From page to scream – I mean, screen, here are some of the best of horror movies that haunted pages before the theaters.
- Misery by Stephen King
Starring James Caan and Kathy Bates, the kidnapping and brutalization of mystery author Paul Sheldon at the hands of crazed fan Annie Wilkes will have you shaking.
Bates’ character Anne Wilkes is a force to be reckoned with. After having pulled Paul Sheldon from the wreckage of his car during a blizzard, Wilkes carries the unconscious author back to her isolated cabin where she nurses him back to health. What seemed like a harmless stay at a farmhouse bed-n-breakfast soon became a nightmare. After all, “It’s for the best.”
2. Interview with A Vampire by Anne Rice
We will never forget the performance put on by Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Kirsten Dunst in the 1994 rendition of the film. However, just in 2022, the film was rebooted for a show to be streamed on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.
3. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
In the 1994 Tristar production of Frankenstein, based on the beloved novel by Mary Shelley, Kenneth Brannagh and Robert DeNiro star as the famous scientist and his monster. However, since the films release there have been many other on-screen portrayals of the famous monster. Some take a comical approach, such as Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, a favorite of mine.
4. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
A personal favorite of mine and was beyond excited when the movie premiered in 2018. Two sisters, Constance Blackwood and Mary Katherine and their uncle Julian are forced to live in exile in their family home. The town labeled them as murderers after the horrible poisoning incident killed half the family. The question still stands : Who poisoned the sugar bowl? And why?
5. Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews
6. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
Based on Jackson’s famous novel The Haunting of Hill House, you can now stream the movie on Netflix!
7. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irvine
I am sure that this was where my crush on heart-throb Johnny Depp began. He and Christina Ricci will have you rooting for them at the end of this horrific tale. Ichabod Crane is sent to the small village of Sleepy Hollow to solve the mystery of the murderous headless horseman who has been killing of the villagers one by one. Based on the story written by Washington Irvine, Tim Burton has brought to life the legend of the headless horseman.
8. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Based on the novel written by Gaston Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber brought a musical twist to the dark gothic romance that features a haunted opera house, a debut diva, and a masked murderer. To say I was obsessed with this musical is an understatement that I am sure my family would agree on. I used to sing the arias in the shower and keep the whole house up.
Several other renditions of the story had been released prior to Webber’s musical. Andrew Lloyd Webber had also written and produced a sequel titled Love Never Dies to close the story to our beloved gothic romance.
9. IT by Stephen King
Following the 1990 production, the creepy clown got a reprisal in 2017.
10. The Shining by Stephen King
“Heeereeee’s Johnny!” Jack Nicholson stars as a recovering alcoholic and aspiring writer in this horrific and detailed portrayal of Stephen King’s 1977 novel titled The Shining.
