40 Movies with Haunted Houses for a Perfect Scare Night

Movies with Haunted Houses thrive when the building feels alive, not just scary. In The Conjuring, the rooms behave like witnesses, keeping secrets in plain sight. In The Haunting (1963), architecture seems to listen back, as if it enjoys being feared. In The Shining, elegance becomes a trapdoor for the mind, and wide corridors feel predatory. The best entries make the house a performer: doors hesitate, floorboards confess, and silence arrives with intent. You can hear the walls breathe. This list ranks 40 films that treat “home” as the monster, not a backdrop.

This guide is built for navigation, not bravado, so you can choose by decade, intensity, and the type of haunting you can tolerate. Pick your comfort level first. Some titles are clean chills with classic craft, while others lean into grief, violence, or psychological pressure. Every entry includes a quick snapshot—cast, director, tone, suitability, and IMDb score—so you can plan a night without guesswork. When you want a haunted mansion mood piece, you’ll find it alongside apartment dread and cabin chaos. When you want something lighter, there are playful options that still respect the premise. The only hard rule: IMDb must be 6.5+.

How we picked Movies with Haunted Houses

We aimed for variety across eras and sub-styles—haunted mansion chillers, apartment dread, cabin mayhem, and case-file paranormal investigation—while keeping the “home becomes the threat” idea central. We also considered comfort and sensitivity, since several films are grief-forward or intensely violent even when they’re beautifully made. Only titles with an IMDb rating of 6.5/10 or above were considered, and the ranking climbs from the lowest qualifying score at #40 to the highest at #1. All IMDb ratings in this article were verified on 13 February 2026.

40. The Awakening (2011)

• Actors: Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton
• Director: Nick Murphy
• Genre: horror, mystery, drama
• Tone: eerie, restrained, melancholy
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

A skeptical investigator is invited to a boarding school where a rumored presence unsettles staff and students. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into grief, belief, and the cost of certainty, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because quiet chills and period atmosphere becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

39. The Skeleton Key (2005)

• Actors: Kate Hudson, Peter Sarsgaard, Gena Rowlands
• Director: Iain Softley
• Genre: supernatural thriller, mystery, horror
• Tone: humid, uneasy, paranoid
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

A hospice nurse takes a job in a remote Louisiana house where locked rooms and local folklore feel too connected. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into power, trust, and the fear of being outplayed at home, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because a sticky Southern mood with steady suspense becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

38. Crimson Peak (2015)

• Actors: Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Tom Hiddleston
• Director: Guillermo del Toro
• Genre: gothic horror, romance, mystery
• Tone: lush, ominous, operatic
• Suitable for: older teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.5/10

A young writer marries into an aristocratic household and moves into a decaying estate that seems to breathe history. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into desire, inheritance, and rot behind romance, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because painterly visuals and mansion-as-monster staging becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

37. What Lies Beneath (2000)

• Actors: Michelle Pfeiffer, Harrison Ford, Miranda Otto
• Director: Robert Zemeckis
• Genre: mystery, thriller, horror
• Tone: glossy, tense, uncanny
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

A quiet lakeside home turns strange when a woman senses another presence and hidden truths nearby. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into secrets, marriage, and dread in domestic space, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place because old-school suspense with polished set pieces becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

36. The Legend of Hell House (1973)

• Actors: Roddy McDowall, Pamela Franklin, Clive Revill
• Director: John Hough
• Genre: horror, thriller, mystery
• Tone: grim, claustrophobic, confrontational
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

A team is hired to spend days in a notorious manor to document whether evil can be measured and contained. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into arrogance, vulnerability, and spiritual contamination, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place because hard-edged classic shocks becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

35. House on Haunted Hill (1959)

• Actors: Vincent Price, Carolyn Craig, Richard Long
• Director: William Castle
• Genre: horror, mystery
• Tone: campy, suspenseful, playful
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A showman invites strangers to survive one night in a ‘haunted’ mansion for a cash prize. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into greed, performance, and group paranoia, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because a breezy blueprint for haunted-party tension becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

34. The Haunted Palace (1963)

• Actors: Vincent Price, Debra Paget, Lon Chaney Jr.
• Director: Roger Corman
• Genre: horror, mystery
• Tone: theatrical, eerie, pulpy
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

An heir returns to a cursed estate where the town’s past seems fused to the house’s walls. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into identity, legacy, and vengeance in a poisoned place, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because classic studio atmosphere and gothic spectacle becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

