Three Mena and a Baby - the scene in the bedroom where you see the image of a "ghost" on the screen. It's only there for a flash but its enough to register and because I can't remember where abouts it is in the film I can't shut my eyes in time. I avoid it like the plague when it's on the TV!

Hannah, St Albans, England

The most horrifying ever put to film has to be Georges Franju's 'Le Sang des bêtes' (Blood of the Beasts). A French documentary short film from 1949...and it's just another day at the slaughter house.

Andy, Copenhagen, Denmark

The most horrifying ever put to film has to be Georges Franju's 'Le Sang des bêtes' (Blood of the Beasts). A French documentary short film from 1949...and it's just another day at the slaughter house.

Andy Duvall, Copenhagen, Denmark

8MM? Not only is the entire film about snuff, which makes you never want to watch adult films again. But the scene at the end with him going through the killer's house with the record player? Frightening and troubling!

Chuck, Columbus, OH

the scariest movie i have ever seen is th13teen ghosts. I didn't sleep for a month. I still have nightmares

nina, houston,

I love horror movies and I enjoy watching it alone at night, my favourites are the frailty, the ring (I and II) Hostel and Hostel II I think is better the last one, one of the latest horror films was 1408 but it did not scare me too much, I was expecting more, honestly. Dark water was quite good as well and well, lot of films, but I recomend the first one that I mencioned.

Cristina, Jersey, Channel Islands

The scariest movies I have watched are: Silent Hill, Poltergeist, The Haunting (w/Catherine Zeta Jones), The Thing and one other movie that the name escapes me. If anyone can remember, please let me know. This movie is about some teenagers that spend the night in a haunted mansion. It's not The Haunting, but I believe it was made in the 70's. That movie really scared me.

Holly, Houston, USA/TX

The only 2 films that have given me nightmares in adulthood are 'Don't Look Now' and 'The Ring'. I don't think I need to specify which scenes - I'm sure they are branded into all our minds. 'Don't Look Now' is, to my mind, indisputibly the scariest film I have ever seen - I don't see how it could have been missed off this list!

Suzanne, Reading, uk

I've seen lots of horror movies (although there are still many I have yet to see), and I could list the final cannibalism scene in "Cannibal Holocaust" as one that the others on this list missed. (That film is still banned in many places, though, so it's hard-to-find.)

But one of the scariest individual scenes ever, oddly enough, happens about 20 minutes into a mainstream film considered to be a "chick flick!" The death of Buddy in "Fried Green Tomatoes." No blood, no shot of the train hitting him, just quick editing, tons of noise and reaction shots of his horrified sister and girlfriend as they watch helplessly from the overpass. My ex-fiancee saw the movie twice with me and ran out of the room at the first distant train whistle both times! One thing that makes the scene so traumatic is the fact that, even though Buddy's been on the screen no more than 10 minutes, he's likeable. Guys wish he was their brother or best friend; girls wish he was their brother or boyfriend.

Nicholas Dollak, Glassboro, USA / New Jersey

Well, presumably this is a list intended for Halloween, and we're speaking about genuinely scary moments. Therefore, rape scenes and the like, as unsettling as they are (from a Clockwork Orange to Irreversible), aren't the same as things that go bump in the night.

The Shining and The Omen are two of the most chilling films out there. The Witch in the Wizard of Oz deserves a mention too - something archetypically scary about that green face!

Rage-infected zombies in 28 Days Later gave me one of the most visceral feelings of dread in recent cinema-going memory. The Descent was also a memorable, nail-biting experience.

Jay, Dublin, Ireland

The Entity with Barbara Hershey and Ron Silver. Based on a true story & proves less is more. What you can't see is definately worse than what you can... After the bathroom scene - I couldn't use the bathroom by myself with the door shut for weeks!!! I still refuse to watch this movie at night by myself!

Valorie , Houston, Texas

I agree with the guy a little bit above about the scene in Exorcist III....a very underated horror film by the way.

