Halloween is here!

Since I was a little girl, I have loved horror movies. Horror movies never really scared me when I was younger; in fact, the first film I remember watching was Child's Play and I immediately wanted a Good Guy doll after. (That may have been because, as a child, I looked quite a bit like an evil doll myself.) Luckily my parents knew that I could handle these types of movies and never banned me from watching them, so I amassed lifelong favorites that I want to share with you in honor on this, the most spooky of holidays.

1. Halloween. Every Halloween, my mom and I order a pizza so that after we hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters we can settle in and watch Halloween. It's one of my favorite family traditions and I look forward to it every year. That might make me a little biased, but the movie is called Halloween, after all. There is something about the blank white mask, the stony silence, and simple melody that makes Michael Myers one of the most frightening––and classic––horror movie villains of all time.

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2. Child's Play. Again, I might be a little biased on this one but think about it. It would be terrifying to have a small, friendly-looking children's toy with the strength of a fully grown man terrorizing your family. It wouldn't just be dealing with the doll itself, it would be dealing with the disbelief and ridicule if you ever told anyone. Okay, maybe I'm getting a little too deep here. Either way, it's a fun movie to watch and should be a requirement for any child of the 80s or 90s.

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3. Scream. This is another movie that should be required viewing for any child of the 90s. The first ten minutes set the pace for this movie with a totally surprising death and the parody element was just subtle enough to make it genius. The sequels aren't bad either––a rarity when it comes to horror movies.

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4. The Conjuring. I'm not a huge fan of most recent horror flicks. They try too hard to scare with gore and surprises and lack the thrilling tension that really makes a horror movie fun. Not The Conjuring. This film does a masterful job of building tension that leaves you on the edge of your seat––with a jump scare or two to really get your blood pumping. The sequel was, surprisingly, even better than the original.

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5. Carrie. If you don't watch at least one Stephen King movie on Halloween, is it really Halloween? Carrie is my personal favorite, but Pet Sematary is also a fine option.

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6. The Craft. There are some people who wouldn't consider this a horror movie but the last ten minutes absolutely terrified me when I first watched it. Despite being totally creeped out, I wanted to be a part of this girl gang of witches... Or dress like them, at least.

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7. The Exorcist. This movie isn't quite as scary now as it was when it was first released, thanks in part to the pea soup revelation and edited showings on TNT. But then this movie came out, it was a big deal. Many parents forbid their children from seeing it and adults were rushed out of theaters after fainting or becoming physically ill. There were rumors of actual possessions being caused by the movie and, behind-the-scenes, many say the cast and crew of the movie were cursed themselves. It's a classic for a reason, y'all.

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I could have made a list of twenty or more movies to recommend for the Halloween season––especially if I added in family films like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown. And, really, these movies are great no matter what time of year it is. So pop some popcorn, fire up that Netflix account and have a happy Halloween!
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