33. Dark Water (2002)

• Actors: Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi
• Director: Hideo Nakata
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: mournful, slow-burn, unsettling
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A mother and daughter move into a rundown apartment where leaks and silence feel like warnings. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into parental fear, exhaustion, and lingering loss, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because sad, chilling mood that sticks becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

32. Ju-on: The Grudge (2002)

• Actors: Megumi Okina, Misaki Itō, Misa Uehara
• Director: Takashi Shimizu
• Genre: horror, mystery
• Tone: relentless, dread-soaked, chilling
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A single house becomes a spreading curse that follows anyone who crosses its threshold. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into trauma that repeats and places that remember violence, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place because nightmare structure with icy momentum becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

31. Housebound (2014)

• Actors: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru
• Director: Gerard Johnstone
• Genre: comedy, horror, mystery
• Tone: dry, cheeky, creepy
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

A reluctant young woman is forced into house arrest at her childhood home where her mother insists it’s haunted. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into family friction, denial, and uncomfortable truths, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because a sharp horror-comedy pivoting into real dread becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

30. Monster House (2006)

• Actors: Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke
• Director: Gil Kenan
• Genre: animation, comedy, family
• Tone: spooky-fun, fast, adventurous
• Suitable for: older kids with parents, teens
• IMDb rating: 6.7/10

Three kids discover the neighbor’s house is alive and actively dangerous. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into loneliness, anger, and courage in kid-sized scares, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because a family-friendly haunted-house roller coaster becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

29. Under the Shadow (2016)

• Actors: Narges Rashidi, Avin Manshadi, Bobby Naderi
• Director: Babak Anvari
• Genre: horror, drama, thriller
• Tone: tense, intimate, oppressive
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

During wartime, a mother and daughter shelter in an apartment where an unseen presence begins to intrude. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into anxiety, survival, and protective love under pressure, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because tight, intimate dread with sharp symbolism becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

28. The Babadook (2014)

• Actors: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Hayley McElhinney
• Director: Jennifer Kent
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: raw, claustrophobic, intense
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A strange children’s book appears at home and a presence seems to feed on grief and exhaustion. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into mourning, guilt, and emotional containment, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place because a modern classic of psychological pressure becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

27. Insidious (2010)

• Actors: Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins
• Director: James Wan
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: jumpy, eerie, crowd-pleasing
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A family’s home turns hostile after their child falls into a coma and the night becomes crowded. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into boundaries, belief, and parental dread, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because sharp pacing and clean scare engineering becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

Shifting gears in Movies with Haunted Houses

From here, the list starts mixing tighter mysteries with bigger shocks, so you can choose what kind of night you want. This is also where pace and sound design become the main scare tools, not just plot. If you’re pacing yourself, alternate a heavier pick with something playful or classic to reset your nerves. It’s a great section to notice how gothic horror staging differs from modern jump-scare timing.

26. Sinister (2012)

• Actors: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone
• Director: Scott Derrickson
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: grim, unsettling, intense
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A true-crime writer moves into a house with a violent past and uncovers disturbing home movies. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into obsession, guilt, and the cost of looking closer, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because an oppressive mood that escalates hard becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

25. 1408 (2007)

• Actors: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack
• Director: Mikael Håfström
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: surreal, tense, disorienting
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.8/10

A cynical author checks into a hotel room with a lethal reputation and finds reality bending against him. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into grief, denial, and psychological siege, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place because a one-room nightmare with escalating set pieces becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

24. Stir of Echoes (1999)

• Actors: Kevin Bacon, Kathryn Erbe, Illeana Douglas
• Director: David Koepp
• Genre: mystery, horror, thriller
• Tone: grounded, creepy, tense
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

After a party hypnosis, a man’s suburban home starts ‘speaking’ through visions and sounds. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into secrets under the surface and the burden of being a witness, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because a tight mystery wrapped in haunting becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

23. The Old Dark House (1932)

• Actors: Boris Karloff, Melvyn Douglas, Gloria Stuart
• Director: James Whale
• Genre: comedy, horror, thriller
• Tone: macabre, witty, atmospheric
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.0/10

Travelers take refuge from a storm in a remote house where hospitality feels like a trap. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into manners, class tension, and fear as social theater, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because early-horror charm with sharp edges becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

22. The Frighteners (1996)

• Actors: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Jeffrey Combs
• Director: Peter Jackson
• Genre: horror, comedy, fantasy
• Tone: kinetic, spooky, darkly funny
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A con man who can see ghosts turns hauntings into a business until a darker force arrives. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into guilt, grief, and redemption under the jokes, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because big energy and surprisingly emotional stakes becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

