Who doesn’t love a good haunted house movie? It’s like THE pinnacle of creepiness, in my opinion. Monsters and gore fests are one thing. They’re gross, sure, but they don’t have the creep-factor of an enemy you can’t see. You can’t outrun the ghoul you never see coming! Besides, with most of the classic Halloween monsters, if you just walk at a brisk pace, you’ll eventually get away. Seriously! Zombies? Climb a rock. Michael Myers? A good power walk and you’re free.
If you want to spend the night scaring yourselves silly, here are a few of our favorite haunted house movies for teens!
Related: Horror Movie Marathon Party Games
Best Haunted House Movies for Teens
The Amityville Horror
This is my all-time favorite, even though it’s an oldie. The original is still the best. It was made back in 1979. The movie James Brolin, Margot Kidder and Rod Steiger. Now, most people will tell you it’s a true story. Here’s the thing; it’s not. You know that super freaky movie, The Conjuring? Well, the parapsychologists behind it actually debunked the Amityville story. No red room. No piggie. No ghost. Just a fabrication to make one family famous and help get a murderer off on the “devil made me do it” defense. At least that’s the new “official” unofficial official story. Confused yet? No one really knows, I guess.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yr6VbT8QcU
Anyway, the movie itself is still awesome. It centers around a family who moves into a new home but soon find themselves needing the help of an exorcist after a series of eerie accidents occur. However, the exorcist does no good since the spirits in the house are out for blood. The scary part about this house is that the house actually has eyes. Sort of. The windows look like eyes. I have a house in my neighborhood that looks like this one, and it creeps me out every time I pass it!
Related: 80s Movies Every Teen Must See
The Others
The Others was released in 2001 and stars Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Alakina Mann and James Bentley. In a quiet country home lives a mother with her two kids. Soon, they start to hear weird noises and strange things start happening in the home. Both of the kids have a rare condition where they can’t be exposed to light and when the forces inside the house discover this, the house is lit up with bright sunlight. This movie is full of twist and turns and a not-so-surprise surprise ending. I suppose it was a surprise at the time, although just about everyone figured it out before the characters did. I think the Sixth Sense made us all immune to major plot twists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bMEGtUxajY
Paranormal Activity
Paranormal Activity premiered in 2007 and stars Katie Featherston and Micah Sloat. This movie is different than others in that the entire movie is filmed with a movie camera. The movie showcases a young couple that encounter strange happenings in their home and attempt to document those happenings. While the occurrences start out as small little bangs on the door, they eventually transpire into something much more sinister.
This one is hit or miss. I didn’t find it all that scary until the very, very end. That last scene kind of freaked me out, but honestly, I was too busy laughing at all the people in the theater going “Oh my, oh no, oh, oh, oh!!!” So many people thought it was based on a true story. It’s not.
Poltergeist
Poltergeist was released in 1982 and stars Jo Beth Williams, Craig T. Nelson and Beatrice Straight. This is a classic haunted house movie as many of us will never forget the crackling on the TV with little Carol saying, “They’re heeeere.” The movie starts off with a family moving into a new home and at first are not scared of the fact that their home contains ghostly creatures. However, things don’t stay settled for long as these ghostly happenings turn into downright nightmares for the family. This was the epitome of scary back in the 80s. The worst part? That freaking clown doll!
All of these haunted house movies for teens are scary in different ways. Some are downright creepy while others have more of a “creeps up on you” creep-factor. Watch them all and have a horror movie marathon or just watch one, then sleep with the lights on!
What is your favorite haunted house movie? Tell us in the comments!
They don’t make movies like they used to! I love to watch spooky movies for Halloween, it’s always fun to watch older movies with my kids.
I would love to set on the couch and watch some of these with my niece.
It has been a long time since I watched any of these. Used to love watching them as a teen!
I’m kind of a chicken when it comes to scary movies. Would you believe I’ve never seen any of your suggestions?