The 20 best haunted house movies

Not even the best fixer-uppers in the world can save this haunted house. I mean, how do you combat watermelons that talk, cats that fly and pianos that eat people? You don't. This Japanese horror flick is like a bad acid trip with a nice feeling.

Why would anyone buy this Victorian atrocity? The trees are dead, the hills are foggy and there's a dang noose outside. Luckily the owners have called paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Newman, who are based on the real-life paranormal investigators in charge of the case.

James Wan's follow-up to the successful original might not be as spooky, but it works just the same. The audience I saw it with were gasping from their seats.

A young girl gets abducted by ghosts when her family moves into a new house. A number of movies have a similar premise, but this one is elevated by Spielbergian charm, colorful prosthetics and some of the most iconic scenes in the genre.

Every ghost in cinema carries memories with them. Most of them are hurtful, but this one carries the memories of a marriage. A Ghost Story is a profound and profoundly different take on the haunted-house formula. It's a house haunted by attraction.

The greatest horror movie of the 21st century so far — as far as I can remember — is set in a house haunted by grief. Along with spirits, folk tales and creepy figurines, the family is haunted by the death of their matriarch, who might have some secrets hiding under her doormat.

Lots of young people like to house-sit these days. They get paid to sit on the couch, watch TV and maybe help a child with their homework. But Miss Giddens gets more than she bargained for when she wanders into this creaky mansion. The Innocents laid the groundwork for a new type of horror film, one set around creaky halls and cold basements.

Another film that set the blueprint for haunted houses. The Haunting sees a paranormal investigator get roped into a deadly case with a group of people he brings along to investigates a seemingly haunted mansion.

Sam Raimi remade his own horror flick with Evil Dead II, in which a group of strangers rent out the wrong cabin. In the second installment, he gets rid of the original's dark tone in favor of a slapstick vibe. The result is like Buster Keaton meets The Haunting; a blend of horror and comedy that sticks to you like prickly branches to a cashmere sweater.

Haunted houses can be funny too, you know. Just look at Tim Burton's comedy about a haunted house infested with humans. Yeah, you read that right: this time it's the humans who are invading a rickety home.

Three kids investigate a home they believe is alive, which makes for all sorts of lively scenarios. In Monster House, children get a taste of what makes this subgenre so special.

All work and no play makes for one of the greatest haunted houses in cinema. In the Overlook Hotel, a bunch of ghosts whisper from the walls, a couple twins leer from the halls and a father tries to murder his family with an axe. Heeeere's a classic you don't want to miss.

A couple buys a home where a mass murder recently took place. What could go wrong? A lot of things, actually. Starting with a house that wants them dead.

It's a haunted house where the characters actually leave the house. Too bad the entity follows them wherever they go. James Wan's follow-up to The Conjuring makes for another relentless fright-fest.

The motel isn't actually haunted in Psycho, but the walls echo with a madman's hallucinations. They creak, freak and eventually shriek when our heroine decides to take a shower. Alfred Hitchcock's classic feels like a haunted house flick even if it's technically not.

Who said haunted houses had to be run by ghosts? They can be run by psychotic fathers who skin their victims alive to help repair their daughter's face. Eyes Without a Face is poetry that goes more than skin deep — it takes a scalpel to the soul.

One of the earliest examples of the haunted house genre, this film set in pre-WWII England follows a brother-sister duo who can't resist buying a suspiciously-cheap seaside manor. They soon find out why it was such a bargain as they become embroiled in another family's drama, embodied by a mysterious spirit haunting their new home.

Want something a little more light with your haunted house? The Ghostbusters make for a fine comedic team, one that can get rid of any ghost haunting your house. Who you gonna call?

The apartment in Repulsion reflects the cracked, crumbling and shattered structure of a character's mind. She's alone for a week with no one to help her. It's only a matter of days before the walls start closing in.

If you're thinking about joining a ballet school, Dario Argento's classic will change your mind for good. As we enter a ballet school run by witches, we are confronted with some of the most surreal, hypnotic and immersive images ever put on film. Suspiria dances on screen before twirling majestically in your dreams. It's a great slice of horror.