Top 10 Scary Moments From Stephen King Movies

“The Mist” (2007)

Being a protagonist in Stephen King’s horror stories is difficult enough, but let’s take a moment to feel for the secondary characters, who really have it rough. As an unnatural mist rolls over a small town, grocery store bag boy Norm rises to the challenge, bravely volunteering to venture outside and unblock a generator exhaust pipe. Needless to say, he doesn’t get very far. What makes the scene so agonizing is how long it takes for Norm to be dragged into the mist - kicking and screaming to the bitter end.

“The Green Mile” (1999)

“The Green Mile” isn’t a horror movie, but it still has its fair share of chilling moments, thanks in large part to sadistic prison officer Percy Wetmore. When Percy sabotages inmate Eduard Delacroix’s execution, we all know what’s about to happen when the switch is thrown. But that doesn’t make it any easier. For over two and a half minutes, the helpless Delacroix convulses as electric currents shoot through him. As the people watching swarm the exit, only to find the doors chained shut, it’s hard not to feel trapped with them - forced to watch as Delacroix’s head explodes in blue flame.

“Children of the Corn” (1984)

For the locals at the diner in sleepy farming town Gatlin, Nebraska, it seems like a normal day. But something wicked this way comes . . . There’s something particularly disturbing about creepy children. And Isaac Chroner, the twelve-year old who convinces the children of Gatlin to murder their parents as human sacrifices to a demon in the cornfields, is pretty damn creepy. As Job, one of the few good kids in the town, looks on, the adults who aren’t poisoned first are cut to pieces by knives, farm tools, and of course a meat slicer.

“Salem's Lot” (1979)

According to Stephen King’s novels, Maine is a lot more than The Pine Tree State. It’s also the playground of vampires, demons, and invading aliens. When Ralph Glick is kidnapped and turned into a vampire in “Salem’s Lot”, he returns home like a good kid - to feast on his brother Danny. As Ralph floats outside the window in billowing fog, an entranced Danny is glad to see him again, and opens the window to let his little brother in . . . not realizing he’s about to join the ranks of the undead.

“1408” (2007)

Professional sceptic Mike Enslin believes everything has a logical explanation. But when he’s trapped in a haunted hotel room, he realizes he’s in over his head. Luckily, a man in the window opposite sees him gesturing for help . . . But as the stranger mirrors his movements, Enslin realizes that the other man is himself. He’s completely trapped, alone in a world he can’t understand - at the mercy of the same supernatural forces he’s spent his lifetime debunking. And what’s worse, there’s someone right behind him.

“Cujo” (1983)

Cujo is a friendly St. Bernard. Until the bite of a rabid bat turns him into a raging monster. Trapped in her car in the baking hot sun with her frightened son Tad, Donna steps out to see if it’s safe to leave. We’ll go ahead and ruin the surprise right now: it’s not. Cujo mauls Donna’s arm, then launches himself into the car on top of her as her son screams in terror. Managing to beat the animal back, Donna is left wounded and, much like the audience, trembling in her seat.

“Carrie” (1976)

It might be because we empathize with Carrie so much that she also terrifies us. We’ve seen the trauma she’s been through, and felt the anger building inside her . . . Her humiliation at prom is the last straw. As the bullied and blood-soaked Carrie unleashes her vengeance on the school, students and staff flee for the doors. But there’s no escape from Carrie’s frenzied telekinetic rage. Seeing Carrie reveal her supernatural powers to the world is a hair-raising, skin-tingling kind of moment, and the gut-wrenching moment sympathy turns into horror makes this scene as memorable as it is disturbing.

“The Shining” (1980)

There’s something off about the isolated Overlook Hotel. Maybe it’s all the ghosts in the Gold Room. Or Danny’s vision of blood pouring from the elevator. But the Grady sisters probably also have something to do with it. As Danny rides his bike through the empty corridors, he suddenly encounters two girls standing eerily still. A vision reveals the awful truth: the girls are dead, hacked to death with an axe by their own father. The reassurances of Danny’s imaginary friend Tony don’t really make the scene any less creepy.

“Misery” (1990)

In many of these moments, it’s the sense of utter helplessness that’s really unnerving. In “Misery”, romance novelist Paul Sheldon becomes the prisoner of obsessed fan Annie Wilkes. There’s something about the nurse’s calm, professional tone as she prepares to break his ankles that’s especially chilling. Strapped to the bed, he can only strain futilely as the block is laid and Annie raises the sledgehammer. The scene originally called for Paul’s whole foot to be chopped off, but the crunch of those broken ankles might be even worse.



Before we reveal the identity of our top pick, here are some honorable mentions:


Cockroaches

“Creepshow” (1982)






Removing the Handcuffs

"Gerald's Game" (2017)



Here's Johnny

“The Shining (1980)

“It” (2017)

There are plenty of scares in both the original miniseries, and the movie adaptation of “It”. Georgie’s apparent return from the dead was the stuff of nightmares, and Pennywise crawling out of the projector left audiences breathless with terror. But there’s something horribly real about Georgie’s first encounter with stranger danger as he walks the streets alone. As he peers into a drain after his paper boat, Georgie meets the not so-friendly neighborhood clown, who strikes up a playful conversation . . . then bites off the boy’s arm.