BUT....it does have EVERYTHING to do with the plot. That is the old lady at the end wearing a nun's uniform, she is possessed by the Gemini Killer and is coming up behind Nurse Keeting with the medical shears....to chop off her head.

They zoom in so fast, it's hard to see all of that.....watch it on slow mo and zoom in. you will see!

I'd also have to say Session 9.....when everything is coming down to the end and the tape recorder is playing.....VERY CREEPY!

Brett, Boling, TX

The Lamest List EVER compiled....

i can think of many others that would top all these...

michael moran...its very clear that you have NO coherent good taste in movies. moreover...a very NARROW selection of movies that you have seen? THE WIZARD OF OZ? WTF? The Elephant Man had more terrifying images that THE WIZARD OF OZ... How about...giving John Carpenter credit for making the Boogie Man (aka Michael Myers) become a reality to film... Whats more terrifying than an emotionaless Shape in a jumpsuit and plain mask with a large kitchen knife?

ok ok... i will give you quarter and reprieve,, and admit Se7en, Psycho, Jaws, and Alien as terrifying.... however i would omit the others.... And Where is THE EXORCIST... OMG!!! That movie is down right nightmarish....

Please Revise The List!!! Please

Eric, Pensacola, FL

The BFI or someone should sponsor you guys 'cos this blog makes me wanna go buy a library of movies! Some classic classic films mentioned here, good to see and great to chew your fingernails over! The Omen still does it for me, intelligent filmmaking and utterly convincing acting from an era of classic horror and suspense (and i was about 9yrs old...).

Maybe not 'horror' but there's a scene in 'The Long Goodbye' where Elliot Gould is given a double-edged choice to prevent further disfigurement of an innocent woman which crackles with menace and fear for the safety of the vulnerable. Had my fingernails splitting on my sofa edges!

stuart white, london, london

I agree that Suspiria is probably the most terrifying horror film of all time. Dario Argento is a horror master and the final scene in the witches coven is genuinely scary. Argento's "Deep Red" also has a few scary moments, particularly the scenes in the abandoned house.
But what about the final scene in "Don't Look Now" where Donald Sutherland is killed by the dwarf (can we still use this word)? That scene still haunts me and the film itself is an absolute certified classic.

Carl, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

There was a scene in "McMillian and Wife" (a 1970's television detective series) that showed a bald greenish man rise up and peek thru a window. After a woman screamed, he slowly dipped back down out of sight.
I know that this was supposed to be about scary movies, but that clip on the television show haunted me for years.

Mike, Morristown, NJ, USA

i have a lot...
Deliverance - Squeal Like A Pig Rape
A Clockwork Orange - Singin In The Rain Rape
The Exorcist - Crucifix Self Rape
Rosemary's Baby - Satan Rape
Suspiria - Opening Murder
Pee Wee's Big Adventure - Large Marge
Evil Dead - Shelly's Possesion
Event Horizon - The Video

Aaron, Hamilton, Ontario

easily the most disturbing scene is when regan is walking down the stairs in a particularly freakish gymnastic form, on all fours but backwards...it's early in the movie when her mother is entertaining friends...it comes at you quickly and seemingly out of nowhere...it's frickin' disturbing...

rob alessandrine, phila, pa/usa

Definitely Watership Down - even to this day "Bright Eyes" makes me cry like the traumatised child I was after watching that (oh how my parents regretted that cinema trip and cautiously checked the suitability of future films for children!) The other film was a 1950's horror called Peeping Tom - which was so bad that the Director/Producer had to leave the country after making it. Even now it is utterly repellent and chilling - almost 60 years on!!.

Leigh, Birmingham, UK

The bloody finger, "french fry", in The Hitcher. Enough said.

Bill Cline, Newburgh, NY

Real life and death is scarier than all this supernatural malarkey -- Titanic when the ship is sinking is at least as scared as I've ever been from a movie.

Brian, Manchester, NH/USA

The climax to Dead of Night when all the stories get mixed up and the ventriloquist's doll starts walking .

