Now is the time to celebrate the bumps in the night and the shadows on the wall because, without them, we would not have this lovely element named horror. Materials of Horror are meant to shock, scare and frighten you — possibly providing nightmare fuel for an individual’s dreams and securing newfound insomnia into their mental frame.                                                                                                                                  Horror movies are all those goals put into motion picture productions. From Hollywood’s classics to edgy indie horrors, there is a broad variety available for every version of taste. From slasher to psychological disturbia, there are themes and topics to satisfy every thrill-seeking soul for every day of the week.                                                                                                                                                                                   All the tales of misfortune and strife are fear factors instilled within the audience. Remember those stories? All the shock and twists and heart-starting jumps weaved throughout the plots of horror movies are simply fuel to feed the burning fire. They’re the reasons we look back at the mirror when we leave the bathroom, and jump when the house settles, and check under the bed for monsters. Horror movies take our deepest fears and toy with them to create productions of our phobias and displays of our cringe worthy nightmares. There’s a countless selection to pick from, depending on one’s tastes and tolerance to terror. Allow me to suggest some honorable mentions — they may not keep you up for days, but they’ll supply the jolt you seek to keep your heart pumping.

Horror Movies:

Insidious (2011) PG 13

Dalton is a young boy who lives happily with his family. When he is retrieving items from the attic of his new house, he stumbles and falls, resulting in a concussion. He does not wake up the next morning and it is confirmed he is in a coma. While he is in this state, creepy things begin happening. His mother hints that she has been seeing figures that didn’t belong in the house and her husband shrugs it off; telling her it’s nothing to worry about. They find out later from Dalton’s grandmother’s friend that Dalton has a gift that allows him to travel in his sleep to another world called The Further. How much trouble could astral projection – the ability to travel out-of-body in your slumber – cause for a family, right?

The Ring (2002) PG 13

Rachel Keller’s life as a journalist and mother appears to be uneventful. That is, until she assumes role as a personal investigator in the murder case of her niece. She pieces together the parts of a puzzle that lead her to find a mysterious tape that is suspected to kill whoever dares to watch it. Now, Rachel must resolve the issues of the past while saving her own loved ones in the process.

The Messengers (2006) PG 13

The Solomon family moves to a new house after leaving their old problems behind, including an accident including their oldest daughter, Jessica, getting into a car wreck with her little brother. Jessica regrets her choices that have left Ben with problems and cares for him with a watchful eye now, but when she begins seeing ghosts and apparitions in the house, she loses focus. Her parents do not believe her when she claims the house is haunted, leaving Jessica alone to discover the fate of the previous owners and what effect it has on the house and their family.

The Fourth Kind (2009) PG-13

Psychologist Emily Tyler conducts studies with her patients who claim to have symptoms of amnesia and insomnia after seeing what is supposedly a white owl lingering outside of their bedroom windows. When Emily digs deeper using the method of hypnosis, the clients become angry with the results – but they cannot remember what happened to them during their delirious states. After her experiments with the victims, she sees a mysterious white owl outside of her own window. As Emily begins to encounter symptoms that mirror her patients’, she frantically searches for answers… but will she be able to figure it out in time?

The Uninvited (2009) PG-13

After staying at a mental hospital for almost a year with issues of grief and pain and a suicide attempt, Anna comes back home to her family. She is reunited with her sister, who is there with her through the most difficult parts of returning home. She readjusts to life with her dad and new stepmom named Rachel. She cannot shake the feeling that her new stepmom has something to hide, though, according to research that Anna has done, she has rights to believe no different. But maybe it is just all in her head.

Younger Audience:

Hotel Transylvania (2012) PG

Life is not easy when your dad is an overprotective vampire. Mavis lives with her dad, who happens to be the infamous Dracula, in their resort for monsters, hidden away in the fields of Transylvania. She has always been told to stay away from humans, because they pose a danger to their kind, but when a tourist boy stumbles into their tower Mavis discovers she may be developing a crush. Dracula dresses Jonathan up like a monster and forces him to pretend to be one of their kind, in hopes he will not scare his guests or ruin the reputation of his hotel.

The Nightmare before Christmas (1993) PG

Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween, has grown tired of the constant spooks and scares that surround his life. He wishes for something a bit different than his usual routine. He gets his wish for a new life when he wanders into the woods where trees with holiday doors grow and he stumbles and falls through the portal that sends him to Christmas town. He learns true joy there, and yearns for it to be his own. He has good intent with his actions – but will Jack end up ruining the spirit of Christmas?

Coraline (2008) PG

Coraline is an adventurous little girl, filled to the brim with spirit, bravery, and boredom. She believes her parents do not care much for her, and when she tells them stories they respond apathetically and distantly. She feels unwanted, so she goes on a search for adventure elsewhere and finds an entirely different world behind a door that reveals a dream-like life. She leaves what she knows in the past and goes through to an alternate universe of surprise and shock, experiencing an untouched land that welcomes her warmly.

Monster House (2006) PG

Children never dare step foot near Nebbercracker’s lawn. Everyone on the block is afraid of him because his house eats the kids who are daring enough to wander in or around it. DJ, the protagonist, is a curious teenager without much to do, and he lives across the street of this so called monster house. When old man Nebbercracker is sent off in an ambulance, DJ assumes that it is coast clear and sets out to reveal the mystery of the house with his two friends, Chowder and Jenny. On the night of Halloween they sneak in the house to find the truth, which is that the house is to fear, not Nebbercracker.

Corpse Bride (2005) PG

When the time comes for Victor Van Dort to marry Victoria Everglot, his nerves are sparked and worry sets in. He excuses himself to wander the forest where he practices his vows out loud to the void air, only to find he has company. To his surprise, he’s placed the wedding ring upon the hand of another girl. Now, he has accidently married a corpse named Emily who takes him with her to the Land Of The Dead to keep as groom and leaves his anxious fiancé behind in the world of the living. He has to decide between his chosen love and his damsel in distress before it is too late to fix things.

Television Shows:

Supernatural (Season 1, 2005)

Sam and Dean are brothers who have been raised to slay the creatures of the night by their father – whose wife was killed by one of those beings when the boys were young. On their adventures they face many evils, including Lucifer, and they must overcome the dark revelations of what has happened to their mother and try to avenge her death.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1999-2003) PG-13

The balance of high school and being a vampire hunter is a difficult one to maintain. Buffy would know all about that – selected for special training at the age of 15, she is destined to slay masses of bloodsucking, vile creatures in her adventures to save the world.

Vampire Diaries (2009) PG-13

Elena is the typical every-day teenager until she meets the Salvatore brothers. They are tall, handsome, and dark – in that evil kind of way. They manage to capture her attention quickly with their ominous ways. Mystic Falls is home to vampires and humans alike, and when Elena discovers the connection between the Damon, Stefan, and her strikingly similar look-alike, she has to find a way to cope with their assumptions of her ties to the girl.