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Horace Walpole
In the 18th century, Walpole created what is to be considered the first Gothic novel. The Castle of Otranto was the start of horror. -
Le Manoir Du Diable
Le Manoir Du Diable(The House of The Devil) Was created by Georges Méliès in the late 1800s. Le Manoir Du Diable is a three-minute short film and the first horror movie published. -
Nosferatu
Nosferatu is an early horror film created by F. W. Murnau. It's been praised for its unique visual style as it is a silent film. Nosferatu was the first film to show a Vampire dying from sunlight, novels such as Dacula never showed the weakness. -
Frankenstine
Frankenstein, the movie adaptation of the novel written by Mary Shelley was met with huge commercial success after its release. Actors like Boris Karloff grew in popularity after the movie's release.
Frankenstein kept movie monsters alive as the trope continued its popularity in the early 1900s. -
Psycho
Psycho is one of the most influential horror films of all time. It changed the path of horror from the golden age of science fiction and monsters to what's considered slasher films. With its shock value in violence, deviant behavior, and sexuality it was a hit. Psycho also paved the way for actor Anthony Perkins in the role of Norman Bates. -
Birds
Birds, another hit Alfred Hitchcock film, brought another shocking twist. Birds was the first horror movie to focus on animals as the antagonist. This later influenced other classics such as Cujo and Jaws which star an animal as the violent monster. -
Stephen King
Stephen King has been one of the most influential horror writers/directors for years. King has created some of the top stories that gained movie adaptations. His career started in January of 1959 but King continues to produce even though he announced retirement in 2002. Popular Movies:
. Carrie 1976
. The Shining 1980
. Cat's Eye 1985
.The Green Mile 1999
. The Mist 2007 -
Wes Craven
Wes Craven was one of the best horror directors in the genre. His career took off with the release of The Last House on The Left. In his time Craven released quite a few hit movies until his passing in 2015. Popular Movies:
.The Last House on The Left 1972
.The Hills Have Eyes 1977
.Nightmare on Elm Street franchise 1984-2003
.The People Under The Stairs 1991
. Scream franchise 1996-2011 -
The Exorcist
What's considered the scariest horror film of all time, The Exorcist paved the way for paranormal Horror. The Shocking Tale of Regan MacNeil left many children and adults alike terrified. The crude and disgusting visuals depicting a child made this movie revolutionary in the horror genre. -
John Carpenter
John Carpenter, is one of today's most popular Director/Composers in Horror. His career started with the release of Halloween which kicked off his career. With the creation of Halloween Carpenter also started composing music, the scores in Halloween being his own. Carpenter also revived the use of monsters and science fiction in Horror with the release of The Thing. Popular Movies:
. Halloween 1978
.The Thing 1982
. The Live 1988
. Body Bags 1993
. Prince of Darkness 1987 -
Halloween
Halloween was inspired by slashers such as Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and Bob Clark's Black Christmas. With a small budget of $300,000, this small indie film kicked off a new era of slasher films and created several icons in Horror. Halloween later got 7 films and 2 reboots with its sequels. -
Friday The 13th
Continuing the era of slasher film in the late 90's John Carpenter's Halloween influenced Sean S. Cunningham who later created Friday the 13th. The small film grossed a huge profit and developed 11 films and a reboot in 2009 -
The Shining
The Shining was one of Stephen King's best films, the movie shaping modern horror with its more realistic storytelling and filming. Actors such as Jack Nicholson and Shelly Duvall gained a huge following in popularity due to their amazing performances in the film. -
Nightmare on Elm Street
Nightmare on Elm Street mixed dream-like aspects into the beloved slasher tropes people grew to love. While remaining scary and gross, Nightmare brought a comedic tone to horror, sparking the start of Horror comedy as a subgenre in Horror. Nightmare on Elm Street skyrocketed receiving 7 movies, even collaborating with slasher icon Jason Vorhees. Nightmare was given a reboot in 2010. -
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Animated Horror
Animated horror, or children's horror movies, started rising in popularity. Novels and games received animated adaptations, these movies mostly aimed towards children but still had a few scares for shock value. As the idea gained popularity, more mature movies in the animated style were released.
Popular Movies-
.Watership Down 1978
.Perfect Blue 1997
.Resident Evil: Apocalypse 2004
.Coraline 2009
.9 2009 -
Scream
After the hype of the genre began to die down, Wes Craven released Scream which revived the genre with new wave meta humor. Scream impacted pop culture by being self-aware of the common tropes used in slashers while also still being impactful. Even after its final film was in 2011, Scream was renewed in 2022 with two new movies. -
The Conjuring
The Conjuring was created to tell the stories of Ed and Lorain Warren and their experiences with the paranormal. The movie brought back the fear of demons and ghosts, reviving the paranormal horror in new modern times. The Conjuring franchise became some of the most popular movies, benching off into separate film series such as Annabelle and The Nun.