That’s one of the rare films that I find truly horrifying. Two others are Ghost Story and Haunted. I’m rather afraid of ghosts.
I’ve posted this before, but because no one has mentioned it here yet, I’ll go ahead and recommend A Tale of Two Sisters. One of the best gothic/mystery/psychological horror films I’ve ever seen. Had me glued to the screen (I even found myself doing the old bite the knuckle curled up on the end of the couch thing.) Immediately after I finished watching it, I watched it again. Then I went to the internet to read discussions on this movie. There is a lot to talk about. Masterful storytelling and creation of a mood. Highest recommendation. Despite the DVD cover art and promo poster, there is very little blood in the movie.
Also, I thought the original **Omen ** was a very effective film.
The Good Son with Macaulay Culkin was fairly freaky although not particularly critically acclaimed. (on reading them though, the critics just werent comfortable with Macaulay playing such an evil kid)
the Cable guy was funny at first, then creepy…
I was scared by The Others and Signs. Signs gave me and my fiance nightmares for days. It was wonderful. Scary in a Hitchcock sort of way.
The Ring didn’t scare me one bit. My friends thought Signs was lame, but were terrified by The Ring. None of the ones I mention has any gore and very little violence. Atmospheric horror.
A very good exercise in suspense is Hitchcock’s Sabotage.
Dark Water was actually quite good. I was surprised because the trailers made it look like another The Ring ripoff.
Hard to believe 
but I didn’t write or direct Aliens. That said, I could do without that gross scene.
chiqueWhat’d you think of Sixth Sense?
I liked it a lot, but was kinda freaked by the scenes of the terrified little boy hiding under the blankets.
Oh goody, one of my favorite subjects. Most of my recommendations have already been mentioned;
The Ring
Session Nine
The Shining
A Tale of Two Sisters
Ghost Story
These are all at the top of my list and I’ve watched them more times than I can count. I’d like to ad **Angel Heart ** and The Devil’s Advocate
Another one that may be a bit harder to get your hands on is Burnt Offerings I don’t think it was a huge success when it was released and I rarely hear people mention it when discussing good horror, which is a shame because I think it’s a must-see for any fan of the genre. True, there is an element of cheesiness, but the climax at the end makes any of the more contrived parts well worth it.
I’ll see your Woman in Black and raise you a Lady in White. It’s a coming-of-age/period piece/ghost story/murder mystery that’s equal parts glowing warm nostalgia and ice-cold terror. Well worth tracking down.
Also, seconding the recommendations for The Innocents, a really chilling adaptation of Henry James’ Turn of the Screw, and The Haunting (1963), an excellent version of Shirley Jackon’s The Haunting of Hill House (make sure you avoid the laughable 1999 remake).
I’ve always found ghosts more terrifying than serial killers. They really seem to get underneath the skin, figuratively speaking. Serial killers take the more boring, literal approach.
Just as an aside, if you like “asylum porn” and haven’t already, you owe it to yourself to check out Opacity. There are some utterly gorgeous pics of Danvers and many other abandoned asylums here.
To keep this on topic for scary movies, I also recommend Stephen King’s “It”–the ending is…well…horribly cheesy, but the rest of the movie is quite cool and creepy (especially if you have a thing about clowns, as I do).
Howsabout Sunset Boulevard? Seriously, that was one of scariest movies I’ve ever seen. No gore or anything.
Ringu. (Japanese version)
If you want old school stuff without the gore, I would recommend Let’s Scare Jessica To Death. From one of the user comments:
I also liked The Vanishing with Jeff Bridges, Keifer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock, but it’s my understanding that the original Dutch version is far superior, so you might want to check that one out instead (I need to do that myself one day).
I have to say that I much prefer the American version in every way. As I said before, it’s at the top of my list. However, the end scene with Sadako creeped me out so much that I will NEVER EVER watch this movie again. I won’t even go to the message board for this movie on IMDB (not a huge loss)because I can’t even bare to see the picture of her face. If anyone wants to see a truly horrifying face, goodlge “ringu”, but don’t say you haven’t been warned.
Shudder.
In the tightest sense of the OP’s definition (excluding anything Alien), the list starts and ends with The Ring (either version). I would include the Exorcist as it is also pretty gross. I guess The Omen and The Amityville Horror tcan be an honorable mentions. Then again, I’m not a huge fan of scar movies. I didn’t sleep for like 7 days after watching the Ring.
Looking back over this thread, I’m kind of surprised Carnival of Souls hasn’t been mentioned yet. Very creepy movie, beautifully shot.
Here’s an old “scary” one, and it’s totally bloodless: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956).
And, more eerie than scary, try: Village of the Damned (1960).
And after that, watch its semisortofsequel, The Tenant .
In that case, better not forget the semisortofprequel, Repulsion.
I’m kind of hard to scare, but for creep-up-on-you-creepy, I was completely undone by The Others with Nicole Kidman. I don’t know if it was because I was pregnant or what, but when they got to the part where
her little girl was playing dress-up, I think, in what may have been a First Communion gown, and when she turned to her mother was revealed to be an old woman
I had to turn it off. So, I don’t know if it ends well. But the creepy dark old house with all the heavy drapes pulled … <shudder>
I was coming here to say this movie. This movie is so scary. Suspenseful and tense, but no blood or gore. I cannot watch it by myself and I’m 37 yo. The original Cape Fear is the same way.
Hold it!! I think you should give the original Halloween a chance. It is a genuinely creepy film, that has been lost in the flood of the rip offs and smeared with their stink.
There is suprisingly very little blood or gore. There is no massive body count and it is done, by todays standards, a fairly tatseful way. The atmosphere is great and the first half has a beautiful suspensful set up.
I highly highly recomend the first Halloween, ignore all the crappy sequels that tried to out swill the competition in sheer crappiness.
If I’m wrong and you come back saying it was exactly what you did not want… I’ll watch a terrible movie of your choice as punishment.