Spoiler Alert
    It’s the time of year again, when the ghouls and ghosts of all shapes and sizes emerge from their lairs to terrify the world and since Halloween is just around the corner, a good old horror movie playlist is exactly what the masses need to keep up the holiday spirit. If you find yourself home alone on a Saturday night or at a friend’s house and you need a good scary movie, just look these up. Then all you’ll need is a blanket, pillow, and a movie buddy because, trust me, you will not want to watch these alone.

    1. The Shining- This classic Halloween horror, directed by Stanley Kubrick, opens with aerial views of a mountainside road. The scenic views could never prepare you for the horror you will face at the destination, the Overlook Hotel. Starring Jack Nicholson as the husband that goes crazy, this movie epitomizes every fear I have of cabin fever and hotels. As stated in The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror parody, I do indeed believe “No beer and no T.V.” did make Jack go crazy and the whole movie is fraught with terrors of all sorts after the viewers realize this. The fact that Jack’ child is psychic or “shines” as the  and sees not only dead children but also a blood flooded hallway and a homicidal senior citizen does not make the movie any less scary. If you like ghosts, sad kids who see ghosts, people who go crazy, or evil hotels then this is the show for you.

    2. Ju-On- This extremely creepy Japanese flick, unlike the American version of this movie, will make your hair stand on end. Since its release in 2002, this movie has been terrifying people worldwide. I like to think it’s because of the grotesque haunt the murders anyone who enters the home she disappeared from years before but it also could just be because of the shuddersome noises the ghost Kayako utters right before she kills you. The movie opens up on the main character Rika, who is a home-health nurse, receiving an order to check on an elderly woman whose attendant went missing just days before which would be reason number one to not do it. As if that wasn't strange enough, when Rika shows up at the house, it is trashed and the woman who was supposed to be living with her son and his wife were nowhere to be seen. This would be the second reason to leave and never return. Lastly, she goes upstairs and find a little boy inside a closet that was looked as though it was hastily taped shut. Again, the viewers are forced to ask why are you still in this house? I won’t reveal anymore except that this ghost will get you. No matter where you are, if you rolled up in her crib, even just once, you have called upon her pale Japanese wrath and she’s going to get you. Ju-On is a great sleepover movie, especially if you’re bored and you are desperately trying to find a quick way to scare your friends silly.

    3. The Blair Witch Project- As one of the first films of its kind, this frightening thriller puts you in the characters shoes. The behind-the-camera view, combined with the excellent acting skills presented by the young actors, makes the movie seem even more scary because at times in the film, you do have to remind yourself that this didn’t really happen. In the beginning we are introduced to three college kids who are about to set out to the woods to investigate and produce a documentary about the Blair Witch. Armed with only two cameras and the foolish hope that they will return from their journey, they begin their travels in Burkittsville, Maryland, the town built over the original town of Blair. After interviewing many different people around the small town, the kids still decide to set out on their journey and very soon after get lost in the woods. Not surprising when you think about it but nevertheless very unfortunate. Due to their lack of basic survival skills and sense of direction, the kids are stuck and at the mercy of the witch. The ending was not as clear as it could have been but it can safely be assumed that eventually the kids became victims as well.

    4. Ravenous- This is one of the most disgusting and evil movies I’ve seen in my whole life. Guy Pearce plays the main character, Captain John Boyd, who received a medal of honor for single handedly defeating an enemy command in battle after playing dead and being transported behind enemy lines with the other corpses but is soon sent to a backcountry fort in the Sierra Nevadas because of this act of cowardice. Sometime after a traveler shows up suffering from frostbite and tells the terrifying story of his group and how they were forced into cannibalism after the harsh winter left them grounded in the mountains. As the only local law enforcers, half of the fort left with the strange man to find any survivors only to discover the man that lead them there was the one that ate everybody. This movie is unpleasant to an extreme and will satisfy your craving for gore and terror because it is about the very real and frightening act of cannabalism.

    5. The Descent- Written and directed by Neil Marshall, this “vacation gone wrong” movie is sure to instill in you claustrophobia and an acute fear of caves and and possibly what inhabit them. At the beginning of the film, we meet thrill-seeker Sarah and her riotous group of friends rafting down an icy mountain river. Soon after, Sarah loses her husband and daughter in a freak accident that sends her to the hospital. Sarah finally rejoins her friends after a year of recovery for an easy, “tourist-trap” cave exploration in the Appalachian Mountains. After the first dream sequence Sarah, we, the viewers, can now conclude that the accident that took her family has messed her up and that she’s apparently not very mentally stable. This doesn’t stop her though and as the crew descends into the depths of the cave we are again faced with a question; What are they thinking? As you can expect they get caved in and are forced to travel through the entire cave system, which we find out are not even Boreham Caverns as they were told but an entirely new system that has never been explored. Spine-chilling monsters called crawlers soon emerge from the darkness and attack the group, killing all but the Juno, the girl who got them into this mess, and Sarah, who has gone into survival mode and is as mean as the crawlers themselves. A superb movie all around, especially if you believe in monsters and are already scared of caves. If you’re not afraid of caves, you will be after seeing this movie.