Halloween 2015: The scariest films ever, as voted by British people

Only two films released this side of the Millennium made it into the top 10

Damien, the 'child Antichrist' left 73 per cent of people feeling scared

The Omen and The Exorcist have been ranked the scariest horror movies of all time.

YouGov analysed data from 7,000 British horror movie fans to determine the results; fans were also asked which horror classics they had seen.

The Omen, released in 1976 , centres on a child Antichrist called Damien; according to the results 45 per cent had seen the movie, with 73 per cent finding it scary.

Closely behind, was the 1971 film The Exorcist, of which 47 per cent of people had seen and 72 per cent had been scared by.

It appears it is older films which terrorise people the most, with only two films made after 2000 finding their way onto the top 10 list. This is despite the number of horror movies released each year doubling since the 1960s.

Paranormal Activity (2007) was ranked fourth scariest, with 68 per cent of people finding it scary, however only 22 per cent people had watched it.

The Ring, released in 2002 came in sixth place with a 68 per cent scariness approval.

According to the survey, the most-viewed horror films were Jaws (1975) which 68 per cent of people had seen and The Silence of the Lambs — which 60 per cent people had seen.

The survey also determined ‘attitude statements’ true to fans of the horror genre, in comparison to the population.

Apparently phrases including: “Religion has done more bad than good” is one typical of horror film fans, possibly linking to the ‘regions inversion’ theme of many horror classics.

Fans of the genre are also more likely to “drink to get drunk” and be “night owls” as opposed to “morning people”.

The list in full:

All-time scariest horror movies (YouGov)

1. The Omen (1976)

2. The Exorcist (1971)

3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

4. Paranormal activity (2007)

5. Poltergeist (1982)

6. The Ring (2002)

7. The Shining (1980)

8. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)

9. Halloween (1978)

10. Psycho (1960)

11. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

12. The Grudge (2004)

13. Alien (1979)

14. Friday 13th (1980)

15. Carrie (1976)

16. Hostel (2005)

17. Saw (2004)

18. The Birds (1963)

19. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

20. Jaws (1975)

21. Scream (1996)

22. The Fly (1986)