10 Scariest Haunted House Movies Ever Made

2. The Shining (1980)

It might be a haunted hotel rather than a haunted house but, given the isolation in which the Overlook places its central characters, it's every bit as restrictive and lonely as the homes elsewhere on this list. Stanley Kubrick's take on Stephen King's story might not have pleased the author or achieved great reviews on its release, but it stands as one of the greatest horror movies ever made.

Jack Nicholson delivers perhaps the most iconic of his many memorable performances as Jack Torrance, who is gradually driven to insanity by the seclusion of the Overlook Hotel, as well as the many ghosts that appear to be contained within it. The Grady Twins alone are enough to bring nightmarish visions to even the hardest and most rational subconscious minds.

The Shining is a masterclass in building tension, using its slow pace to increase the audience's familiarity with the insides of the hotel, only to flip that on its head with a chaotic final act that delivers on all of the suspense Kubrick has built up to that stage.