The Scariest Stephen King Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

‘The Stand’ (2020)

It’s not that new CBS show The Stand isn’t scary — it’s just a lot of other things too. King’s pandemic-themed horror has a stacked cast featuring Alexander Skarsgard, James Marsden, Amber Heard, Whoopi Goldberg, and more as fleeing members of a civilization being ravaged by a new virus who eventually go on to build a new civilization in Boulder. Come to process your COVID trauma, and stay for the three-episode coda of brand-new material written by King himself. 

‘Christine’ (1983)

This one has a goofier premise that helps knock down the scare factor. But it’s still solidly a horror movie, and one worth watching. This John Carpenter film is about a car that becomes sentient, but not in a fun, Transformers way — in a “I’m going to kill everyone around you” way. Naturally, horror ensues as the community is terrorized by this bloodthirsty car.

‘Salem’s Lot’ (1979(

Okay, you got us. This is a TV movie, not a movie movie — but its genuine creepiness and source text by King had us really, really wanting to put it on this list. When writer Benjamin Mears returns to the town of Salem’s Lot, a series of strange deaths lead him to believe the town is being haunted by vampires. But as with all supernatural plots, it takes time for his friends to come around — and he may not be able to convince them quickly enough to escape his fate. 

King doesn’t dabble much in vampires, so if that’s your favorite horror sector, look no further. It’s not as heart-poundingly petrifying as some of King’s other fare, but it’s deliciously suspenseful. 

‘Creepshow’ (1982)

Creepshow doesn’t offer you just one scary story but a whole bunch: “Father’s Day,” “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill,” “Something to Tide You Over,” “The Crate,” and “They’re Creeping Up on You.” (Full disclosure: only two of those stories are by King. But it still counts!).

The anthology is intended to have a comic book feel, drawing inspiration from ’50s EC horror comics. Without giving away too much, there are ghosts, severed heads, parasites, swarming cockroaches, mysterious beasts, and one of the creepiest, most unsettling murder techniques we’ve ever come across. Creepshow is for true horror fans, and contains all the classics of the genre — while staying original and very very scary.

‘The Dark Half’ (1993)

Like Misery, 1408, and Secret Window, The Dark Half deals with yet another potentially disastrous turn in a writer’s life. When murder mystery scribe Thad Beaumont retires his pen name, the pen name comes back to life as an evil figure determined to ruin Beaumont’s life.

While Stark fights for his right to live on earth alongside Beaumont, the rules of his existence are slowly drawn out — with a truly weird twist you won’t see coming. The movie’s violent murders and unexpected turns are underscored by musings on storytelling and what it means to exist. Don’t expect clear rules about what can and can’t happen — in fact, don’t expect anything. Just let it frighten you the way it intends.

‘1408’ (2007)

Led by the always lovable John Cusack, 1408 is all about psychological horror. Cusack plays a writer well-versed in all things paranormal. So naturally, he seeks out a hotel room that’s driven all prior residents to commit suicide. As Cusack’s stay in the room progresses, he — you guessed it — starts to go insane.

The movie is almost as weird as it is scary, but Cusack’s excellent performance means that you feel the same fear he does (and he feels a lot).

‘The Mist’ (2007)

When a severe thunderstorm rocks Bridgton, Maine, a power outage and local destruction force the people of the town together. But they quickly realize all is not as it seems: the mist filtering through the town is filled with monsters and is wreaking havoc on everything it touches.

As survivors are picked off one by one, an increasingly desperate community is driven to new lengths trying to survive — or, trying to avoid the fate worse than death these monsters have in store. 

‘Carrie’ (1976)

Brian De Palma’s Carrie is iconic for a reason — spectacular performances by Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek, the deep foreboding that imbues each scene, and, perhaps most importantly, the fact that this felt like a brand-new, unexplored story. 

High school student Carrie is tormented by just about everyone in her life: her classmates and strict religious mother both regularly attack her, leaving Carrie traumatized and with nowhere to turn. Oh, and one more thing: she’s developing strong telekinetic powers that threaten to burst out when she’s provoked.

If you don’t know what happens at the iconic prom scene, we won’t spoil it — but let’s just say the girl is provoked. 

‘It’ (2017)

While most of King’s scariest movies are from the ’80s and ’90s, latecomer It has set itself apart from recent King adaptations, and all but secured itself a place in the canon. Featuring the terrifying Pennywise the Dancing Clown, the movie follows a group of seven kids haunted and tormented by “It,” which takes the form of Pennywise.

Like we said, this will certainly spook anyone with longstanding clown fears (more people than you’d think!). And Bill Skarsgård certainly doesn’t hold back on the terror as Pennywise. For those of you who have dismissed this movie’s fear factor by thinking of it as a “kids’ flick,” think again. There are genuine scares.

‘Children Of The Corn’ (1984)

One of the scariest movies of the ’80s, Children of the Corn features a now-common horror trope: evil, possessed children. When a couple (Linda Hamilton and Peter Horton) stops in a Midwest town, they quickly fall prey to the religious cult of children who have taken over the community, engaging in ritual sacrifice and savagely killing anyone in their way.

The movie is brutal: violent, eerie, and claustrophobic, thoroughly unsettling from the start. We don’t recommend this pick if you live anywhere near a cornfield (or a suspiciously well-maintained church).

‘Cujo’ (1983)

Serious dog lovers, avert your eyes: Cujo is every dog owner’s nightmare, as the sweet family Saint Bernard turns rabid from an infected bat bite. The cuddly pup they knew before disappears, and a terrifying killing machine takes his place.

To top things off, mom Donna is tasked with keeping young son Tad alive when they’re trapped in the car with a roaring Cujo outside. That triggers about ten of our biggest fears at once, so watch this one with caution.

‘Pet Sematary’ (1989)

Director Mary Lambert’s 1989 adaptation of Pet Sematary is equal parts creepy and loaded with jump scares — so really, no matter what frightens you, this movie will probably get you. After moving to a new town, Louis and Rachel are introduced to the town’s “Pet Sematary,” where the children bury their pets, by local friend Jud.

But the “Sematary” is more than it seems, and when tragedy strikes their family, Louis finds himself dabbling in the supernatural and risking everything to get his life back.

‘Misery’ (1990)

Kathy Bates’s Oscar-winning performance may be one of the reasons Misery has remained a cult favorite. But like The Shining, it’s also just one of those movies that — like King himself — elevates the genre. Bates plays an obsessed fan who kidnaps her favorite writer, adding to King’s pattern of conjuring up potentially horrifying situations in the life of a writer. Between the gruesome violence and psychological terror, Misery will have you cowering in fear by the end.

‘The Shining’ (1980)

The Shining might be everyone’s favorite Stephen King movie — except for King himself. In 2014, King said this to Rolling Stone: “Obviously people absolutely love it, and they don’t understand why I don’t…In the book, there’s an actual arc where you see this guy, Jack Torrance, trying to be good, and little by little he moves over to this place where he’s crazy. And as far as I was concerned, when I saw the movie, Jack [Nicholson] was crazy from the first scene.”

Well, that’s King’s opinion — but for the rest of us, this Kubrick film remains a horror masterpiece. There’s a reason it tops this list, so consider yourself warned.