Matthew Griffiths, WALLASEY, Merseyside

susperia is a movie that was ahead of its time..although its the opening scenes..especially the heroine arriving in the airport at the start..fab...david lynch and jaws..fair enough...(david lynch remaking jaws..now that would be scary..)

john, glasgow,

The Italian director, Dario Argento's film, Suspiria might be the greatest horror movie ever made, The final few minutes as the heroine infiltrates the witches coven are terrifying. I had read reviews of this film as a child, but finally seeing it recently it surpasses any horror movie ever made (perhaps with the exception of Romero's, Night of the Living Dead). Suspiria has been incredibly influential. on a host of modern film directors. The soundtrack by the Italian electronic - synth band, The Goblins is chilling. I doubt if any of The Times writers have even heard of this film. I have never seen lighting used in such a strange and unwordly way.

daz, hunan, china

"The Sentinel" scared the you-know-what out of me and my friend; she sat through most of the movie with her coat over her head. It was absolutely horrific the way totally ordinary things suddenly became terrifying when they were put in unsual circumstances. A completely unremarkable apartment building in Brooklyn that turns out to be the gates of hell -- literally. It even took the idea of salvation through the Eucharist to its logical conclusion, and had the dead and decomposing d.amned struggling to reach the Host so they could escape Hell. It still creeps me out. Yikes!! It took us a couple of hours and goodness knows how many cups of coffee before we could even get into the car. I hate scary movies, but I did see "The Birds" when I was a child, and maybe that's why I hate scary movies. Just the eerie build up of birds on telephone wires, and flocks just flying around scared me.

Sarah, Ottawa, ON, Canada

The last scene in Audition takes the cake, the plate the cake was on, and pretty much everything else on the table. I've never had to work so hard to keep watching something.

John, Calgary, Canada

The original Thing from the 50s.
I was a flu-ridden five-year-old on the downstairs couch of a rural Quebec farm one wintry night.
The Thing was the late night movie. The arctic scenes on the screen matched the howling snowy scene out the front window.
I'll never forget the scene where the silhouetted creature does a number on the camp's sled dogs.
Fifty-odd years later if I'm alone and looking out at a stormy winter night I can still visualize the alien ripping apart the sled dogs.
The movie re-make didn't do justice to the original.

Bruce, Montreal, Canada

The Omen, I still can't watch this film without the lights on.

julie kroll, westlake village, US, CA

Film version of Road Dahl's 'The Witches', when the queen witch peels off her human face to reveal her real one.

I have never been able to look at Angelica Huston in the same way. *shudder*

Olivia, Buenos Aires, Argentina

How can you not include the tunnel scene from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory...an acid trip gone horribly wrong...

Danny, SF, CA

The scene in " Les diaboliques " when the " dead " corpse rises from the water with eyes buldging.

Jean-Louis, longfield, kent

At the very beginning of The Ring, when the girl finds her friend in the closet and her face is all messed up... of course it didn't help that my friends and I watched the movie in the dark at a friends' house in the middle of the woods and went to try to see the Dover Lights afterwards.

Saw that movie 5 years ago and it STILL gives me the creeps.

KT, Dover, AR, USA

"Salem's Lot," when the brother returns home and scratches on the bedroom window. It was shot in reverse and played forward, making it even more of a surreal terror. Also, "When a Stranger Calls Back," a sequel made in the mid-90s that upped the horror factor with a sick murdering performance artist. His cabaret act two thirds into the film is one-upped by the opening, where the notebook page in the living room isn't just missing--it's erased by hand. Sick.

Sean McKenzie, Atlanta, GA

Creepshow or Creepshow 2, whichever one has the short about the guy who lives in the hermetically sealed apartment that is overrun by cockroaches that kill him by crawling in his nose and mouth. At the end it cuts to him dead on the floor in a spotless room and then all the cockroaches come crawling out of him!

