Welcome Home… If You Dare: The Best Haunted House Movies and Shows

Pull up a chair, dim the lights, and don't mind the creaking floorboards. It's Halloween season, and nothing captures the spirit quite like a good haunted house.

We've been telling these stories for a very long time. Nearly 2,000 years ago, the Roman writer Pliny the Younger described a house in Athens haunted by a chained ghost that wouldn't rest until its bones were found and properly buried. In 1764, The Castle of Otranto kicked off the Gothic craze with crumbling castles and family curses. By the late 1800s, Spiritualism had people holding séances in their parlors, and the idea that ghosts might live right down the hall was firmly part of the culture.

Then the movies moved in. Georges Méliès's Le Manoir du Diable (1896) filled a castle hall with bats, ghosts, and a devil in just three minutes, and it's often called the very first horror film. Before long, audiences were shrieking through The Cat and the Canary (1927), The Old Dark House (1932), and The Uninvited (1944). William Castle flew a skeleton over theater seats in House on Haunted Hill (1959), and The Haunting (1963) proved that what you can't see is the scariest thing of all. By 1969, Disneyland's Haunted Mansion had opened its doors, and the haunted house was officially a place everyone wanted to visit.

So which ones are worth the trip? To build this list, we turned to the Characteristics data in Origin Nexus. Every title tagged with a haunted house Setting & Context made the first cut, from silent-era classics to modern streaming hits. From that collection, we picked thirty one movies and TV shows that will make you jump. Some might make you laugh. A few might make you sleep with the hall light on.

Grab the popcorn, lock the doors (for whatever good it'll do), and step inside. Here are our top 31 haunted house movies and shows.

The Old Dark House (1932)

Caught in a storm whilst journeying through a remote region of Wales, a group of travelers take refuge in a sinister mansion inhabited by the bizarre Femm family and their mute butler, Morgan. Trying to make the best of a bad situation, the group settles in for the night, but the Femm family have a few skeletons in their closet, and one of them is on the loose.

The Uninvited (1944)

A pair of siblings from London purchase a surprisingly affordable, lonely cliff-top house in Cornwall, only to discover that it actually carries a ghostly price—and soon they’re caught up in a bizarre romantic triangle from beyond the grave. A tragic family past, a mysteriously locked room, cold chills, bumps in the night—this gothic Hollywood classic has it all.

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

The master of horror, Vincent Price, stars as a very wealthy man who gives a haunted house party, offering to give each of his guests $10,000—if they can survive the night.

The Innocents (1961)

This genuinely frightening, exquisitely made supernatural gothic stars Deborah Kerr as an emotionally fragile governess who comes to suspect that there is something very, very wrong with her precocious new charges.

The Haunting (1963)

Hill House has a reputation for evil. The mysterious New England mansion has been the scene of grisly murders. But when four people spend the night, they find themselves trapped by The Haunting. Anthropologist Dr. John Markway, who seeks to disprove the legends; heir to the mansion Luke Sanderson; psychic Theo; and Eleanor Vance (Julie Harris), who has a tenuous hold on sanity, slowly come to realize that the stories are all true. Now, Scream--no one will hear you! Run--silent footsteps will follow. The dead are restless in Hill House!

The Legend of Hell House (1973)

It sits here, shrouded in mist and mystery, a nesting place for living evil and terror from the dead. It's Hell House. Roddy McDowall heads the cast of this exciting chiller about four psychic investigators and the dark, brooding mansion they call "the Mt. Everest of haunted houses." It's already destroyed one team of researchers. Now this brave quartet ventures in for another try at unraveling its secrets. But before they succeed, they must suffer through madness, murder and everything else that the spirits who dwell here have in store for them. 

Burnt Offerings (1976)

Dan Curtis, director of TV's Dark Shadows series, directed this eerie haunted-house thriller about a house which draws energy from its inhabitants and selects its own "keeper" from the family of Ben and Marian Rolf, who rent the strangely-affordable house one fateful summer then find themselves slowly succumbing to its creepy powers. 

