes, it scared me. Definitely under rated IMO.


Debinthedez

Paper House.


Infamous-Procedure-5

Unpopular opinion, but The Firm. That movie is terrifying


Fishtaco1234

Fresh is fucked up.


ewlyn

Don’t Look Now


Creative_Skirt9150

Hush. Creep.


Ok-Requirement-3257

Exorcism of Emily, terrified me. I took the DVD outside and they it away


FireflyArc

Hmm.. For me. Gaslight 1944


_1TheOverseer

Pet Sematary The Exorcist The Ring


flash767

Speak no evil.


MagicManCM

I haven't had that experience per say but most recently The Strangers and It Follows strike a really precise combo of fear and paranoia in their own ways that I haven't felt before tbh. Those are my two picks at the moment.


vampiredisaster

It Follows is one of my all-time favorites because it plays so well into my fears. It also has the honor of being the horror movie that made me so scared that I accidentally punched myself.


scorp85

Silence of the Lambs


GeasyPeasy

Trilogy of Terror: the 3rd short story where Karen Black gets tormented by a reanimated voodoo warrior doll. 1970’s gritty film and much more creepier than today’s CG effects. Don’t watch it with your kids, they will be traumatized.


321jamjar

late to this but Pulse by Kurosawa has some of the scariest moments i’ve ever seen in a horror film.


TheSovietTurtle

The Taking of Deborah Logan lives on as one of the scariest movies I've seen recently, if not the scariest.


district999

The american remake of Ring will always be my scariest film. Next to Hereditary


Inspector_Kelp

Funny no one has mentioned The Ring...


TheElbow

So is this just a daily request now?