Top 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ranked by Science

Show of hands, who has to close their eyes whenever blood and guts pop up on the movie screen during a scary movie?! *Raises her hand* It’s a proven fact that I am a wimp when it comes to scary movies, but I'm sure I'm not alone.

If you’ve ever bragged that horror movies don’t scare you, calm down because science would like to have a word with you! The Science of Scare Project just dropped its 2025 list of the Scariest Movies According to Science, and prepare yourself because your heart rates are going to sky rocket after reading the list!

The Scariest Movies of All Time—According to Actual Science

Researchers wired up a group of brave volunteers with heart rate monitors and had them watch a marathon of horror films. The goal was to find out which movie makes your heart literally race the most.

Coming in at number one is a movie I have not yet watched, and honestly I probably won’t watch after reading this list: “Sinister” (2012). The found footage nightmare that has scientifically proven to be the most terrifying movie ever made. Right behind it is “Host” (2020) the Zoom horror flick that made us all afraid of video calls forever and “Skinamarink” (2022) comes in third place, which proves that childhood nightmares never really go away. (Way to ruin my childhood, researchers.)

That’s just the top 3 though, there’s a full list of movies that will get your heart race beating faster than a person who just got caught cheating.

Here’s the full top 10 list of Scariest Movies EVER- According to science:

1. Sinister (2012)
2. Host (2020)
3. Skinamarink (2022)
4. Insidious (2010)
5. The Conjuring (2013)
6. Hereditary (2018)
7. Smile 2 (2024)
8. Smile (2022)
9. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005)
10. Talk to Me (2022)