By Sophia Gonzalez

With Halloween behind us, the season of scary movies has passed, leaving Christmas
movies on most of our watchlists. But… the tiny gap of time between Halloween and Christmas (around Thanksgiving) gives a bit of wiggle room to be able to watch some more horror movies to end the spooky season. These nine movies are some spooky finds that I myself have seen, both in the genre of classic and modern that are sure to produce some scares.

A Quiet Place, Beetlejuice, and The Others offer a scare, but are not as fearsome as
some may think. A Quiet Place is more like an average alien movie, portraying a lone family’s fight with survival and the disadvantage of not being able to make a sound. Some jump-scares are present, but probably the most scary thing is the uneasiness that is felt for the family in the situation. Beetlejuice is a comedic horror film, starring Alec Baldwin and Winona Ryder (some actors you may know). Following the fight of the dead against the living, a couple acquires the help of a rather frightening ghost who only means trouble. As a third, The Others is another fight with the living against the dead, but not as it seems. There are many plot twists in this film, but I’d say that one of the most chilling factors is the music played throughout.

Children of the Corn, The Shining, and Krampus are three more halloween movies, that are a little more unnerving than the previous three. Children of the Corn is a classic Stephen King film, starring a couple battling a rather shocking group of treacherous Satanic children. The Shining is even more of a classic Stephen King book and movie, following the lives of a couple and their son who have moved to a secluded hotel, where the family suffers from the consequences of severe cabin fever. Krampus is a Christmas horror movie, which is rather unusual for the jolly time of year. It is more about the dark side of the holiday, showing what happens when a family ends up on the naughty side of Santa’s list.

These last three movies are the most terrifying on this list. Halloween (the original 1978
version) is a movie about a serial killer, who is not quite human but not quite non-human either. The movie would not be as frightening if it weren’t for the many jump scares, plot twists, and of course, the uneasy iconic music that can be heard throughout. It is a film that I believe most have seen. The 2017 version, that is. However, you may not know that before It (2017), there was an It (1990) (which is planned, as you will see if you watch the movies). Being around three hours long, the 1990 version of the Stephen King film is full of scary encounters, bringing a group of seven kids’ fears to life, with one center; a large, menacing clown. Finally, to end this list of petrifying movies, is probably one of the most classic ones of all. The Exorcist stars a young girl, and her and her family’s fight against a deadly foreign demon who takes over and possesses her body.
There are hundreds of scary movies out there, which are mostly watched pre-Halloween
time. For those that still have some spook in them, they can watch horror movies even after Halloween is over, for a short time at least. At other times during the years as well, there is no need to wait for the nights to get longer in order to enjoy a good scare. As Thanksgiving and Christmas inch around the corner, the creepy and the crawly are going back into their caves, and watching these few horror movies are a perfect way to end the season.