/still gives me the willies
//God I hate cockroaches

JA, Houston, TX

As a little kid, it was the queen turning into a witch in Snow White. I couldn't even watch it.
Carrie terrified me.
And The Village, though obviously only the first time. Especially that gorgeous scene where the "creatures" are running around and Bryce Dallas Howard won't go into the house until Joaquin shows up.

Erin, Los Angeles, CA

Perhaps this is too old for anyone to remember, but the final minutes of John Frankenheimer's "Seconds", with Rock Hudson (yes, Rock Hudson!) giving his finest performance ever, constitute one of the most terrifying movie scenes ever in my opinion.

Tom Schwab, Colorado Springs, USA/Colorado

wow. THESE are the scariest? i beg to differ.
for me, the scariest scene is that in Robert Wise's
THE HAUNTING. Julie Harris and Claire Bloom are
confronted with the ghost/presence of the inhabitant
of Hill House late at night. You never see it, but you
hear it in all it's volume.
also...
the final confrontation between Deborah Kerr and
Quint, the malevolent ghost that had possessed
the little boy she cared for as a governess in
THE INNOCENTS.
these two films are great ghost stories w/o the
gore and blood. they stay with you long after.

Bill, Seattle, Washington

The scene from Somethings Gotta Give when Diane Keaten is nude.

Nick, Sheboygan,

The scene in Polar Express with the singing, dancing waiters serving hot cocoa to the kids. Was scarier than anything I have ever seen in a movie.

Norman Allen, Lovington, NM

I cant believe that Carpenters "The Thing" isn't on the list. Man, there were some scary scenes in there.

Chris Zacker, San Diego,

I can't believe no one has mentioned the scene in The Silence of the Lambs, when Jody Foster is trying to find the killer in the dark room and we see what she is seeing through the green gun sight. At least I think that's what it is - I was too scared to watch except with my hands over my eyes - and I was 40-something when I finally agreed to watch the film at home on DVD!

Jennette Floyd, Foster City, CA

The 1955 "les Diaboliques" by Henri-Georges Clouzot, the build up and mystery of whether it is the Husband that everyone is seeing becomes unbearable when the Wife is alone in the school. The climax is absolutely terrifying.

Also I think when Drew Barrymore's phone call goes nasty in "Scream" that's a good one.

Paul Moxon, Birmingham,

In the Exorcist, when the little girl crawls down the stairs, in a strange crab-like style, and then spits blood. Unexpected and jaw droppingly scary. Overall scariest film must be 'Threads' though. Just relentlessly grim.

Joe, Bristol,

Any scene from the Exorcist.

Leslie, Toronto, Canada

I would have to put The Exorcist in the top 5. The scene that gets me is when she talks in that deep devil voice and talks in the priest's mother's voice.
I would add Halloween and Carrie to that list in the top 10. Halloween because of his relentless pursuit and Carrie because of the wacked out mother. We all went through High School

Jim Stortz, Crest Hill, IL

how any "scariest" list can not include that clown from Poltergeist amazes me

Greg, Rochester, NY

I thought it was pretty chilling in the movie Signs when you see the alien's reflection in the tv set. Just when you thought everything was ok.....

Barb, Superior, Colorado, USA

I think I distinction needs to be made between scenes which make you jump out of your skin with fright (such as where Glenn Close comes out of the bath in Fatal Attraction), and scenes which play with your senses - more on a "it's what you can't see not what you can" basis, such as in The Blair Witch Project. Both have the ability to scare, but on totally different levels.

Sally, London,

Apocalypse Now has a scene so terrifying to me that, even now, I don't remember it. I think it's at or near the end of the movie, but I will not watch the movie ever again, so I will never know.

Now, *that* is terror!

Karen, Alberta, Canada

For me, in recent years, I'd have to go with the scene in The Ring when the 'girl' climbs out of the video and accross the floor after the man watching it. After watching others watch that video a few times and finally becoming used to its content, that is the last thing you expected to see. Shocking.

