The Scariest Horror Movie Scenes Of All Time

There's no shortage of terrifying movies to send shivers down your spine and sleep with the lights on for a couple of nights. The best horror movies of all time manage to use an array of monsters to great effect, from demons to aliens to the scariest monsters of all — humans. Some utilize jump scares while others create a foreboding atmosphere that fills you with a sense of dread throughout. While these films are fun to analyze as a whole, there's really something to be said about a filmmaker's ability to craft a singular horrifying scene. 

The greatest horror flicks ever typically become defined by one scene that encapsulates everything the movie's about. When you go back to think about such a film, one scene may be seared into your memory for how frightening it was. Maybe it came out of nowhere, which is why it's so effective, or perhaps it's the movie's climax where the screenwriter and director saved the best scares for last. 

Regardless of a film's overall quality, these are the scariest horror movie scenes ever made. This list is confined specifically to horror flicks, so even though Large Marge from "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure" may have scarred you as a child, you won't find it here. These are the horror scenes that have made the greatest impact — the ones where, if you rewatch them, you may find yourself looking away from the screen until the moment of terror has passed. 

Even before the crawlers show up in "The Descent," the film's already terrifying. A group of women go spelunking into an uncharted cave system, complete with a claustrophobic sequence in which the cave collapses around them. A horror film about getting lost in a cave sounds intense already, but to add to the mayhem, the women soon discover they're not alone down there. Through the night vision mode on a camcorder, the characters (as well as the viewers) see one of the creatures for the first time, lurking ominously behind one of the women, resulting in a genuine jolt to the system.

It's a fantastic creature design, and while there's plenty of carnage to come, that first reveal stands out. The creature's presence caps off a moment of panic and yelling, inferring that these creatures don't need light sources to track their prey. They simply need to follow any sounds the women make. It's for this reason "The Descent" is best watched in silence, even if you're just at home with friends. As the story goes on, the women have to remain silent out of fear of attracting the creatures' attention, which is — unfortunately for them — more difficult that it seems. 

In horror movies, not even children are safe from the terrors of the world. That message is particularly prominent in "Megan Is Missing," a film about two missing teenage girls whose fates are revealed through found footage. It's a harrowing film that's already difficult to watch all the way through, but the barrel scene in "Megan Is Missing" understandably left many viewers traumatized. 

Josh (Dean Waite) offers to let Amy (Amber Perkins) go as long as she gets inside a barrel so that she doesn't know where she's been kept. She agrees to this, but when Josh removes the lid, we see the titular Megan's (Rachel Quinn) decaying corpse. The reveal is gruesome enough, but then Josh manages to put Amy inside with her deceased friend.

The ending of "Megan Is Missing" is pure psychological terror. After everything Amy has gone through, you just want her to get out and have some semblance of a happy ending. But the horror genre doesn't always grant that to its characters. Not only is Amy shoved into a barrel with her friend's corpse, but she's buried alive while you're forced to sit there and take in the brutality. "Megan Is Missing" is all the more horrifying because there are no supernatural forces at play; this is something that could absolutely happen in real life. 

"The Babadook" is rightfully hailed as one of the scariest films of the 21st century, functioning as an allegory on processing trauma while featuring some genuinely terrifying moments with the titular entity. The worst of these moments comes when Amelia (Essie Davis) lies in bed. She starts hearing noises and eventually her bedroom door opens as something comes inside. Amelia pulls the covers over her head, and that's when she hears the beast scream, "Babadook-dook-DOOK!"

Many people can surely relate to hearing something strange at night, like a tree branch scraping against a window. Instinctually, we pull the bedsheets over ourselves, which would never actually offer any protection, but it helps all the same. However, this moment serves as one of the scariest horror movie scenes ever because it asks the question, "What if that sound was indeed a monster and not just a branch?"

This "Babadook" scene shatters any illusion of safety in one's home, and that's likely why Amelia then peeks out of the sheets to see what's in the bedroom with her — a thing that eventually possesses her. In real life, this sequence of events might be chalked up as nothing more than a nightmare, but as we learn in "The Babadook," it's all too real for Amelia. 

Out of context, the most famous scene from "Insidious" just looks like Darth Maul hanging out behind Patrick Wilson. But in the moment, especially watching the film for the first time, it offers a genuine scare that comes out of nowhere. 

Lorraine (Barbara Hershey) explains to Josh (Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) that she had a dream about a demon, only for a demon to abruptly materialize behind Josh. This conversation takes place during the day, which isn't typically when the biggest fright in a horror movie occurs. As such, the audience likely isn't expecting anything horrific to happen, especially as we've already cut to Josh several times during the scene. Out of nowhere, the Lipstick-Face Demon (Joseph Bishara) shows up and screeches, which is enough to make anyone jump out of their seat. 

