10 Scariest Haunted House Movies Ever Made

The Innocents might be one of the best examples of 1960s British haunted house horror, but The Haunting is the crest of that particular wave. Robert Wise's adaptation of The Haunting of Hill House takes the book's slightly unusual premise and uses it to subject the characters and the audience to an onslaught of creepiness.

Julie Harris leads the cast as the permanently timid Nell, who is part of a small group of volunteers brought to Hill House by Dr Markway, who wants to find proof of supernatural events at the building. In the film's chilling prologue, he narrates a depiction of the house's 90-year record of mysterious and deadly events, knocking the audience off balance from the first moments.

What follows is, like so many of the best haunted house movies, a terrifying slow build of tension and suspense. Wise throws a handful of recognisable jump scares at the audience in the later part of the film, but achieves much of his horror through suggestion and clever lighting.

It's a movie that casts such a horrifying spell that it's sure to make anyone who sees it jump at every creaking door and check every lock before they can even attempt to go to sleep. It is, without a doubt, horror's scariest haunted house.

What do you think is the scariest haunted house movie? Let us know down in the comments.