16 Classic Black and White Horror Movies That Still Scare Us

Horror movies have a special way of sneaking up on us, making us jump at shadows and listen for noises in the night, and the classic black and white ones have a magic all their own, proving that you don't need fancy effects or color to send shivers down someone's spine.

1. Dante's Inferno (1911)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 82%

Dante embarks on a perilous journey through the nine circles of Hell, guided by the poet Virgil, to rescue his beloved Beatrice, encountering various tormented souls and demonic creatures along the way, culminating in a confrontation with Lucifer himself.

2. Monster on the Campus (1958)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 25%

A college professor accidentally exposes himself to prehistoric fish blood, triggering a horrifying transformation into a murderous Neanderthal, leading to a series of attacks on campus as he struggles to find a cure for his condition.

3. Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 40%

A man's face becomes grotesquely frozen in a horrifying grin after digging up his father's grave to retrieve a winning lottery ticket, compelling him to subject others to terrifying experiments in a desperate attempt to reverse his disfigurement.

4. Donovan's Brain (1953)

Rotten Tomatoes Audience score: 50%

A scientist keeps the brain of a wealthy tycoon alive in a tank, only to have it slowly take over his mind and wield its sinister influence, manipulating him into committing crimes and seeking power.

5. Seconds (1966)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

A disillusioned banker undergoes a radical surgical transformation to start a new life with a new identity, but he soon realizes that his new existence is not what he anticipated, leading to a tragic attempt to reclaim his former life.

6. Dead of Night (1945)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Guests at a country house share supernatural stories, including tales of a haunted mirror, a ghostly golfer, and a ventriloquist's malevolent dummy, with the framing narrative revealing a chilling twist that connects the tales to the narrator's own nightmare.

7. The Uninvited (1944)

A brother and sister purchase a seemingly idyllic house on the English coast, only to discover that it is haunted by the ghost of the previous owner's daughter, leading them to uncover a tragic family secret.

8. Carnival of Souls (1962)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

After surviving a car accident, a young woman is drawn to an abandoned carnival, experiencing unsettling visions and a sense of disconnection from the world, as she becomes haunted by a ghoulish figure.

9. Curse of the Demon (1957)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

An American psychologist travels to England to debunk a satanic cult, only to find himself cursed by a demon summoned through an ancient runic parchment, leading to a desperate race to break the curse.

10. City of the Dead (1960)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%

A college student visits the town of Whitewood to research witchcraft, only to find herself trapped in a nightmare of witches and undead souls, sacrificed in a bid for eternal life.

11. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 79%

An eccentric millionaire invites five guests to stay the night in a supposedly haunted house, offering them each $10,000 if they survive, leading to supernatural occurrences and a deadly game of greed and fear.

12. Freaks (1932)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

A beautiful trapeze artist marries the leader of a sideshow's "freaks" with a plan to poison him and steal his inheritance, only for the sideshow performers to discover her plot and enact their own form of grotesque revenge.

13. The Bad Seed (1956)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%

A seemingly perfect little girl harbors a chilling secret of being a cold-blooded killer, with her mother slowly unraveling the truth about her daughter's involvement in a series of deadly accidents.

14. Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

In a decaying Hollywood mansion, a former child star torments her paraplegic sister, a one-time glamorous actress, in a twisted battle of wills and madness as they are haunted by their past fame and jealousy.

15. Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%

An aging, reclusive Southern belle, plagued by a horrifying family secret and the belief that she is losing her mind, seeks the truth about a gruesome murder from decades ago with the help of a distant cousin.

16. The Haunting (1963)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

A scientist investigating paranormal phenomena invites three guests to a haunted mansion known as Hill House, where they experience terrifying supernatural events that test their sanity and reveal the house's dark history.