This "Insidious" scene works so well because it plays with viewers' expectations. It also lets us know that you're never safe watching this movie, and anything can happen at anytime. 

M. Night Shyamalan's "Signs" might contain one of the biggest horror movie plot holes ever – aliens for whom water is fatal land on a planet that's 70% covered by the stuff — but it also has one of the scariest horror movie scenes by far involving those same aliens. Merrill Hess (Joaquin Phoenix) watches news footage of someone who caught one of the aliens on tape outside a birthday party. As the camera zooms around some bushes, we initially can't see anything, and it appears as though this will be one of those moments that's more hype than substance. But as the camera positions itself down an alleyway, the alien emerges from the brush into full view. 

What makes the scene even more terrifying is that the alien doesn't simply walk out from behind a bush. It's there in the frame the whole time. Upon rewatching, you can kind of make out the alien's silhouette, camouflaged by the foliage. On first watch, you don't really see it, so it plays with the audience's ability to know or at least guess where the threat is located. In this case, that instinct fails us. The scenario soon turns ridiculous when water gets splashed on the aliens, but in this moment, that first creature feels like a massive, horrifying threat. 

When it comes to scary movie moments, audiences can take some solace in the fact that they'll understand what's happening even if it's shocking to look at. The ending of "The Blair Witch Project" remains iconic and unnerving because so many questions still remain after the film is over.

In the basement of an abandoned house in the woods, Heather (Heather Donohue) films Mike (Michael C. Williams) standing in a corner with his face to the wall. She shouts out to him, but he doesn't respond, as an evil force has already taken hold of him. The image is haunting, especially in light of how the local folklore states that Rustin Parr — one-time occupant of the house and serial child murderer — would make one child face the corner while killing the other. An unseen entity assaults Heather soon after, as she screams in agony. 

The shot of Mike standing in the corner is surreal because so much doesn't make sense. We know that "The Blair Witch Project" is fictional, but in 1999, much of the marketing tried to convince the public that it was real. The idea that there could be forces beyond our comprehension in the world was enough to make the film a bona fide hit and set the standard for all found footage movies to come. 

It's one thing to make a great horror movie. It's another thing entirely to create a film so disturbing it makes viewers vomit or faint in their seats, but that's precisely what "Terrifier 2" infamously accomplished. People must not have seen the first "Terrifier" flick, which made it known loud and clear that this was a franchise that wasn't afraid to get brutally graphic with its gore and violence. Still, nothing could have prepared even ardent fans for Allie's (Casey Hartnett) death at the hands of Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) in the sequel. 

Art breaks into Allie's home and graphically tortures her. The scene is positively gnarly, as it just ... keeps ... going. Even in R-rated horror films, the antagonist will kill someone and then it will cut away to the next scene. "Terrifier 2" forces you to sit down and feel every slash Art inflicts on his victim. At a certain point, you just want Allie to die so that she no longer has to suffer, but that death is a long time coming. 

It's a chilling level of sadism made all the more horrific when Allie's mother (Amy Russ) enters her bedroom to find her still alive, with Art still there and blood covering the walls. Allie feebly muttering "Mom" feels like the ghastly punchline to Art's sick, twisted joke.

Gordy the chimp's scenes in "Nope" are important to understanding the movie's larger themes of exploitation. The chimp is used basically as a prop in a sitcom, but when a balloon pops, the animal loses it and goes on a rampage, killing people in the process. We witness this through the perspective of a young Jupe (Jacob Kim), who sees and hears everything. Then, when Gordy's finished, he walks toward Jupe, and while we may fear for the young boy initially, Gordy tries to fist-bump him. That might be the scariest aspect of the whole sequence, as Gordy doesn't kill those people out of malice or fear: he's just a wild animal that loses control but reverts to his training to bond with Jupe. 

Gordy exemplifies how humans will try to control something even when they simply can't. When Jupe (Steven Yeun) gets older, he tries the same thing by turning the alien creature nicknamed Jean Jacket into the main attraction at his park. He tries to profit off an otherworldly force, and just like Gordy, Jean Jacket eventually turns on him, consuming him and everyone who's in attendance. But it's Gordy's scene that stands out. It's a bloody act made all the more terrifying because Jupe fails to learn anything from it and ends up paying the price. 

