31 Days of Horror

October’s creeping up, which means it’s almost time for one of my favorite yearly traditions: 31 Days of Horror! Honestly, I can’t even remember when I first started doing this-it’s been well over 15 years now. But what exactly is 31 Days of Horror? Simple: every day in October, I watch a different horror movie. Why? Because Halloween is my favorite holiday, and horror is hands-down my favorite movie genre.

Now, finding the time to squeeze in a movie every single day isn’t always easy. But honestly, the harder part is deciding what to watch. There are a handful of favorites I revisit every year, but I also like to mix in newer or lesser-known films to keep things fresh.

Here are some of my yearly must-watches:

• The Shining

• The Exorcist

• The original Evil Dead

• Army of Darkness

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre

• Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

• The original Poltergeist

• Original Friday the 13th

• Original A Nightmare on Elm Street

• Jeepers Creepers 1 & 2

• The Devil’s Rejects

• 30 Days of Night

• Candyman 1 & 2

• When a Stranger Calls

• Thir13en Ghosts

I’m sure I missed a couple, but that’s already 17 movies right there. So, I still need to pick at least 14 more to round out the month-but trust me, that’s not a problem. I’ve got a running list of over 100 horror movies to choose from below! And just because it’s called 31 Days of Horror doesn’t mean I stop at 31… I usually end up closer to 50, especially when I binge entire franchises like The Conjuring Universe or the Friday the 13th collection.

If you’re thinking about joining in this year, feel free to use my list as a starting point. Of course, I know I’ve missed a bunch of great titles, so drop your recommendations in the comments-I’m always looking to add more to my list!

And just to clarify: my definition of “horror” isn’t limited to slashers like Jason and Freddy. I’m into paranormal stories, psychological thrillers, and even some horror-comedy. So if you see something on my list that doesn’t match your idea of horror… relax. There’s something for everyone.

Below, you’ll find my full list, which includes the year it was released and a link to IMDb for a full description. Streaming availability changes; the IMDb links identify the films rather than promise a particular streaming service.

Let’s get spooky!

The movie list

| Movie title | Year | Details |

| --- | --- | --- |

| 31 | 2016 | IMDb |

| 28 Days Later | 2002 | IMDb |

| 28 Weeks Later | 2007 | IMDb |

| 30 Days of Night | 2007 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 1 | 1984 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 2 Freddy’s Revenge | 1985 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 3 Dream Warriors | 1987 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 4 The Dream Master | 1988 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 5 The Dream Child | 1989 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street 6 Freddy’s Dead | 1991 | IMDb |

| A Nightmare On Elm Street (remake) | 2010 | IMDb |

| A Quiet Place | 2018 | IMDb |

| A Quiet Place Part II | 2020 | IMDb |

| A Quiet Place: Day One | 2024 | IMDb |

| After.Life | 2009 | IMDb |

| All Hallows’ Eve | 2013 | IMDb |

| American Mary | 2012 | IMDb |

| Annabelle | 2014 | IMDb |

| Annabelle Creation | 2017 | IMDb |

| Annabelle Comes Home | 2019 | IMDb |

| Army of Darkness | 1992 | IMDb |

| As Above, So Below | 2014 | IMDb |

| Barbarian | 2022 | IMDb |

| Blood Red Sky | 2021 | IMDb |

| Cabin Fever | 2002 | IMDb |

| Cabin Fever (remake) | 2016 | IMDb |

| Cabin In The Woods | 2012 | IMDb |

| Candyman | 1992 | IMDb |

| Candyman 2 Farewell To The Flesh | 1995 | IMDb |

| Candyman 3 Day Of The Dead | 1999 | IMDb |

| Clown in a Cornfield | 2025 | IMDb |

| Dead Snow | 2009 | IMDb |

| Dead Snow 2: Red vs. Dead | 2014 | IMDb |

| Deadgirl | 2008 | IMDb |

| Delirium | 2018 | IMDb |

| Don’t Breathe | 2016 | IMDb |

| Don’t Breathe 2 | 2021 | IMDb |

| Fear Street Part 1 – 1994 | 2021 | IMDb |

| Fear Street Part 2 – 1978 | 2021 | IMDb |

| Fear Street Part 3 – 1666 | 2021 | IMDb |

| Fear Street: Prom Queen | 2025 | IMDb |

| Frailty | 2001 | IMDb |

| Freddy vs Jason | 2003 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 1 | 1980 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 2 | 1981 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 3 | 1982 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 4 The Final Chapter | 1984 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 5 A New Beginning | 1985 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 6 Jason Lives | 1986 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 7 The New Blood | 1988 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th Part 8 Jason Takes Manhattan | 1989 | IMDb |