Chris , Rochester, NY

the sloth scene in seven is definitely on my list. i found that movie really hard to watch, it took two tries actually. also not on the list, the original texas chainsaw massacre, specifically the scene in the barn that features a meathook. also, has anyone seen the descent? the bit where they turn the light and the creature is standing right behind her totally made me jump. i'm a bit claustrophobic, so that one really got to me.

you think the birds is scary? try actually being from bodega bay! the school house still exists, (as does the farm mentioned above.) and it's still pretty creepy. my favorite scene is where all the birds are landing behind her while she's sitting outside smoking while the kids are inside singing.

kitty holmes, oakland, california

...the scene from the Omen where Lee Remik beholds Billie Whitelaw through the gauze of her nightdress. You'll know it when you see it.

John M, Tramore,

To this DAY I am afraid to watch Pee Wee's Big Adventure because that trucker lady just terrified me to death. I saw her face in my dreams for months.

Amber, Pittsburgh,

Clint Eastwood, dragging himself dazed and bleeding whilst fending off the crazed, sporadic machete attacks of his evil stalker, invisible in the darkness of his powerless home.

'Misty' - is certainly the scariest of ALL movies for me because it depicts horrifying, but credible events.

Even scarier NOW, because it reminds me so much of my former marriage!

Ian Hillman, York, UK

When Donald Sutherland finally catches the figure in the red raincoat in Don't Look Now, the final scene in Black Christmas (the original), I guess they both affected me because I was young.

John, Johannesburg,

Night of the Living Dead.

Richard, Davis, California

To this day, I can't watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and I have never let my kids watch it. The child catcher scared me so badly that I hid behind the couch.

sharon, Duluth, MN

Nightmare on Elm Street (first one) is the scariest - you can't escape, you have to sleep sometime

Janet Rowe, St Sampsons, Guernsey

Watership Down, definitely. "There's a dog loose in the wood.... There's a dog loose in the wood...." I think my hair was standing on end.

Ray, Toronto, Canada

I would have to say the most eerie scene i have seen in recent memory is the closing scene of Sleepaway Camp, the face and the noise havent left my mind in weeks.

DF, Liverpool, New York

Wait Until Dark. The scene where Alan Arkin is hiding in the house and jumps out of the dark across the screen towards Audrey Hepburn. Everyone in that theater jumped out of their seats...CLASSIC

Jane, North Attleboro, MA

Night of the Hunter (1955) - the children have escaped, they've gone miles down-river, they're bedding down in a cosy barn, far away from psycho Robert Mitchum. But who's that Christ-like figure silhouetted against the moon, ambling along on a donkey and singing a hymn? Uh oh!

James, Monteria, Colombia

By far the most terrifying scenes ever captured by the cinematic medium - Robert Mosen's animated tale of 'Watership Down', with stomach-churning scenes including the 'fields turning to blood', the recollection of the warren being caved in and even the gruesome final battle. Rabbits at their most fearful.

Tim, London,

What about the final scene in Friday the 13th when a seemingly dead Jason jumps from his watery grave in camp crystal lake and drags the young girl from her boat into the depths! That was brilliant horror!

Adrian Devlin, Newcastle Co Down, N Ireland

The Changeling...when the new owner of the house goes to the bridge over the river, throws the ball into the water and returns home only to see the dripping wet ball bouncing down the stairs to his feet. Creepy.

Toby Ohnotobe, Baton Rouge, LA

Because Irreversible is gross, and horrifying, but not SCARY at all.
What I particularly like about this list is the way it claims to be a "scene" list, and then recommends whole movies, with no mention of any particular scene at all. Nicely consistent.

I would say the scene in "Inner Senses" (Yee do hung Gaan) where the girl is trying to convince the doctor that he's NOT being haunted - until the ghost touches her in the cheek - deserves notice.

ZZ, Houston, Tx

I totally agree with Tim ! This scene is so scary and unexpected ! But what about The Amityville Horror? There are a lot of scenes in that movie which are.... bah !