21. A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

• Actors: Im Soo-jung, Moon Geun-young, Yum Jung-ah
• Director: Kim Jee-woon
• Genre: drama, horror, mystery
• Tone: delicate, disturbing, tragic
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

Two sisters return to their country home and find family tensions curdling into something uncanny. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into memory, blame, and what silence does to a household, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place because elegant horror with emotional whiplash becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

20. The Changeling (1980)

• Actors: George C. Scott, Trish Van Devere, Melvyn Douglas
• Director: Peter Medak
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: somber, chilling, investigative
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.1/10

A grieving composer rents a grand house where a presence insists on being acknowledged. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into loss, justice, and echoes that demand answers, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because classic slow-burn craft becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

19. The Uninvited (1944)

• Actors: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp
• Director: Lewis Allen
• Genre: horror, mystery, romance
• Tone: eerie, gentle, melancholy
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A brother and sister buy a seaside house where the nights feel subtly wrong. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into family history and the pull of the past, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because graceful ghostly atmosphere becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

18. House (1977)

• Actors: Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Kumiko Ohba
• Director: Nobuhiko Obayashi
• Genre: comedy, horror, fantasy
• Tone: surreal, playful, manic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.2/10

A group of schoolgirls visit a remote house that behaves like a pop-art nightmare. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into grief turned into absurdity and appetite, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because unpredictable imagery and fearless tone becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

17. The Evil Dead (1981)

• Actors: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Betsy Baker
• Director: Sam Raimi
• Genre: horror
• Tone: feral, frantic, visceral
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Friends in a remote cabin unleash a malevolent force that turns the place into a sealed arena. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into panic, consequence, and survival, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because kinetic filmmaking that makes rooms feel alive becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

16. Hereditary (2018)

• Actors: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro
• Director: Ari Aster
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: brutal, anxious, dread-heavy
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

After a death, a family home becomes the stage for escalating events that feel both inherited and external. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into grief, resentment, and the terror of family legacy, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place because precision dread and devastating performances becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

15. Poltergeist (1982)

• Actors: Craig T. Nelson, JoBeth Williams, Heather O’Rourke
• Director: Tobe Hooper
• Genre: horror, thriller
• Tone: big, scary, family-focused
• Suitable for: teens, older kids with parents
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

A suburban family discovers their house is no longer private as phenomena intensify night by night. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into safety, parenting, and intrusion into the everyday, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because blockbuster scares with real warmth becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

14. The Conjuring 2 (2016)

• Actors: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Wolfe
• Director: James Wan
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: intense, emotional, suspenseful
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Investigators visit a small English home where a family is being worn down by nightly terror. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into faith, endurance, and isolation inside the home, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because a big, confident sequel with strong staging becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

The dread gets intimate

Now the theme tilts toward emotion—grief, guilt, and family fracture—where a home becomes a mirror as much as a threat. If you want a classic ghost story feel, pair one of the older black-and-white entries with a modern slow-burn. If you’d rather keep it procedural, pick an investigation-style film next and let the clues drive the fear. Either way, the best watches here are the ones where silence does half the work.

13. The Devil’s Backbone (2001)

• Actors: Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega, Federico Luppi
• Director: Guillermo del Toro
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: poetic, haunting, tragic
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A boy arrives at an isolated orphanage and senses a presence that refuses to be forgotten. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into innocence, betrayal, and the stain of violence, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place because a tender ghost tale with sharp teeth becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

12. The Orphanage (2007)

• Actors: Belén Rueda, Fernando Cayo, Roger Príncep
• Director: J.A. Bayona
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: emotional, suspenseful, devastating
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A woman returns to her childhood orphanage and the building becomes the center of an escalating mystery. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into motherhood, guilt, and memory as a trap, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because big emotion fused to strong suspense becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

11. The Haunting (1963)

• Actors: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
• Director: Robert Wise
• Genre: horror, mystery
• Tone: elegant, terrifying, psychological
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.4/10

A research group gathers in a mansion to study whether a place can hold evil. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into loneliness, desire to belong, and weaponized space, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because sound-and-shadow mastery becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

10. The Conjuring (2013)

• Actors: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Lili Taylor
• Director: James Wan
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: classic, intense, scary
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.5/10

A family in an old farmhouse faces escalating phenomena and seeks help from investigators. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into protection, faith, and fear as a siege, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because clean geography and relentless build becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

9. Beetlejuice (1988)

• Actors: Michael Keaton, Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin
• Director: Tim Burton
• Genre: comedy, fantasy, horror
• Tone: mischievous, weird, energetic
• Suitable for: older kids with parents, teens
• IMDb rating: 7.5/10

