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A great plenty of popular films are based on books , and when it comes to the horror musical genre , both can thrill and chill fan . However , the written word provides more details than bouncy - natural action scene can , and a reader ’s brain can imagine things even scarier than the monsters that appear on the big screen .
While the ten moving picture below are full of frightening moments , their impress source cloth give and spook more , make them true classics . And just in time for the Halloween season , horror fan have all of these flicks to watch or rewatch and chronicle to translate or re - understand !
The Mist
The Mistis a Stephen King novella from 1980 that by and by appeared in King ’s scant story collectionSkeleton Crew . It is go under in a small mist - covered town , where a man and his Word must try and subsist creatures that are in the mist , as well as other survivors who are immobilise in a supermarket . The novelette convey fright in a couple of ways , as there are unknown teras in this boneheaded mist and stressed - out and frightened multitude doing whatever it takes to live .
In 2007,a flick adaptationdirected by Frank Daranbont asterisk Marcia Gay Harden , Toby Jones and several role player fromThe Walking Dead , including Melissa McBride , Laurie Holden , Jeffrey DeMunn and Juan Gabriel Pareja . While Daranbont ’s finish was darker than King ’s , the novelette and its open close left more to the imagination .
The Woman In Black
The Woman in Blackis a novel by Susan Hill from 1983 , it is written with a Gothic elan , and it focus on a haunting in a small English town . In 2012 , Daniel Radcliffe starred inThe Woman in Black , which was put in England in the early 20th century .
Radcliffe played a widow attorney who find a vindictive ghost in a remote settlement . His performance – along with the film ’s cinematography , atmosphere and nod to classic Gothic horror history – was praised . However , this is another record that ’s scarier than its film adaptation , which was view as safe and generic by modern horror standards .
Ju-On (AKA The Grudge)
The Grudge , which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar in 2004 , was a remake of a Nipponese film titledJu - On : The Grudgefrom 2002 . While critic enjoy the direction and Gellar ’s carrying out , they were disappointed with the game and the lack of scares . Still , this moving picture was followed byThe Grudge 2 , The Grudge 3anda 2020 reboot inThe Grudge .
Some of the most illustrious scenes include the creep and the bathtub and while these are creepy-crawly , they can look a little foreign and silly . Luckily , there are save variant of these fib , allowing the spookiness to get along off in a different ( and even better ! ) way .
Ringu (AKA The Ring)
On a standardized note , there isRing , a Japanese novel by Koji Suzuki . loose in 1991 , it is the first installment in a book series that had various movies and telly shows . For instance , in 2002 , there wasGore Verbinski’sThe Ring , which featured Naomi Wattsas a diary keeper who find a videotape that kill people seven Clarence Day after they watched it .
After that , The Ring TwoandRingscame out . At least that ’s the case for the American remaking serial publication , since the Japanese series considerably has more entries . Both versions ofRingbecome modern horror classic , as no one could leave Sadako ’s haunting expression and long hair . Still , reading about Sadako ’s urban legend is scarey than just look out it .
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark
For many children , Scary Stories to recount in the Darkwas a staple of both best - vendor lists and their nightmares . These collections of short stories are are well known for being root on by folklore and urban legends that are accompany by iconic charcoal and ink graphics .
In 2019 , a film adaptation was released , and many were anxious to see these tales come to lifespan on the bighearted screen . However , Keith Uhlich ofThe Hollywood Reportersaid it best : It was a “ lacklustre adaptation " strain and failing at relevancy .
Rosemary’s Baby
write by Ira Levin , Rosemary ’s Babycame out in 1967 . It was only Levin ’s second book to be published , yet it was the bestselling horror novel of the decennium and led to a boom in the genre . In 1997 , he wrote a sequel , Son of Rosemary , which he dedicate to Mia Farrow .
Farrow starred inRosemary ’s Babyin 1968 , present a pregnant woman who imagine a cult wants to use her baby in rituals . The movie get ecumenical acclaim , make headway award and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . There is just something more about the book , which is considerably more harrowing than the already frightening film . If there areRosemary ’s Babyfans who have not take Levin ’s study , go do so now .
Let The Right One In (AKA Let Me In)
In 2004 , John Ajvide Lindqvist publishedLet the Right One In , which concentrate on around a young boy and a vampire child . While vampire stories are always democratic , this one also includes themes such as experiential anxiousness , isolation , alcoholism and murder , and it became a bestseller in Sweden .
In 2008 , a Swedish film adaption , Let the Right One In , was released , and it won a variety of awards . In 2010 , an English adaptation , Let Me Infeaturing Chloë Grace Moretz was lionise for staying dead on target to the original floor . If these flicks did that well , just opine how good the novel is .
Ritual (AKA The Wicker Man)
Ritual , by British role player and author David Pinner , follow out in 1967 , order the taradiddle of a Christian police policeman who investigates a ritualistic child execution in a rural village . What succeed are lies , conquest and ancient religious practices .
In 1973 , a British folks horror motion picture titledThe Wicker Manwas unfreeze , and it also focused on a Christian police sergeant , an isolated location , an investigating and a strange discovery about spiritual practices . This plastic film get ahead accolade , but in 2006 , another variation came out ; star Nicolas Cage , this remake receive negative reviews and is more of a punchline than anything . For obvious reasons , Ritualis better than the remake but it does make for a great companion to the original 1973 adaptation .
Who Goes There? (AKA The Thing)
John W. Campbell , Jr. wroteWho Goes There?under the pen name Don A. Stuart , and this novella was released in 1938 . In 1973 , the Science Fiction Writers of America call it one of the most influential , authoritative and memorable pieces of scientific discipline fabrication of all meter . A movie base on this impactful story isJohn Carpenter’sThe Thingfrom 1982 , itself a remaking of the 1951 adaptationThe Thing From Another World .
It centered around a group of researchers in Antarctica and a thing that could take on the strain of other organism . These characters were frightened of this bloodsucking extraterrestrial lifeform and of each other , as anyone could have been The Thing . Despite how exciting that sounds , The Thingwas negatively received and refresh in its initial release , being call “ crying junk ” and perhaps the most - detest film ever by Cinefantastique . WhileThe Thinghas since been vindicate by sentence , Who Goes There?didn’t require the welfare of hindsight to prove its Charles Frederick Worth .
Itis a Stephen King novel from 1986 , concentrate on on seven youngster being terrorized by an entity that can take the shape of fear and that usually appears as Pennywise the Dancing Clown . Like many King stories , Itfocuses on trauma that follows a individual from childhood to adulthood and overcoming evil . Itwon the British Fantasy Award and was the best - selling hardcover fiction book in 1986 .
A two - part miniseries aired in 1990 , and it was ABC ’s biggest success of the year ; it also gain ground awards and Tim Curry ’s portrayal of Pennywise has gone down in chronicle . Itwas later remade into a theatrical two - parter withIt Chapter On(2017 ) andIt Chapter Two ( 2019 ) . The first part became the fifth - highest - grossing R - tell on movie ever and is considered to be one of the best King adaptations out there . Both incarnation ofItare fan favorites , but the novel has 1,138 pages , each full of acute details on The Losers Club , the evil entity , and so much more .
NEXT:10 Best Stephen King Movies & Books ( That Are n’t Horror Stories )