Ju, Nancy, France

Irreversible...............................took me three go's to actually finish watching it. It is one of the most nauseating films i've ever seen but when you get to the end, or is it the beginning, wow, tears in my eyes. The fact that the camera is never still until the subway scene and then that un-nerving focus on whats happening, frightening

GH, Manchester, England

RING (original), out-of telly-climbing-scene near the end. No 1, surely ?

phil thomas, swansea,

I watched ‘The Birds’ again recently and was amazed by the way Hitchcock created tension simply by using a soundtrack of bird noises.
But the one scene that has always disturbed me has to be when the mother (played by Jessica Tandy) goes to visit a local farmer.
Already a little worried by some strange bird attacks at her own home, her fears are heightened as she enters the Farmers’ house and finds all the crockery smashed. She spots the body of the farmer through the partially opened bedroom door; his pyjamas torn and flecked with blood. As she enters the bedroom the camera, pulls in, pulls in, pulls in, on the man’s face and we momentarily see that his eyes have been pecked out by the Birds. Rather than let out a scream, she is struck dumb with terror, flees the house and drives off, past the bemused farm workers, without making a sound. Wow. Sends shivers down me spine just typing this.

Bobnessuk, London,

"The House With the Laughing Windows", when the old lady in the desolate house lies in bed, singing a hymn in Portuguese, a language she is not supposed to understand (so we thought). Also the whole of "Ringu", mamy parts of "Mullholland Drive", and many parts of "Inland Empire" (Laura Dern walking down the dark path and MAKING THAT FACE). "The Shining", the woman in the bathtub. "Audition", the ringing phone and the jumping sack, and everything, just about, thereafter. The puppets in "Four Flies on Grey Velvet" and "Deep Red". "Psycho", of course.

butch bond, new york city,

Halloween - just the music is too much for most!

Gully, London, London

Robert Wise's The Haunting still spooks me after so many years, especially the scene where Julie Harris wakes in bed when she hears the booming noises being made by the house and she has an inner monologue while she feels Claire Blooms surprisingly cold hand gripping her hand tightly and then the light comes on and Claire Bloom was actually lying in her own bed across the room all the time.

S Bhakri, Reading,

The original Halloween movie .. when Jamie Lee Curtis thinks she has killed Michael - and then you see him in the background suddenly sit up and turn his head towards her?

When I first saw that scene, it was like someone ran a pointed fingertip down my spine. Chills.

Rick Landis, Charlotte, USA

As a big David Lynch fan I can't help wondering how Blue Velvet didn't get into this list. The movie's climax of the derranged Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) hunting Jeffrey Beaumont is a classic scene and should most definately be above the likes of Twin Peaks and Mulholland drive.......

Pete Wilson, Newcastle, Tyne & Wear

Pretty much the whole of John Carpenters Halloween. The relentless and very creepy Michael Myers give me the heebie jeebies big time. Still get scared if I watch that alone. He whups the pants off the other limp wristers on your list

Chris Crowther, London, England

What about that bit in Excorcist 3, where nothing has happened for like, an hour and then an eerie figure walks across the screen with no explanation or connection to the plot.

Laura, Hemel H, Uk

Is it safe?

Mikey, Wapping, GB

Sue Snell laying flowers on Carrie's grave!! How is that not in the top 3? You can see that movie 100 times and still jump a little when that hand shoots out of the ground!

Tim, Riverside, CA

The most terrifying scene that I have ever seen, that has always stayed with me, is in the original 'The Haunting' (1963), where Eleanor and Theo are petrified by a knocking at the wall/door, which turns into a manic and unnatural banging, before the doorknob started turning..

Mark, York,

Watership Down would make my top 13 no question, particularly the vision of the fields of blood springs to mind - terrified me as a child, and probably still would! Seven and Jurassic Park are far from terrifying...

ME, London,

How could Irreversible have been omitted from this poll? From the sordid flashes of the opening scene of the man on the swing, to the violent death and rape scenes, this film could easily fill all 13 places in this poll.

GP, Manchester, England