Some places don’t just creak at night—they seem to remember. In the best haunted-house movies, the real star isn’t the cast; it’s the address: a staircase that feels one step too long, a doorway that never looks the same twice, a silence that lands like a warning.
This list ranks 23 essentials that turn everyday rooms into uneasy territory, from stylish modern chillers to old-school classics that still get under your skin.
Ranking the Movies
23. Presence (2024)
A fresh twist where the “point of view” turns the home into a living map of tension and observation.
22. His House (2020)
A deeply human haunted-home story where the space reflects memory, displacement, and fear in ways that linger.
21. Hereditary (2018)
A modern domestic nightmare that turns ordinary rooms into pressure points—dread built from details, not spectacle.
20. A Ghost Story (2017)
Slow, strange, and quietly devastating: the house becomes a timeline, and the haunting becomes time itself.
19. Crimson Peak (2015)
Gothic, lavish, and architectural—its decaying mansion is pure mood, with every corner designed to unsettle.
18. The Babadook (2014)
A home as a psychological trap: grief, exhaustion, and fear are staged like something crawling through the walls.
17. The Conjuring (2013)
A modern crowd-pleaser that leans hard on pacing, sound, and classic “old-house” unease.
16. Lake Mungo (2008)
Quiet and documentary-like, it builds a chill through fragments—photos, spaces, and the feeling of absence.
15. Paranormal Activity (2007)
Minimalism that works: familiar rooms, small changes, and the dread of noticing something you can’t explain.
14. The Orphanage (2007)
A beautifully controlled haunted-building story—melancholy, elegant, and emotionally heavy without needing excess.
13. Beetlejuice (1988)
A haunted-house comedy classic where the afterlife rules collide with homeownership—big imagination, sharp design, instantly rewatchable.
12. The Amityville Horror (1979)
The template “too good to be true” house: domestic space turns hostile, and the vibe is pure late-70s dread.
11. The Shining (1980)
Not a house but a sealed-in place that functions like one—architecture, isolation, and creeping instability in perfect sync.
10. House on Haunted Hill (1959)
A foundational, old-school haunted-house ride: theatrical, fun, and hugely influential on “dare you to stay the night” setups.
9. Burnt Offerings (1976)
A slow-burn classic where the property feels hungry—one of the best “the house changes you” stories.
8. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
A romantic, wistful take where the haunting is less about scares and more about longing and presence.
7. The Others (2001)
A masterclass in atmosphere: curtains, silence, footsteps—proof you can do a lot with restraint and control.
6. Hausu (1977)
A surreal, wildly inventive haunted-house fever dream—funny, chaotic, and unlike anything else in the subgenre.
5. The Uninvited (1944)
One of the key early entries that helped define the “modern” haunted-house rhythm: skepticism, strange signals, escalating certainty.
4. Poltergeist (1982)
A blockbuster haunted-home standard: suburban normality turned uncanny, with set pieces that became genre DNA.
3. The Haunting (1963)
Pure craft: sound design and camera work make the building feel physically wrong, like it’s bending around the characters.
2. The Innocents (1961)
Elegant and unsettling—its power comes from performance, ambiguity, and how the house seems to “hold” the story.
1. The Changeling (1980)
The gold-standard haunted-house slow burn: controlled, classy, and relentlessly eerie, with the house at the center of everything.
