10 Horrors So Dreadful Even Seasoned Fans of the Genre Are Scared to Watch Them

Although the horror genre is a label we're all familiar with, it encompasses a wide range of films with different premises. Some of them are based on the unknown and spiritual, like aliens and ghosts, while others perfectly show all kinds of human brutality.

Every viewer has their own triggers, but there are horrors so horrific and disgusting that they're hard to watch, no matter how many movies you've seen before. Here are the 10 most shocking, each for their own reasons.

Arachnophobia (1990)

Even though this is technically a mix of horror and comedy, the trigger warning is literally in the title. So if you're afraid of spiders, even in the tiniest forms, you might want to skip this one, no matter how interested you are in testing your own limits. Even if you don't have arachnophobia, you might as well get it after watching this.

The Girl Next Door (2007)

There are too many true crime cases involving violence against women, and there really is no need to turn them into horror movies. If you are a young woman who is probably already cautious of her surroundings, there is no need to watch someone like you being tortured with no way to escape. It's not entertaining in any way.

Terrifier (2016)

While the fear of clowns is fairly common and has been exploited in many horror movies, the 2016 slasher may be the most effective in that regard. So if the mere thought of a clown makes you cringe, the story of the enigmatic serial killer known only as Art the Clown is the one you should skip. After all, Art also makes a perfect sleep paralysis demon.

The Human Centipede (2009)

No matter how you feel about blood, you would probably draw the line at any other bodily fluid explored in the horror movie. That should be enough to scare anyone away from Human Centipede, which is exactly what you think it is. This movie is far more disgusting than scary, and very hard to watch without constantly fighting your gag reflex.

I Spit on Your Grave (1978)

This movie was banned for several decades and is still banned in a number of countries. The story of how a brutally assaulted and murdered woman haunts her tormentors may have had an important message behind it, but it ended up being closer to torture porn, too detailed to forget. So it's better not to touch it at all.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)

Loosely based on the book The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel by Felicitas D. Goodman, which depicts a real-life case of a young girl's murder at the hands of her own family, this movie will probably hit close to home for anyone who has lived in radically religious households. Someone being exorcized for being epileptic is so real that it's very triggering.

Irreversible (2002)

Technically, this movie isn't even listed as a horror movie, but rather as a thriller and crime movie. However, the story of rape revenge is so violent, bloody and disturbing that it may be a little too hardcore even for the most seasoned horror movie fans. Even Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel and Albert Dupontel aren't worth it.

Megan Is Missing (2011)

Not only is this another story of someone taking advantage of a young girl, but this time it is a literal teenager, which makes it even more heartbreaking. Magan's story is just another addition to the many others that happen around us every day, and it's the realism that makes it all too terrifying.

The Strangers (2008)

Just like the previous one, it's the realism that makes this one so scary. In the U.S., there are enough cases of home invasions to keep anyone paranoid at all times, and there is no need to feed yourself another one in the form of a horror movie. Besides, who wants to see something bad happen to Liv Tyler?

Salò or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

It is important to know your history and be aware of all the worst examples of torture that people can come up with when their minds are tainted with hate. However, some things are better left in the pages of history books and not acted out by young actors on television screens. The events that took place in the town of Salò are just that.