House (1977)

How to describe Nobuhiko Obayashi’s indescribable 1977 movie House (Hausu)? As a psychedelic ghost tale? A stream-of-consciousness bedtime story? An episode of Scooby-Doo as directed by Mario Bava? Any of the above will do for this hallucinatory head trip about a schoolgirl who travels with six classmates to her ailing aunt’s creaky country home and comes face-to-face with evil spirits, a demonic house cat, a bloodthirsty piano, and other ghoulish visions, all realized by Obayashi via mattes, animation, and collage effects. 

The Amityville Horror (1979)

Based on terrifying true events, The Amityville Horror tells the story of George and Kathy Lutz who believe they have found the perfect family home on the coast of Long Island. But the house has a shocking history and within its walls a demonic presence lies in wait that will turn the Lutz’s lives into a living nightmare. Their only hope is to get out before it’s too late.

The Changeling (1980)

A man staying at a secluded historical mansion finds himself being haunted by the presence of a spectre.

The Shining (1980)

When writer Jack Torrance--who has a history of alcoholism and child abuse--takes a job as winter caretaker for a hotel high in the Rocky Mountains, he, his wife and their psychic young son will be isolated until spring. But once the first blizzard closes the road out, the accumulated power of evil deeds committed at the hotel begins to drive Jack mad. Now there may be no escape for his wife and son in this haunting madness, memory and family violence.

Poltergeist (1982)

A typical family in a quiet suburb of a normal California faces a frightening ordeal when its home is invaded by a Poltergeist. Late one night, 10-year-old Carol Anne Freeling hears a voice coming from inside the television set. At first, the spirits that invade the Freeling's home seem like playful children. But then they turn angry. And when Carol Anne is pulled from this world into another, Steve and Diane Freeling turn to an exorcist.

Beetlejuice (1988)

When a couple of nice, young homebody ghosts try to haunt the pretentious humans who have moved into their house, they ask for help from a demonic wraith they cannot control in this comic fantasy that mixes the quick and the dead with a laugh and a fright.

Casper (1995)

“Ghost therapist” Dr. James Harvey and his daughter, Kat, have been hired by Carrigan Crittenden and her partner-in-slime, Dibs, to get rid of the spirits at drafty, old Whipstaff Manor. Sure enough, the place is haunted by The Ghostly Trio – Stretch, Stinkie and Fatso – who don’t believe “fleshies” should come anywhere near their haunted domain. But Kat soon meets another, very different kind of spirit: Casper, a good-natured ghost who's just looking for a friend. Can they all learn to live with each other?

The Others (2001)

A woman who lives in a darkened old house with her two photosensitive children becomes convinced that her family home is haunted.

Ju-on: The Grudge (2003)

Tragedy strikes when Kyoko loses her unborn child in a car crash. Not long after the accident, Kyoko feels something moving inside her. To her surprise, a doctor assures her that she is still pregnant ... but with what? It would not be until years later that we would be taken back to the terrible night the spirit was born and find out the horrific truth about its nature and origin.

Dark Water (2005)

Based on the Japanese film by Hideo Nakata (The Ring), DARK WATER is a haunting, chilling film about a young mother who goes to extreme lengths to solve a mystery and protect her daughter.

Monster House (2006)

Even for a 12-year old, D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbor Horace Nebbercracker, who terrorizes all the neighborhood kids, is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker's mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker's property, promptly disappears, swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives. D.J. has seen it with his own eyes! But no one believes him, not even his best friend, Chowder. What everyone does not know is D.J. is not imagining things. Everything he's seen is absolutely true and it's about to get much worse than anything D.J could have imagined.

