Weekly Poll Results: Scariest Movie Ever Made

Posted by on November 6th, 2008   Filed under: Horror, Polls

Last week’s question about the scariest movie of all time has now officially been settled: William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is far and away the winner with 37% of the votes. The Ring was the #2 choice with 12.2%, while The Blair Witch Project held down third with 9.7%. After that it was a pretty tight race with Halloween and The Descent sharing the #4 spot, followed by The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Silence of the Lambs. I kind of expected Poltergeist to be a little higher on the poll just because it’s a movie that a lot of people grew up being scared of, and I am surprised The Blair Witch Project was so high even with all of the backlash it received. Are you pleased with the final results?

1. The Exorcist — 37.2%
2. The Ring — 12.2%
3. The Blair Witch Project — 9.7%
4. Halloween — 9.2%
4. The Descent — 9.2%
6. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre — 8.2%
7. The Silence of the Lambs — 6.1%
8. Psycho — 4.6%
9. Poltergeist — 2.6%
10. A Nightmare on Elm Street — 1.0%



  • I just wished the Shining was on the list. I always found that film freaky as heck.

  • alan

    The Shining is by far the scariest movie of all time… well, at least it scares the shit out of me

  • Alex

    Yeah, how did that happen… The Shining being left off of the list?

  • Yep, it obviously should have been on there… especially instead of A Nightmare on Elm Street! It was one of the ones I had considered, but I’m not sure how I ended up leaving it out. I guess I wanted to add a few more recent flicks for the people who maybe hadn’t seen all the “classics”.

  • I didn’t find The Shining scary because I couldn’t get past Jack Nicholson acting like a crazy person. Having recognizable actors pulls me right out of believing that what I’m seeing isn’t make-believe.

    I think this is one of the reasons that foreign movies tend to be scarier for me. Having Naomi Watts or Sarah Michelle Gellar being the victims tells me that I’m only watching a movie.

  • Me

    Ha The Ring! Are these people serious?

  • Helu0302

    I love the Exorcist (my favorite theme song ever) but I can watch it in a dark theatre with no problem, The Ring I was watching in daytime on dvd and I still had to pause it and catch my breath.

    I would argue of the older films on the list The Exorcist is the only one I think actually holds up as still being scary.