I’m trying to snap myself out of a little funk here, so I thought I would reflect on scary movies. And in keeping with today being Halloween and all. (By the way, we are passing out pocket-sized versions of Leroy Brownlow’s “Why I Am a Member of the Church of Christ” to all the little pagans that knock on our door tonight.)

I like a good horror flick. I’d watch more of them but they freak out the missus. Hasn’t always been that way though. I was scared of my own shadow when I was a kid. And germs. I was really scared of germs. In hindsight, I was just ahead of my time.

For this list I will be looking at my scariest movies of all time. These will be the movies that freaked me out the most. (I’m sorry but am I the only one who thought “Rosemary’s Baby” was a dreadful bore?) I also limit it to movies released in my lifetime (sorry Mr. Hitchcock), otherwise it would be the top 25.

10. Scream (1996): I know a lot of this movie is done with a wink and a nod but it singlehandedly rescued horror flicks from the dreak that typified the early to mid 90s. This movie attempts to satirize horror movies. It does that and scares in the process. The sequels detract from the greatness of this original.

9. The Amityville Horror (1979): I saw this movie again a couple of years back after finally reading the book. Originally, I had heard nothing of the controversy surrounding the alleged “true events.” What I did know at the age of 11 was that my dad brought the book home from some trip he was on and that the thought of a haunted house like that made me fill my pants.

8. Jaws (1975): The genius of this movie was the unseen: the shark wasn’t seen for the majority of the movie except for the dorsal fin. And the music. Who wasn’t scared of entering water after seeing this as a kid?

7. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974): What freaked me out the most was that so much of it was shot in the middle of the day. That’s usually when you feel the safest in these movies. But not here. The pacing and suspense have stuck with me. Who isn’t a little reluctant to pull over in the middle of nowhere?

6. Saw (2004): The most recent film on this list may be the one people dispute the most. But the succession of puzzles and dilemmas posed by Jigsaw had me on edge. It didn’t help that we watched it in the middle of a thunderstorm with a huge clap hitting at just the right time.

5. Friday the Thirteenth (1980): I remember my sister going to see this movie and then coming home and telling me about it. It wasn’t long before it was showing on HBO 16 times a day. I never went to another camp. I was sure it was filmed at Wildwood. Watching it now, it’s a joke. It wasn’t funny when I was 12.

4. The Omen (1976): Who isn’t afraid that their baby is going to turn out to be the Demon Seed? I’ve seen a few I’ve wanted to nominate over the years. It’s not a brain-dead horror film. It’s full of respectable actors making a chilling film.

3. Halloween (1978): Nobody screams like Jamie Lee. I was scared out of my mind the first time I saw this and I didn’t sleep well for days. HBO was not good to have around in our house. The name Michael Myers is indelibly imprinted in my brain.

2. The Exorcist (1973): My parents tried to keep me from seeing this, and for the most part they were successful. However, just the glimpses of Linda Blair’s possessed Regan puking and peeing were too much for my neurotic mind.

1. The Shining (1980): When I was younger, I read all of Stephen King’s novels. I was scared of everything but for some reason I gravitated to his writings. Although not his best book (That’s “The Stand) it did produce his most sinister character, Jack Torrance. Who isn’t freaked by Jack Nicholson’s over the top performance? “Here’s Johnny?” “Redrum” “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” Those little girls. That hedge maze. I’m still scared.

What about you? What movies have scared you the most?