The Orphanage (2007)

Laura has happy memories of her childhood in an orphanage. She convinces her husband to buy the place and help her convert it into a home for sick children. One day, her own adopted son, Simon disappears. Simon is critically ill, and when he is still missing several months later, he is presumed dead. Grief-stricken Laura believes she hears spirits, who may or may not be trying to help her find the boy.

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Filmed in a documentary style, Paranormal Activity follows day-trader Micah and college student Katie, a young couple "Engaged to be engaged." Played by unknowns Micah Sloat and Katie Featherston, the leads are wholly sympathetic and normal characters living out a seemingly mundane suburban existence, which is part of the movie's genius - many of us could be them, minus the paranormal activity! When Micah takes it upon himself to film Katie's claims that she has been haunted since childhood, audiences will likely be just as sceptical as he is, but not for long... Sleep is going to be a problem.

Insidious (2011)

The terrifying story of a family who, shortly after moving, discovers that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

The Woman in Black (2012)

Arthur Kipps a widowed lawyer whose grief has put his career in jeopardy, is sent to a remote village to sort out the affairs of a recently deceased eccentric. But upon his arrival, it soon becomes clear that everyone in the town is keeping a deadly secret. Although the townspeople try to keep Kipps from learning their tragic history, he soon discovers that the house belonging to his client is haunted by the ghost of a woman who is determined to find someone and something she lost… and no one, not even the children, are safe from her vengeance.

The Secret of Crickley Hall (2012) 

Nearly a year after the disappearance of their young son Cam, Eve and Gabe Caleigh relocate their family to Crickley Hall in hopes of finding a fresh start away from London. The tranquil country estate soon turns terrifying as unseen forces manifest—cellar doors open on their own, the cries of hidden children echo through the night, and a menacing, cane-wielding spectre haunts the halls. 

The Conjuring (2013)

Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. The Conjuring tells the horrifying true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, world renowned paranormal investigators, who were called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives. 

Crimson Peak (2015)

When her heart is stolen by a seductive stranger, a young woman is swept away to a house atop a mountain of blood-red clay—a place filled with secrets that will haunt her forever. Between desire and darkness, between mystery and madness, lies the truth behind Crimson Peak.

The Haunting of Hill House (2018)

The Haunting of Hill House is a modern reimagining of Shirley Jackson’s legendary novel of the same name, about five siblings who grew up in the most famous haunted house in America. Now adults, they’re reunited by the suicide of their youngest sister, which forces them to finally confront the ghosts of their own pasts… some which lurk in their minds... and some which may really be lurking in the shadows of the iconic Hill House.

The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020)

After an au pair’s tragic death, Henry Wingrave hires a young American nanny to care for his orphaned niece and nephew who reside at Bly Manor with the estate’s chef Owen, groundskeeper Jamie and housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. But all is not as it seems at the manor, and centuries of dark secrets of love and loss are waiting to be unearthed in this chilling gothic romance. At Bly Manor, dead doesn’t mean gone.

His House (2020)

As a young couple from war-torn South Sudan seeks asylum and a fresh start in England, they’re tormented by a sinister force living in their new home.

Shining Vale (2022)

“Shining Vale” is a horror comedy about a dysfunctional family that moves from the city to a small town into a house in which terrible atrocities have taken place. But no one seems to notice except for Pat, who’s convinced she’s either depressed or possessed – turns out, the symptoms are exactly the same.

Haunted Mansion (2023)

Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, “Haunted Mansion” is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.

Other Mommy (2026)

From James Wan, one of the most influential architects of modern horror behind the Saw, Insidious and The Conjuring franchises—and Rob Savage, the director of bold genre films Host and The Boogeyman, comes a terrifying trip into the darkening world of a young girl, Bela, who forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home who looks uncannily like her own mother.

Want to grab this list? As a Fabric Origin Nexus client, use Collection ID=1999

Other Halloween Collections: Halloween for Family, Dracula, Frankenstein, Michael Myers, Wolf Man (Universal), Witches & Witchcraft, Freddy Kreuger, The Devil, Stephen King, and many more!