# Horror Movies That Actually Scare You **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [October 20, 2025, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126 "2025-10-20T15:11:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2025, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/101 "2025-10-26T06:51:11Z")
You’ll never look at Jean Luc Picard in the same way again! ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/102 "2025-11-01T21:19:14Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The ironic thing about TBWP, I heard, is that there is very little remote wooded area left in Maryland where the movie supposedly took place. Lost? Just follow the sound of traffic on I-70 Yes, they could have done that if they were still in 1990s Maryland. There was no sound of traffic, no I-70, _in colonial times, to which they had been transported_. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/103 "2025-11-02T13:17:27Z")
Ah, interesting… 🤔 But I wondered, is that an actual plot point in the movie, either explicitly shown or hinted at, or your own personal fan theory? Been awhile since I saw the movie (Christ, it’s almost 27 years old— now that’s _ **really** _ scary!). But I read the wiki plot synopsis— if it’s accurate, the end of the movie takes place in the abandoned ruin of Rustin Parr’s house- a child-murdering hermit who lived in the house in the woods in the 40s. So that kinda kicks your theory into the creek 😏 > **[The Blair Witch Project | Plot](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blair_Witch_Project#Plot)** > > The film purports to be footage found in the discarded cameras of three young filmmakers who had gone missing. > In October 1994, film students Heather, Mike, and Josh set out to produce a documentary about the mythical Blair Witch. They travel to Burkittsville, Maryland, and interview residents about the myth. Locals tell them of Rustin Parr, a hermit who lived deep in the forest and abducted seven children in 1941; he murdered them all in his basement, killing them in pairs while having one stan... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/104 "2025-11-02T13:35:39Z")
> [@solost](#): > > The ironic thing about TBWP, I heard, is that there is very little remote wooded area left in Maryland where the movie supposedly took place. Lost? Just follow the sound of traffic on I-70 The woods are just a larger version of a haunted house. The victims are cut off from the outside supernaturally. If you did hear road traffic, that would just be the ghosts luring you deeper into their web. I remember having this argument online 25 years ago with people who said all they had to do was follow the stream to civilization. But that’s not the way haunted woods work. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/105 "2025-11-02T13:40:34Z")
Haunted woods makes sense. Just out of curiosity, what did you do to fix the quote? I saw the HTML quote tag, meaning it was broken or missing a quote mark or something, but it looked well-formed. Then as I was looking at it, it got fixed, presumably by an edit you made. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/106 "2025-11-02T13:44:53Z")
Yeah. For some reason there was a line break between the opening quote tag and your quote, and the final bracket was missing from the ending quote tag. I just backspaced your quote flush with the opening tag and added the missing bracket to the closing tag. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/107 "2025-11-02T16:30:39Z")
@solost: Okay, maybe they weren’t taken back to the turn of the 18th century. Maybe they were only transported a few decades. But it has to be that **their environment changed** , that they were trying to get out of someplace that was different from when they went into it. And maybe it’s that plus what **Elmer\_J.Fudd** suggests: there was some kind of force field that kept them from getting to whatever civilization was there. But they were not _lost_, not like people who get stranded in blizzards and go looking for help and get found dead a few hundred yards from a ranger’s station. Their original way out was gone. The car was not there for them to find, the road was not there. They were lost in time, or some other dimension. Whatever happened was supernatural, not ineptitude. * * * I called the ending when those guys were talking about Rustin Parr. Of course: that’s what will happen to them. But what I don’t get is, > **Summary** > > why does Mike just stand there? Yes, Rustin Parr’s victims stood in the corner, but they were small children. Mike is over 18, and came of age in a rather violent world ('70s and '80s). Why doesn’t he resist, fight back, anything other than stand there and listen to Heather being murdered? ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/108 "2025-11-02T17:27:14Z")
A common trope in ghost stories is living people being forced to act out part of the psychodrama that led to the haunting in the first place. I think that’s what’s happening in the end of Blair Witch: Mike’s experiencing a form of possession that makes him act out the role of one of Rustin Parr’s victims. ---
**Author:** ![swampffox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampffox/32/11951_2.png) [@swampffox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampffox)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/109 "2025-11-02T17:43:59Z")
I find the horror/slasher genre boring, and never quite understood the appeal Yes, even when I was like 5 years old and watched Nightmare on Elm Street and those “Jason” Halloween movies…I found them yawn-inducing and dull. But the _Blair Witch Project_ is the only “horror” movie I saw that legit gave me the heebie-jeebies. The scariest things are the thing you _don’t_ see. Not jump-scares and silly monster costumes. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/110 "2025-11-02T18:13:00Z")
