Our favourite horror movies

It’s time to settle in with some popcorn, with the blankets and pillows ready, as we take a look at which scary movies people like to frighten themselves with the most at Halloween.

One of our favourite things to do at Halloween is get tucked up in bed with a movie that’s guaranteed to make us jump.  Our hub hotels in London and Edinburgh provide guests with a Smart TV in your room, which gives you internet access, apps, games, catch-up TV and a selection of free films alongside all the regular TV channels. If you’ve missed a must-see movie, chances are you can catch it on this 40" Smart TV instead.

We wanted to find out the most popular horror movies that people want to watch at Halloween, here in the UK, but also in other countries, to see if different places have different tastes in spooky shows. We analysed the number of online searches made every October for over 80 popular modern and classic horror movies across 15 countries around the world.
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The UK’s favourite Halloween movies

In the UK, it is supernatural thriller Alien that tops the Halloween movie charts, coming top for England and Wales (and third for Scotland and Northern Ireland). The classic 1985 horror Fright Night came out as the most popular Halloween movie in Northern Ireland. Whereas Scotland’s favourite fright fest for this time of year is Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 thriller The Shining.
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Scotland

  1. The Shining
    (40,800 searches)
  2. Doctor Sleep
  3. Alien
  4. Scream
  5. Gerald’s Game
  6. Insidious
  7. The Exorcist
  8. Hereditary
  9. Halloween (1978)
  10. The Conjuring
  11. Hannibal
  12. Resident Evil
  13. Zombieland: Double Tap
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England

  1. Alien
    (409,500 searches)
  2. The Shining
  3. Fright Night
  4. Doctor Sleep
  5. Scream
  6. Insidious
  7. Gerald’s Game
  8. The Conjuring II
  9. The Exorcist
  10. Zombieland: Double Tap
  11. A Quiet Place
  12. Hereditary
  13. The Conjuring
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Wales

  1. Alien
    (20,800 searches)
  2. The Shining
  3. Doctor Sleep
  4. Scream
  5. Gerald’s Game
  6. Insidious
  7. Zombieland: Double Tap
  8. The Conjuring II
  9. Resident Evil
  10. Shaun of the Dead
  11. A Quiet Place
  12. The Exorcist
  13. The Conjuring
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Northern Ireland

  1. Fright Night
    (19,300 searches)
  2. The Shining
  3. Alien
  4. Scream
  5. Doctor Sleep
  6. Zombieland: Double Tap
  7. Gerald’s Game
  8. Sleepy Hollow
  9. Halloween (1978)
  10. Insidious
  11. The Exorcist
  12. It
  13. The Conjuring
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We dug a little deeper to discover if there were any films that one UK city particularly preferred, but the cities largely reflected the wider UK result, with either Alien or The Shining taking top spot, followed by Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game and either Insidious or Scream.

Birmingham’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
Alien, Shining, Doctor Sleep, The Exorcist, Scream

  • Did you know: Aston Hall in Birmingham has been touted as the most haunted place in the UK according to an expert panel of paranormal researchers.

Glasgow’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Alien, Scream

  • Did you know: Glasgow’s Theatre Royal is reportedly haunted by ‘Nora’ a cleaning lady and hopeful actress who was laughed off stage when she finally made it into the spotlight.

Liverpool’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
Alien, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Scream, Gerald’s Game

  • Did you know: Penny Lane might be famous for featuring in a Beatles’ song, but #44 on the road is thought to be haunted by a Victorian poltergeist.

Bristol’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Alien, Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Hereditary

  • Did you know: Screen number 3 at Union Street’s Odeon Cinema is thought to be haunted by the former manager of the building, who met an untimely end in their office in 1946.

Manchester’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Alien, Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Scream

  • Did you know: The Ring O’ Bells pub in Middleton in Greater Manchester is one of the most haunted places in the UK – it’s built on the site of an ancient Druid temple where dark rituals once took place.

Leeds’ Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Alien, Doctor Sleep, Gerald’s Game, Scream

  • Did you know: Thackray Medical Museum is rumoured to be the most haunted place in Leeds, probably due to its history as a work house and then as a city asylum.

Sheffield’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Alien, Doctor Sleep, Scream, Insidious

  • Did you know: The Stocksbridge bypass in Sheffield has been listed as one of the most haunted roads in Britain – with lots of strange sightings reported over the decades.

