15 Classic Horror Films, Ranked by How Many Nightmares They Gave Us

When the sun sets, and the owls begin to hoot, when the moonlight casts long, grotesque shadows that turn your humble coat rack into a menacing figure, that's when horror truly comes to life. These 15 classic horror films have done more than just spook us; they've infiltrated our dreams and turned them into heart-pounding nightmares.

15. Psycho (1960)

Bates Motel, the eerie taxidermy, the unsettlingly calm Norman Bates, and THAT shower scene. Hitchcock's masterpiece, Psycho, gave us a healthy fear of motels and set the foundation for psychological horror. While not nightmarish in the traditional sense, the human madness it depicted made for some intense, paranoia-filled dreams.

14. The Birds (1963)

Hitchcock strikes again with The Birds, a film that gave us nightmares featuring our feathered friends. Have you ever looked warily at a group of pigeons after watching this movie? You're not alone (I still do that all the time and I'm not even ashamed to admit it.) In the nightmare stakes, The Birds swooped in and made us never look at a bird perch quite the same way again.

13. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

What could be more wholesome than expecting a baby? Well, a lot of things if you've watched Rosemary's Baby. The horror of the potential within us, the fear of our neighbors, and the vulnerability of our own bodies — this film delivered nightmares wrapped in everyday life, and boy, did they linger.

12. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

A cannibalistic family, an isolated Texas farmhouse, and a chainsaw-wielding maniac — this movie has a raw, visceral terror that burrowed into our subconscious minds. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was a non-stop ticket to a world of nightmares, especially for those of us with an aversion to power tools.

11. Jaws (1975)

I know what you're thinking — Jaws is not a horror film. Well, tell that to the millions who refused to dip their toes in the ocean after watching it. The primal fear of being eaten alive is bad enough. Add to that the fact that the ocean is essentially a giant, murky void of unknowns, and you have a recipe for terrifyingly watery nightmares.

10. The Shining (1980)

Who knew a hotel could be so terrifying? Between creepy twin girls, blood-soaked elevators, and Jack Nicholson's descent into madness, Stanley Kubrick's The Shining has carved a permanent place in our collective nightmares. Thanks to this film, we'll forever be suspicious of mysteriously empty, snow-bound hotels.

9. Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist tapped into our primal fear of the unknown and unleashed a wave of supernatural phenomena that left us second-guessing every creak and groan in our houses. From man-eating trees to demonic clowns, this film proved that home isn't always where the heart is. Sometimes, it's where the heebie-jeebies are.

8. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

We can't talk about nightmares without mentioning the king of dream-based horror, Freddy Krueger. The terrifying concept of a malevolent force stalking us in our dreams — when we're at our most vulnerable — catapulted A Nightmare on Elm Street to the upper echelons of sleep-depriving horror. Sweet dreams? Not anymore.

7. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Ah, nothing like a charismatic cannibal to liven up your dreamscapes! The Silence of the Lambs might be more of a thriller than a horror film, but Hannibal Lecter's refined brand of psychopathy delivered an unforgettable helping of chilling nightmares.

6. Candyman (1992)

Mirrors are useful for many things: fixing your hair, checking for spinach between your teeth, and summoning a hook-handed specter of vengeance. Candyman took a mundane object and transformed it into a portal of terror. The film's brutal exploration of folklore and urban legend was more than enough to infest our dreams with dread.

5. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

A word of advice: If you're thinking of going camping, maybe skip watching The Blair Witch Project beforehand. This pioneering found footage film turned a simple forest into a labyrinth of terror and had us all checking our backyards for eerie stick figures. The film's ability to conjure terror out of the unseen was a one-way ticket to Nightmareville.

4. The Ring (2002)

Before this film, static on your TV was just annoying. After The Ring, it became a sign of imminent doom. The film took a simple household object — a videotape — and made it the delivery method for a curse that no one could forget, especially not in our dreams.

3. Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity turned the safety of our bedrooms into stages for spectral hauntings. As doors closed by themselves and innocent bed sheets became sinister, the film squeezed a whole lot of scares out of ordinary home footage. Those static-filled, time-lapse night scenes? Say hello to a week's worth of jump-scare nightmares.

2. Insidious (2011)

Never has a Tiny Tim song been more terrifying. Insidious gave us The Further, a hellish astral dimension filled with malevolent entities ready to possess the living. Coupled with the haunting image of the red-faced demon, it was a masterclass in the art of the nightmare-inducing narrative.

1. Hereditary (2018)

Topping our list is the family drama from hell itself. Hereditary served up a smorgasbord of unsettling imagery, from Charlie's clucking to THAT scene with the telephone pole. The horrifying unraveling of a family under supernatural assault resulted in some seriously disturbed sleep patterns, crowning Hereditary as our number one nightmare-inducing classic.