The best jump scares in horror history

The jump scare, a horror genre trope, was invented to keep costs low

RKO Pictures hired Val Lewton to produce horror films in the Universal model: small budgets, big spectacles. His first movie was 1942's "Cat People" and he used tension and offscreen terror to save money. A perfect example is the movie's jump scare, a misdirection technique that catches viewers off guard.

The best horror movies of all time

The genre has been scaring audiences for over a century, in many different forms and through many other methods. While any list is subjective, this Rotten Tomatoes list is based on the films' aggregate critical scores. We're sure it'll inspire some additions to your watch list—along with some spirited conversations.

Ten of the most horrifying moments in film

Many films in the genre lean into gratuitous horror, putting off the average viewer. This list of ten moments highlights particularly terrifying scenes from films that otherwise met with mainstream acclaim, from "Mulholland Drive" to "The Lord of the Rings."

Contemporary horror novelists on their favorite scary stories

Ten of horror's best writers name the books that still give them nightmares. From established classics, like Stephen King's "IT" and Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," to unexpected picks like Katherine Dunn's "Geek Love," this collection of scary stories is a perfect reading list for Halloween.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Some theorize that horror's artifice turns fear into enjoyment

The “excitation transfer theory” suggests that the unpleasant feelings a jump scare might elicit (like shortness of breath) are quickly relieved when the audience member remembers what they’re witnessing is fake.

Alfred Hitchcock influenced modern horror director Jordan Peele

Like Alfred Hitchcock, Jordan Peele has built a filmography that’s equal parts thrilling, suspenseful, genre-bending, and literary. It’s no surprise, then, that so many critics have been quick to name Peele as the second coming of “the Master of Suspense.”

Japanese horror is often more psychological than its Western counterpart

One of the country’s most famous directors is Masaki Kobayashi, who won a Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. Unlike his Western peers, Kobayashi’s films avoid jump scares or gratuitous gore, opting instead for slow-burning psychological explorations that are just as terrifying.

German expressionism produced some of horror’s earliest classics

After World War I, German filmmakers turned from reality to the surreal, fusing experimental art with the nascent world of film. Some of the movement’s most notable films, like FW Murnau’s “Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror” and Robert Wiene’s “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” were intent on frightening their audiences.

Horror video games rely on terrifying sound design

Horror has become a popular gaming genre, which designers say is due, in large part, to the games' soundtracks. Don Veca, the audio director for the game Dead Space, said, “Sound and music prepare the player to be scared – it’s all about the buildup, the tension, and then the release when something jumps out at you.”

‘Halloween’ is one of the most profitable indie films of all time

The 1978 John Carpenter movie grossed $70M in its initial run despite a modest budget. It helped pioneer the “slasher flick” subgenre, though it wasn’t filled with cheap thrills. As Roger Ebert pointed out in his review of the movie, Carpenter’s filmmaking techniques—alongside his original score—were a work of art.

The 25 most important stunt scenes of the 21st Century

The Academy Awards will finally recognize stunt design at its 2028 ceremony, leading one writer to gather the best stunt sequences from the century, highlighting jaw-dropping scenes from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," "The Matrix," and more.

Horror exploded as a commercial literary genre in the late 1960s

Ira Levin’s 1967 novel “Rosemary’s Baby” showed publishers horror was a viable commercial genre. That was proven again in 1971, with William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist” and again in 1974 with Stephen King’s “Carrie.” The books dealt with societal fears (the occult, drugs, sex) during a time of political upheaval.

The Hays Code limited the ways horror films could scare audiences

Beginning in 1930, the Hays Code laid out a strict set of guidelines for Hollywood filmmakers to prevent films that might corrupt those with a “susceptible mind.” That meant no graphic violence, no sexual relations outside of marriage (or of a homosexual nature), and no interracial relationships, among other dictums.

Shirley Jackson is one of horror’s most important writers

The author of 20th-century classics like “The Haunting of Hill House” and “Hangsaman” was a master of domestic horror, though she was often minimized during her life for writing horror. Since her death in 1965, Jackson’s work has proven to be influential to horror and literary writers alike.

The scarecrow isn't an effective tool for farms, but it is a potent symbol in horror

Scarecrows are no longer the best way for farmers to prevent birds from messing with their crops, but the humanlike figures are still found in horror movies. Folklorists say that's because they recall an agrarian past that makes modern viewers uneasy.

See these 16 pieces of art evoking phobias of snakes, flying, spiders, and more. 

The most haunted locations in the US

This TimeOut guide presents some of the most notorious places in the United States, profiling the creepy histories of Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, the Waverly Hills Sanitorium in Louisville, Kentucky, and the lingering effects of the witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts.

Audio and visual cues from "Titanic," Pink Floyd, and more can provoke goose bumps

These audio and visual snippets have been used in research studies to elicit goose bumps.

Slenderman is the most infamous example of creepypasta

In 2014, two teens playing in the woods at the edge of a suburban park turned on their third friend, stabbing her 19 times in an attack they claimed was compelled by Slenderman, a meme-turned-urban legend.

'Special effects' have evolved alongside Hollywood

Since the early days of moviemaking, directors have played with perspective to create incredible effects on the screen. From Buster Keaton to contemporary CGI, this 30-minute documentary details the amazing evolution of Hollywood's special effects.

‘Jaws’ was the first modern blockbuster

“Jaws” earned $70M in its first month and eventually grossed $476M worldwide, breaking box office records. It would be surpassed two years later by another legendary blockbuster: “Star Wars.”

The best advertisements of all time

This list includes the spots (like Nike’s “Just Do It” campaign and Snickers’ Betty White cameo) that transcended advertising and became genuine pop culture sensations.

The FBI was thrilled with 'The Silence of the Lambs' and its portrayal of the agency

The film's ultimate purpose was to terrify, but the FBI made it clear that they appreciated the accurate, professional portrayals of its agents. "It never hurts to see the organization we all care about and know to be good well-depicted on the big screen," special agent Walter B. Stowe, Jr., wrote in a letter to director Jonathan Demme.

Relive the biggest swings in the Dow’s history

From the 1929 crash to the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020, this piece spotlights five of the most dramatic single-day moves in the Dow’s 125-year history.

Black cats got their frightening reputation in the Middle Ages

Though many cultures in Africa, Asia, and Europe recognize black cats as symbols of good fortune, they're associated with bad luck and America's spookiest holiday. Their association with evil didn't gain traction until the 13th century, as religious figures and European folklore drew connections between cats, Satan worshippers, and witches.

The spooky images of Victorian mothers hiding as their babies posed

Taking pictures of your kids is a huge headache now, but it was even harder for mothers in the Victorian era, when camera technology made posing for photographs difficult. These weird photos will show you how these mothers got their kids to sit...

The animatronic shark from Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws,' the first modern blockbuster, was a complex underwater apparatus called 'Bruce.'

The Dracula character, now seen as the vampire archetype, was inspired by a seafood-induced nightmare its creator experienced.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Watch a 1934 short film starring jazz legend Cab Calloway, a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance's music scene

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Hotels in Cannes, the glamorous city on the French Riviera, hire hawks to ward off seagulls during the city's famous film festival.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.

The most expensive ad of all time was for Chanel No. 5 perfume and cost roughly $33M to produce in 2004—about $57M in today's dollars.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Human-to-human transmission of hantavirus remains extremely rare, so the 2026 hantavirus cruise ship outbreak doesn't mean we're facing a COVID-style pandemic risk.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.