Halloween Countdown

In the spirit of Halloween, I've decided to do a creepy countdown today. I love, really love, scary movies. Unfortunately, I've seen so many that it takes something truly terrifying to scare me. However, I have a lot of favorites, so after a lot of thought, here are my...

Top 10 Favorite Scary Movies

10. Signs - I will admit it. Aliens scare me. Combine the prospect of hostile aliens with M. Night Shyamalan and you get the scariest alien movie I've ever seen (and I'm afraid of ET).

9. The Strangers - Nothing scares me more than the idea of completely delusional people with no absolutely no remorse. This movie scares me because, unlike aliens, witches, vampires, zombies, monsters, ghosts, and religious possession, it could happen...to anyone.

8. The Blair Witch Project - Although it has been parodied beyond belief, the concept for this movie was incredible. Everything about it was gritty and authentic and the marketing and production made it seem incredibly real. The final scene in the basement when Heather finds Mike facing the wall then drops her camera is easily one of the creepiest things I have ever seen.

7. Saw - I can't not include this franchise on my list. Although I haven't seen the last two Saw movies, it became a Halloween staple/tradition for me for a number of years. Making a game or riddle of something so horrific is disturbingly intriguing.

6. Psycho - A total classic. Somehow, Hitchcock created a masterpiece that is both terrifying and sexy. Its iconic scenes simultaneously play into the audience's deepest desires and fears. I've always been somewhat attracted to Norman Bates. I blame Vince Vaughn.

5. The Ring - The Ring was honestly the first supernatural movie that ever really scared me. It also started a furious rash of Japanese horror movie remakes that included The Grudge and The Eye.

4. The Exorcist - The classic possession/exorcism movie. It set the stage for other creepy exorcism movies, but nothing quite compares to a possessed Regan coming down the stairs in the crabwalk position.

3. Paranormal Activity - I will never forget how I felt leaving the theater after seeing the first movie. None of us talked the entire way home.

2. Scream - I credit this movie for my love of horror films. It is, without a doubt, Wes Craven's best work. From start to finish, it completely redefined the modern slasher movie, brought the genre back to the forefront, and, for possibly the first time, mixed horror with humor. To this day, I have not seen a better opening scene in any movie.

1. Halloween - Although it's not that scary, it established the ground rules for the classic slasher flick, paved the way for other such movies and franchises, created one of Hollywood's most famous villains in Michael Myers, and gave haunted houses everywhere a pretty creepy theme song.

Honorable Mentions: Pet Sematary, Jaws, The Shining, Insidious, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Amityville Horror

Did I miss any good scary movies? What scares YOU the most?