These are the 20 scariest horror movies of all time according to science

When it comes to horror movies, it seems that no one can decide on just which is the scariest of them all.

Of course, there are many different ways in which a horror movie can be scary.

Some rely on the jump scare to carry their audience into a state of heightened terror.

The movies ratchet up the tension, perhaps having a character approaching a door which is slightly ajar down a dark hallway before the jump arrives.

Others might take a more gory or body horror approach, disgusting and horrifying audiences with their depictions of the pestilent and nauseating.

Some horror movies take a different approach altogether, being terrifying in the concepts or aspects of human nature that they highlight rather than their explicit content.

However, this is one list which ranks the 20 scariest horror films of all time by measuring how much a movie affected someone's heart rate.

Tested by the Science of Scare Project, the movie which got the heart going the most was ranked as the 'scariest'.

The Conjuring made the list. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

5 - The Conjuring

The first film in the Conjuring franchise was released in 2013, and is now one of the most widely-known modern horror films.

It follows a pair of demonologists as they investigate a possessed doll but find themselves locked in a battle with a demon which has escaped from hell.

The Conjuring was received well by critics, with an 86 percent rating on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

4 - Insidious

The 2010 horror movie Insidious is also the start of a franchise, and is perhaps best known for its rug-pulling ending.

Spoiler alert, though it did come out in 2010 so you've had plenty of time.

Everything seems well at the end, with the forces of darkness defeated, only for the main character to suddenly realise that things are actually very, very wrong.

Needless to say, things don't end well.

Skinamarink is a far more slow-burning story. (Shudder)

3 - Skinamarink

A more recent entry having come out in 2022, Skinamarink follows a family plagued by a weird voice.

The movie is more abstract and slow-burning than other entries on the list, following a child's terrifying interactions in their own home at night.

Fan's praised the film for its recreation of the fear we feel as children in a dark house, the sort of fear that makes you run upstairs after turning out the lights downstairs before going to bed.

2 - Host

The 2020 movie is from an independent British studio, and takes horror into the digital age.

Covid created a number of inventive video-call centred projects, and Host was the horror offering, set during a lockdown.

It follows a group of friends on the weekly video call they use to keep in touch, during which they carry out a virtual seance. What could possibly go wrong.

Due to the Covid lockdown, Host was also directed and shot entirely remotely.

Sinister topped out the list. (Lionsgate)

1 - Sinister

The top spot on the list for the highest heart rate impact goes to Sinister.

Following the classic trope of a family moving to a new home, the writer father discovers a box of old family movies which indicates that something very, well, sinister, is afoot in the house.

In an unusual move, this is the one film where the family actually leave the haunted house, but anyone who has seen it will know that does not help matters.

Here is the rest of the list outside of the top five:

20 - The Ring

19 - Insidious 2

18 - The Autopsy of Jane Doe

17 - A Quiet Place Part 2

16 - The Babadook

15 - Paranormal Activity

14 - The Dark and The Wicked

13 - It Follows

12 - The Conjuring 2

11 - The Descent

10 - Talk To Me

9 - Hell House LLC

8 - The Exorcism of Emily Rose

7 - Smile

6 - Hereditary

5 - The Conjuring

4 - Insidious

3 - Skinamarink

2 - Host

1 - Sinister

• Billie Eilish reveals real feelings about PR training as she says it was the 'scariest sh*t of all time'
• Five of the best zombie movies to watch after 'terrifying' new horror 28 Years Later is finally released
• Fans of 'Oscar-worthy' Netflix horror say it's 'by far' one of the 'best movies' to have been created in recent years
• Top five horror movies of this century have officially been decided and includes classic that gave people ‘night terrors’