The 31 Scariest Movie Moments

The Scariest Movie Moments

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Do we like scary movies? Hell yeah! That's why we picked the 31 best scary movies of all time last year. And it's why we're at it again this year, counting down the 31 most twisted and terrifying moments ever filmed by Hollywood.

We've got scenes that'll make you scream and shots that'll make you jump. And we'll be revealing a new moment each day in Schocktober, er, October. Can't wait for all the scares to be unveiled? Click through our countdown of clues--and you might just live to see another sunrise. -- By Ed Tahaney

31. 'The Sixth Sense' (1999)

Moment: Mischa Barton under Haley Joel's bed

Why It Scares Us: These days, actor Haley Joel Osment would probably be excited to find Mischa Barton in his bedroom. But when she materializes in this 1999 ghost story, the sight of her sickly apparition hiding under his bed was the kind of movie moment that made every theater-goer jump. Or maybe even wretch. Writer-director M. Night Shymalan's spirited story about a kiddie shrink (Bruce Willis) and his young patient (Osment) who sees dead people received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Not too shabby for a scary movie.





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30. 'When a Stranger Calls' (1979)

Moment: "We've traced the call ... it's coming from inside the house."

Why It Scares Us: Not exactly the words you want to hear if you're babysitting and a psychopath keeps calling the house like some twisted telemarketer. Carol Kane plays the terrorized high schooler living every babysitter's nightmare in an otherwise forgettable 1979 flick. Kane's character eventually makes it out of the house, only to have the creep come back to haunt her and her hubby in the sequel. Next time don't answer the phone. And skip the 2006 remake.





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29. 'The Blair Witch Project' (1999)

Moment: Final shot of something in the corner of the room.

Why It Scares Us: 'Blair Witch''s scariest scene was one in which you couldn't really make out what was happening. All anyone can see is student filmmaker Michael Williams silently standing in the corner of an abandoned basement (clawing his eyes out? who knows!), a shot that is quickly followed by a freaked-out Heather Donahue, who drops her handheld camera. The final shot of something in the corner of the room is disturbing because the fake documentary style -- improvised by cast and crew -- seems so real. Of course, all those weird rock piles and stick figures were pretty darn spooky, too.





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28. 'The Wizard of Oz' (1939)

Moment: Flying monkeys!

Why It Scares Us: "Fly, fly, fly!" the Wicked Witch of the West cries into her crystal ball after ordering her head winged monkey Nikko (Pat Walshe) to send the troops on to capture Dorothy and her posse of misfits. Many of the actors playing what appeared to be hundreds of flying monkeys were not credited in the film and several were injured shooting this scene when the piano wires lifting them up snapped. Not that that makes us any less irrationally afraid of these nasty creatures.





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27. 'Signs' (2002)

Moment: The aliens show up in home video footage shown on TV.

Why It Scares Us: Creepy crop circles have been appearing on the land surrounding a charming farmhouse inhabited by the Rev. Graham Hess (Mel Gibson) and his good looking family. But how does the family learn who is behind the spookiness? By watching the news. Namely, Graham's brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix) turns on the boob tube to discover that out-of-this-world lizard men have invaded a children's birthday party in South America. (Even scarier: the sight of Phoenix speaking Spanish to the television.) Cue the screams.





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26. 'The Fly' (1986)

Moment: Scientist turns into Brundlefly (and loses body parts) in the bathroom.

Why It Scares Us: That'll teach you not to spray for bugs before you attempt to teleport yourself, you twit. The scene when scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) is turning into Brundlefly, half man-half housefly, and starts losing body parts in the bathroom -- serious ick! The great stuff from director David Cronenberg helped the film snag an Oscar for Best Makeup. Bet it was that ear in a jar that won over the Academy.





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25. Coming Tues. Oct. 7

Clue: Look up in the sky! It's not a plane, and we are not talking about 'Superman,' either.





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24. Coming Wed. Oct. 8

Clue: Just say no thank you. Secret experiments and chemical weapons make this postman ring thrice.





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23. Coming Thurs. Oct. 9

Clue: This silent scene killer is based on a famous book and had to change its name to avoid a lawsuit that almost destroyed all copies of the film. The horror ...





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