10 Best Horror Movie Franchises

Horror has always undervalued the creepiness of 'true', real-world stories from history. Whilst there have been plenty of films to open with the cliched 'based on true events', this is more often than not just a ploy by the filmmakers to ramp up the suspense and score some cheap scare points.

But the real world is pretty scary and has had its fair share of genuinely creepy stories that few films have really capitalised on quite like The Conjuring franchise has managed so far. From haunted dolls, cursed witches to demon Nuns, the trials and stories of Ed and Lorraine Warren has kept audiences gripped for eight years and grossed well over a billion dollars at the time of writing.

And whilst the uniquely terrifying foes, warm, capable and likeable heroes and generally solid tones and direction from behind the camera have been fundamental in shaping this success, the fact that everything shown across The Conjuring universe has some link to a real-world event just helps to make impact all the more terrifying. It's the whole reason why James Wan kicked off the franchise back in 2013 after all.