> [@Toxgoddess](#): > > A more recent one I’m surprised no one has mentioned yet is Jordan Peele’s Us. That one gave me nightmares. All of Jordan Peele’s movies give me nightmares. But _Us_ was the worst (best?). _Nope_ has infiltrated my subconscious a few times, as well. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2025, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/111 "2025-11-02T21:28:24Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > A common trope in ghost stories is living people being forced to act out part of the psychodrama that led to the haunting in the first place. I think that’s what’s happening in the end of Blair Witch: Mike’s experiencing a form of possession that makes him act out the role of one of Rustin Parr’s victims. Ah. Okay, that I can accept. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/112 "2025-11-04T01:42:53Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > _Nope_ has infiltrated my subconscious a few times, as well. I loved this movie, and yes, a few things I just can’t shake. First, the chimp. Second, when all the people get sucked up by the organism and you see it all from their point of view and they have no idea what the fuck is going on while they are eaten alive. Messed up. I am drawn to horror like that, though, where there is thoughtful theme and subtext. That’s where the horror really comes from. Stephen King has always done this really well in his books: _The Shining_ is about the horror of abusive alcoholism, _augmented_ by the supernatural. I’m happy to see they are starting to do this more often in horror movies. I really liked _It Follows._ It was scary as hell without being too gorey and it used a really great metaphor for the inevitability of death to great effect. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/113 "2025-11-04T17:20:35Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I loved this movie, and yes, a few things I just can’t shake. I agree. And my sister always mentions those poor horses. That bastard deserved to be eaten! ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/114 "2025-11-04T20:03:12Z")
Two movies scared me as a kid – **The Thing** (the original 1951 Christian Nyby/Hawks version literally gave me nightmares) and \*\*Eyes without a Face (\*\*Les Yeux sans visage), a 1960 French horror film that, unbelievably, ran on Supernatural Theater on WWOR New York (actually, channel 9 out of Secaucus NJ). It’s unbelievable because it depicts, in surprisingly graphic detail, the removal of skin from a face. As an adult, I was pretty freaked out by the end of Alfred Hitchcock’s **Psycho** , but not as shocked as I would have been if I hadn’t heard about the ending. Hitchcock generally didn’t keep secrets - he’d rather have the audience squirm, in full knowledge (though the characters didn’t have it) of what was going on. But in this case he held one secret close to his chest until the very end. Unfortunately, it’s not part of the zeitgeist, and ruined for everyone. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2025, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/115 "2025-11-04T20:29:37Z")
I’m delighted that I got to show Psycho to my kids before it was spoiled for them! ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/116 "2025-11-05T13:35:48Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > But in this case he held one secret close to his chest until the very end. Before Psycho, movie patrons used to come and go at any part of the movie, which was played on a loop, and just stay through until they saw the replay of the first part that they missed. Hitchcock permanently changed that by making movie theaters refuse to seat anybody who showed up after the movie started. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/117 "2025-11-05T14:34:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Before Psycho, movie patrons used to come and go at any part of the movie, which was played on a loop, and just stay through until they saw the replay of the first part that they missed. That was definitely still a thing well into the 1970s. I think it was the death of the double feature that was mostly responsible for ending the practice. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/118 "2025-11-05T15:07:11Z")
I liked it. I wouldn’t call it horrifying, but I encourage everyone to see it. Sir Patrick Stewart brings his Shakespeare chops to a believable white supremacist leader role and crushes it. That alone is worth the price of admission. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/119 "2025-11-05T15:13:10Z")
**The Heretic** (2024) was the most frightening thing I have seen in recent memory. The theater I saw this in was cold and empty and the sound system was fantastic. In general it’s difficult for films to frighten when you are safe home on your couch. Even if you are home alone and the lights are off you’ll typically pause for snacks and pee breaks and that alone breaks the spell because it reminds you of your control. You’d never have one nightmare if you could pause when you like. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2025, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126/120 "2025-11-05T16:04:16Z")
The Heretic was scary in a genuine " creepy AF way, with no telling what could happen" way. Hugh Grant is a big part of that. I know he’s long gotten away from the blinky, aw shucks type of characters, but who knew he could be so menacing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/horror-movies-that-actually-scare-you/1024126.md?page=7)