A couple tries to haunt their own house after death, but the living occupants are chaos incarnate. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into belonging, identity, and grief through comedy, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place because a maximalist, imaginative haunted-home romp becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

8. The Others (2001)

• Actors: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston
• Director: Alejandro Amenábar
• Genre: horror, mystery, thriller
• Tone: chilly, elegant, suspenseful
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.6/10

A mother and her children live in a darkened mansion where the rules of the house feel strict for a reason. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into control, fear, and the stories we tell to survive, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because quiet dread with impeccable timing becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

7. Evil Dead II (1987)

• Actors: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks
• Director: Sam Raimi
• Genre: horror, comedy
• Tone: frantic, gory, hilarious
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A lone survivor is trapped in a cursed cabin where objects and sounds turn against him. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into madness, survival, and cathartic chaos, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because slapstick terror executed with brilliance becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

6. The Innocents (1961)

• Actors: Deborah Kerr, Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin
• Director: Jack Clayton
• Genre: horror, mystery, drama
• Tone: eerie, ambiguous, haunting
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 7.7/10

A governess arrives at an estate where the children’s calmness feels like a mask. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into repression, fear, and moral panic, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because ambiguity that chills for days becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

5. Coraline (2009)

• Actors: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders
• Director: Henry Selick
• Genre: animation, fantasy, horror
• Tone: uncanny, adventurous, darkly magical
• Suitable for: older kids with parents, teens
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

A hidden door in a new home opens into an alternate world that wants to keep its visitor. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into temptation, bravery, and imperfect love, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because a fairytale nightmare with real bite becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

4. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

• Actors: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
• Director: Roman Polanski
• Genre: horror, drama, mystery
• Tone: paranoid, slow-burn, chilling
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 8.0/10

A young couple moves into an old apartment building where neighbors feel too interested in their life. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into autonomy, gaslighting, and social pressure, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Every room feels slightly wrong. It earns its place because a masterclass in creeping dread becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

3. The Exorcist (1973)

• Actors: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max von Sydow
• Director: William Friedkin
• Genre: horror
• Tone: harrowing, serious, intense
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 8.1/10

A family home becomes a site of crisis as faith and medicine collide in one bedroom. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into belief, despair, and parental helplessness, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. The quiet hits like pressure. It earns its place because unflinching intensity and iconic craft becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

2. The Sixth Sense (1999)

• Actors: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Genre: drama, mystery, thriller
• Tone: tender, eerie, emotional
• Suitable for: teens, adults
• IMDb rating: 8.2/10

A therapist helps a boy who fears what he sees, and the haunting follows them into ordinary rooms. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into grief, empathy, and unfinished stories, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Something watches from the corners. It earns its place because a gentle chill with emotional payoff becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

1. The Shining (1980)

• Actors: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Genre: horror, drama
• Tone: chilling, surreal, psychologically brutal
• Suitable for: adults
• IMDb rating: 8.4/10

A winter caretaker job in an isolated hotel turns a family’s refuge into a labyrinth of dread. The building is framed as an active participant, with ordinary spaces turning suspicious and loaded. It leans into addiction, violence, and history repeating, letting the setting carry emotional weight instead of relying on constant spectacle. The tension lands through performance and atmosphere, so you feel the dread before you can explain it. Pacing is deliberate, with escalation that respects your attention and rewards close watching. Doors don’t open for free. It earns its place among Movies with Haunted Houses because hypnotic pacing and unmatched atmosphere becomes inseparable from the story’s danger. If you like mood over gore, it’s a smart pick; if you want bigger shocks, use it as a calm-to-intense step.

Conclusion: revisiting Movies with Haunted Houses

The pleasure of this theme is range: you can spend one night in playful chaos, another in elegant dread, and another in brutal pressure without leaving the idea of “home gone wrong.” If you’re new, start with mid-intensity classics, then climb toward the heavier experiences when you’re ready. For a supernatural thriller shape, pick films that build evidence scene by scene, and save the most punishing titles for when you want the full ride.

For mini-marathons, try grouping by setting: apartments that tighten around you, then a full haunted mansion night where the building seems to have opinions. Over time, the best Movies with Haunted Houses become comfort watches in disguise, because you learn their rhythms and can admire the staging as much as the fear. If you want authoritative production context, the American Film Institute Catalog is a reliable reference point for classic and modern cinema details. And for a steady critical lens—reviews, interviews, and film writing—the New York Times movie section is a strong companion.

If you want deeper production context, browse the American Film Institute Catalog. For ongoing criticism and film writing, explore the New York Times movie section.

FAQ about Movies with Haunted Houses