31 Scariest Movie Moments Of All Time

1. The Clown Doll - Poltergeist

Let's all pretend for a minute that there's only one Poltergeist movie, shall we? No painful sequels, no God-awful 2015 remake, just the glorious, creepy film that made everyone a little bit scared of their TV, trees and clown dolls. Oh God the clown dolls!

Having been set up ominously up to that point, the clown's big moment comes when Robbie wakes up to find the menace has disappeared and is under his bed. This is why nobody should look under their bed ever. And to think, his parents literally gave him this clown to help him conquer his fears of clowns. Idiots.

It's all undermined a little bit by the creepy, played-for-laughs sexual assault scene it's cut with, but there's no getting over the iconic terror that grinning clown inspired. It's the ultimate expression of oxymoronic terror.

This single moment has now transcended the limits of its film: it (and Stephen King's It, of course) is responsible for the fundamental shared suspicion of clowns that has been repackaged into something else by the irresistible march of fear. It's no longer just a doll, it's not even about it being a HAUNTED doll, it's the fact that it's a bloody clown that makes it even worse.

Which movie moments do you think are the scariest ever? Share your own favourites below in the comments thread.