| Friday the 13th (remake) | 2009 | IMDb |

| Get Out | 2017 | IMDb |

| Halloween 1 (Rob Zombie Remake) | 2007 | IMDb |

| Halloween 2 (Rob Zombie Remake) | 2009 | IMDb |

| Halloween 1 | 1978 | IMDb |

| Halloween 2 | 1981 | IMDb |

| Halloween 3 Season of the Witch | 1982 | IMDb |

| Halloween 4 The Return of Michael Myers | 1988 | IMDb |

| Halloween 5 The Revenge of Michael Myers | 1989 | IMDb |

| Halloween 6 The Curse of Michael Myers | 1995 | IMDb |

| Halloween 7 H20 20 Years Later | 1998 | IMDb |

| Halloween 8 Resurrection | 2002 | IMDb |

| Halloween 9 Halloween | 2018 | IMDb |

| Happy Death Day | 2017 | IMDb |

| Hatchet | 2006 | IMDb |

| Hatchet II | 2010 | IMDb |

| Hatchet III | 2013 | IMDb |

| Haunt | 2019 | IMDb |

| Hell of a Summer | 2023 | IMDb |

| Hereditary | 2018 | IMDb |

| High Tension | 2003 | IMDb |

| Host | 2020 | IMDb |

| Hostel | 2005 | IMDb |

| Hostel Part II | 2007 | IMDb |

| Hostel Part III | 2011 | IMDb |

| House of 1000 Corpses | 2003 | IMDb |

| House of Wax | 2005 | IMDb |

| Hush | 2016 | IMDb |

| I Know What You Did Last Summer 1 | 1997 | IMDb |

| I Know What You Did Last Summer 2 | 1998 | IMDb |

| Insidious | 2008 | IMDb |

| Insidious 2 Chapter 2 | 2013 | IMDb |

| Insidious 3 Chapter 3 | 2015 | IMDb |

| Insidious 4 The Last Key | 2018 | IMDb |

| It | 1990 | IMDb |

| It | 2017 | IMDb |

| It Follows | 2014 | IMDb |

| Jeepers Creepers | 2001 | IMDb |

| Jeepers Creepers 2 | 2003 | IMDb |

| Jeepers Creepers 3 | 2017 | IMDb |

| Jennifer’s Body | 2009 | IMDb |

| Jessabelle | 2014 | IMDb |

| Late Night with the Devil | 2023 | IMDb |

| Malignant | 2021 | IMDb |

| Mama | 2013 | IMDb |

| Maniac | 2012 | IMDb |

| May | 2002 | IMDb |

| Midsommar | 2019 | IMDb |

| My Bloody Valentine | 2009 | IMDb |

| Oculus | 2013 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity | 2007 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity 2 | 2010 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity 3 | 2011 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity 4 | 2012 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity 5 The Marked Ones | 2014 | IMDb |

| Paranormal Activity 6 The Ghost Dimension | 2015 | IMDb |

| Phantasm | 1979 | IMDb |

| Poltergeist | 1982 | IMDb |

| Quarantine | 2008 | IMDb |

| Quarantine 2: Terminal | 2011 | IMDb |

| Ready or Not | 2019 | IMDb |

| REC | 2007 | IMDb |

| REC 2 | 2009 | IMDb |

| REC 3 Genesis | 2012 | IMDb |

| REC 4 Apocalypse | 2014 | IMDb |

| Saw | 2004 | IMDb |

| Saw 2 Oh yes there will be blood | 2005 | IMDb |

| Saw 3 Suffering? You haven’t seen anything yet | 2006 | IMDb |

| Saw 4 It’s a trap | 2007 | IMDb |

| Saw 5 You won’t believe how it ends | 2008 | IMDb |

| Saw 6 The game has come full circle | 2009 | IMDb |

| Saw 7 The Final Chapter | 2010 | IMDb |

| Scar | 2007 | IMDb |

| Scream | 1996 | IMDb |

| Scream 2 | 1997 | IMDb |

| Scream 3 | 2000 | IMDb |

| Sick | 2022 | IMDb |

| Sinister | 2012 | IMDb |

| Sinister 2 | 2015 | IMDb |

| Smile | 2022 | IMDb |

| Smile 2 | 2024 | IMDb |

| Stigmata | 1999 | IMDb |

| Stir of Echoes | 1999 | IMDb |

| Talk To Me | 2022 | IMDb |

| Tarot | 2024 | IMDb |

| Terrifier | 2016 | IMDb |

| Terrifier 2 | 2022 | IMDb |

| Terrifier 3 | 2024 | IMDb |

| Thanksgiving | 2023 | IMDb |

| The Amityville Horror (original) | 1979 | IMDb |

| The Amityville Horror | 2005 | IMDb |

| The Autopsy of Jane Doe | 2016 | IMDb |

| The Babadook | 2014 | IMDb |

| The Babysitter | 2017 | IMDb |

| The Babysitter: Killer Queen | 2020 | IMDb |

| The Blair Witch Project | 1999 | IMDb |

| The Blair Witch Project: Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 | 2000 | IMDb |