There are plenty of reasons why Reddit calls "Sinister" the scariest movie ever made. The atmosphere fills viewers with dread before unleashing some genuinely shocking moments, such as when Ellison (Ethan Hawke) watches a collection of home movies that all end in murder. 

Each "home movie" is terrifying in its own right, depicting the family during more serene times. It then cuts to far more disturbing imagery of each family getting killed by the entity filming them. A case could be made that any one of these "home movies" is the scariest, but for our money, we have to go with the lawnmower scene. The camera operator takes out the lawnmower and begins running it over a lawn at night. Out of nowhere, one of the family members appears — tied up and on the ground — in front of the lawnmower, and while we don't see the aftermath, Ellison's reaction tells us all we need to know. 

It's effective because we know what inevitably has to happen from viewing the previous home movies, but it doesn't make the person's sudden, doomed appearance in front of the lawnmower any less shocking. 

Just when you think you've seen it all from the horror genre, something like "Hereditary" comes along to sear a horrific new image into your head. After Charlie (Milly Shapiro) eats cake containing walnuts, she experiences an allergic reaction. Her brother Peter (Alex Wolff) drives her to the hospital in an incredibly tense sequence, but as Charlie sticks her head out of the car to get air, Peter swerves to avoid hitting a deer. Charlie gets decapitated against a telephone pole with a deafening thud and then things go quiet. 

Peter's reaction makes Charlie's death all the more horrific. He doesn't scream in terror or go back in some vain attempt to try to save her. He continues home and goes to lie in bed until their mother finds Charlie's body the next morning. 

Charlie's death is impactful for several reasons. Seeing children die is always going to hit harder, which horror movies have far fewer qualms about. Plus, Milly Shapiro was used frequently in the film's marketing, so a lot of people likely assumed she was going to be more of a main character. Her death early on signals that "Hereditary" isn't going to play by the rules, so buckle in for the ride. 

There's a very strong case to be made that John Carpenter's "The Thing" is the single greatest horror movie ever made. It's a film about paranoia and never knowing who you can trust, accompanied by stellar practical effects for the titular monster. There are plenty of uncanny images and tense moments, but the scariest scene is when Copper (Richard Dysart) trying to revive Norris (Charles Hallahan) with a defibrillator — not realizing he's been assimilated — only for Norris' chest to open as the creature bites off Copper's arms. 

The scene exemplifies everything terrifying about the Thing. It can absorb any life form, pretend to be that life form, and manipulate its shape. In this instance, it turns a human torso into a mouth, complete with teeth strong enough to tear off someone's arms. The Thing is terrifying in its own right, but its ability to shapeshift makes it almost unstoppable.

After the Norris-Thing bites off Copper's arms, its head sprouts spider-like legs and tries to escape. The creature is beyond human comprehension and takes forms that are downright otherworldly. On first watch, it feels like you're seeing something that shouldn't exist, and it's a true testament to the excellent practical effects work on display. 

It's arguably the most iconic scene from "Alien"; Stanley Kubrick even called director Ridley Scott to ask how he brought the gross sequence to life. The Nostromo crew are enjoying a peaceful meal, only for Kane (John Hurt), who recently had a run-in with a facehugger, to go into convulsions and collapse onto the table. Within moments, an alien creature bursts out of his chest, with blood spraying in all directions. 

Audiences had no idea what was coming in 1979, and even today, the scene packs a punch. The sound design is impeccable, with the sounds of bones crunching, blood spurting, and everyone screaming and gasping at the sight. Giant monsters aren't always the scariest, as something getting inside you and exploding out of your body is a far more intimate way to meet one's demise. 

The chestburster scene has been parodied in everything from "The Muppets" to "The Simpsons," but nothing can take away the original's impact. Even with a full-fledged xenomorph making an appearance eventually, that tiny alien is still the scariest thing in the film. 

1974's "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" is still as brutal today as when it first came out. And it's not just because it's scary, although that certainly helps. But it's not enough for a horror film to simply offer scares. What separates the great horror films from the rest is when there are genuine feelings of hopelessness, and that's what makes the dinner scene so utterly depraved. 

Sally (Marilyn Burns) is tied up at the head of the table while Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen) and his family sit for a meal, laughing as Sally screams. The camera offers extreme close-ups of Sally's eyes and mouth, almost becoming sickening to watch. And to make it all the more horrifying, the family isn't possessed by demons or anything of the sort. These are human beings taking sick delight in the trauma they inflict upon others. 

When people think older horror films are more quaint by today's bloodier standards, "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" proves otherwise with one of the scariest horror movie scenes of all time. It's a film that could make anyone feel sick and uneasy, and we wouldn't have it any other way.