| The Blair Witch Project: Blair Witch | 2016 | IMDb |

| The Boy | 2016 | IMDb |

| The Cave | 2005 | IMDb |

| The Cell | 2000 | IMDb |

| The Changeling | 1980 | IMDb |

| The Collector 1 | 2009 | IMDb |

| The Collector 2 The Collection | 2012 | IMDb |

| The Conjuring | 2013 | IMDb |

| The Conjuring 2 | 2016 | IMDb |

| The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It | 2021 | IMDb |

| The Conjuring: Last Rites | 2025 | IMDb |

| The Curse of La Llorona | 2019 | IMDb |

| The Descent | 2005 | IMDb |

| The Descent: Part 2 | 2009 | IMDb |

| The Den | 2013 | IMDb |

| The Devil’s Rejects | 2005 | IMDb |

| The Evil Dead Part 1 | 1981 | IMDb |

| The Evil Dead Part 2 | 1987 | IMDb |

| The Evil Dead (remake) | 2013 | IMDb |

| Evil Dead Rise | 2023 | IMDb |

| The Exorcist | 1973 | IMDb |

| The Grudge | 2004 | IMDb |

| The Grudge 2 | 2006 | IMDb |

| The Grudge 3 | 2009 | IMDb |

| The Haunting in Connecticut | 2009 | IMDb |

| The Haunting in Connecticut 2 Ghosts of Georgia | 2013 | IMDb |

| The Hills Have Eyes 1 | 2006 | IMDb |

| The Hills Have Eyes 2 | 2007 | IMDb |

| The House That Jack Built | 2018 | IMDb |

| The Hunt | 2020 | IMDb |

| The Menu | 2022 | IMDb |

| The Mist | 2007 | IMDb |

| The Number 23 | 2007 | IMDb |

| The Nun | 2018 | IMDb |

| The Nun II | 2023 | IMDb |

| The Omen | 2006 | IMDb |

| The Purge 1 | 2013 | IMDb |

| The Purge 2 Anarchy | 2014 | IMDb |

| The Purge 3 Election Year | 2016 | IMDb |

| The Purge 4 The First Purge | 2018 | IMDb |

| The Rental | 2020 | IMDb |

| The Ring | 2002 | IMDb |

| The Ring Two | 2005 | IMDb |

| The Ritual | 2017 | IMDb |

| The Shining | 1980 | IMDb |

| The Strangers | 2008 | IMDb |

| The Strangers Prey at Night | 2018 | IMDb |

| The Taking of Deborah Logan | 2014 | IMDb |

| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | 1974 | IMDb |

| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (remake) | 2003 | IMDb |

| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre The Beginning (remake prequel) | 2006 | IMDb |

| The Town That Dreaded Sundown | 2014 | IMDb |

| The Witch | 2015 | IMDb |

| Things Seen & Heard | 2021 | IMDb |

| Thir13en Ghosts | 2001 | IMDb |

| Truth or Dare | 2018 | IMDb |

| Tucker and Dale vs Evil | 2010 | IMDb |

| Tusk | 2014 | IMDb |

| Unfriended | 2014 | IMDb |

| Unfriended: Dark Web | 2018 | IMDb |

| Unfriended: Proxy | 2020 | IMDb |

| Unfriended: Off-Line | 2021 | IMDb |

| Urban Legend 1 | 1998 | IMDb |

| Urban Legends 2 Final Cut | 2000 | IMDb |

| Urban Legends 3 Bloody Mary | 2005 | IMDb |

| V/H/S | 2012 | IMDb |

| V/H/S 2 | 2013 | IMDb |

| V/H/S Viral | 2014 | IMDb |

| V/H/S/94 | 2021 | IMDb |

| V/H/S/99 | 2022 | IMDb |

| V/H/S/85 | 2023 | IMDb |

| V/H/S/Beyond | 2024 | IMDb |

| Vacancy | 2007 | IMDb |

| When a Stranger Calls | 2006 | IMDb |

| Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey | 2023 | IMDb |

| Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2 | 2024 | IMDb |

| Wolf Creek 1 | 2005 | IMDb |

| Wolf Creek 2 | 2013 | IMDb |

| Wrong Turn | 2003 | IMDb |

| You’re Next | 2011 | IMDb |

| Zombieland | 2009 | IMDb |