Edinburgh’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Alien, Gerald’s Game, Scream

  • Did you know: One of Edinburgh’s oldest pubs, The White Hart Inn, dates back to 1516, with staff reporting frequent unexplained sightings and spooky happenings when cleaning the cellar and toilets.

Leicester’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
Alien, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Scream, Insidious

  • Did you know: The old leather shop Cellini – due to become the site of an Escape Room attraction – is rumoured to have frequent hauntings.

Coventry’s Top 5 Halloween movies:
Alien, The Shining, Doctor Sleep, Insidious, Scream

  • Did you know: The Slug and Lettuce in Coventry is thought to be haunted, it’s one of the city’s oldest buildings and used to be part of a jail and gallows.
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Top Halloween horror movies around the world

It wasn’t just the UK that Alien came out as the most popular movie searched for every Halloween. It topped the spooky film charts in New Zealand, France, Germany, Norway, Spain and Norway. Canada and Australia however both prefer to watch the gore heavy Saw at Halloween, whereas South Africa and UAE prefer to get their share of scares by watching the world’s creepiest clown, It.

Although it didn’t top the Halloween search list, (its highest ranking was second in the United States) Zombieland: Double Tap featured heavily, as did The Conjuring II, Insidious and Gerald’s Game. Horror classic The Exorcist ranked highly for a lot of different countries around the world, as did the more modern supernatural Hereditary.
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Republic of Ireland

  1. The Shining (34,300 searches)
  2. Gerald’s Game (33,270 searches)
  3. Scream (28,200 searches)
  4. Doctor Sleep (27,570 searches)
  5. Alien (26,700 searches)
  6. It (23,200 searches)
  7. Insidious (22,700 searches)
  8. The Exorcist (22,300 searches)
  9. Zombieland: Double Tap (22,220 searches)
  10. Halloween (1978) (20,000 searches)
  11. The Conjuring (18,100 searches)
  12. The Babysitter (17,910 searches)
  13. Hereditary (17,570 searches)
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USA

  1. The Shining (2,314,000 searches)
  2. Zombieland: Double Tap (1,831,030 searches)
  3. Alien (1,818,000 searches)
  4. Scream (1,793,000 searches)
  5. It (1,767,000 searches)
  6. Halloween (1978) (1,576,000 searches)
  7. Insidious (1,447,000 searches)
  8. Hereditary (1,344,000 searches)
  9. Gerald’s Game (1,342,600 searches)
  10. The Conjuring (1,310,000 searches)
  11. Midsommar (1,222,670 searches)
  12. The Exorcist (1,149,000 searches)
  13. Sleepy Hollow (1,102,000 searches)
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Canada

  1. Saw (1,087,500 searches)
  2. Antebellum (898,200 searches)
  3. Alien Covenant (285,500 searches)
  4. The Conjuring II (231,700 searches)
  5. Hellboy II The Golden Army (222,600 searches)
  6. Host (211,000 searches)
  7. Doctor Sleep (200,000 searches)
  8. Candyman (164,200 searches)
  9. 28 Days Later (160,020 searches)
  10. Blade (160,000 searches)
  11. Us (150,200 searches)
  12. Bird Box (149,000 searches)
  13. Zombieland: Double Tap (141,200 searches)
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South Africa

  1. It (53,800 searches)
  2. Alien (38,200 searches)
  3. The Conjuring II (28,500 searches)
  4. Hereditary (25,500 searches)
  5. Annihilation (25,400 searches)
  6. A Quiet Place (22,940 searches)
  7. Insidious (20,000 searches)
  8. The Conjuring (19,800 searches)
  9. Scream (19,200 searches)
  10. Midsommar (18,130 searches)
  11. Gerald’s Game (17,940 searches)
  12. Resident Evil (17,800 searches)
  13. Blade (17,000 searches)
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UAE

  1. It (266,00 searches)
  2. The Conjuring II (23,200 searches)
  3. Alien (20,600 searches)
  4. Annihilation (13,170 searches)
  5. The Conjuring (13,100 searches)
  6. Gerald’s Game (11,410 searches)
  7. Hereditary (10,600 searches)
  8. Insidious (10,600 searches)
  9. Resident Evil (10,300 searches)
  10. A Quiet Place (10,220 searches)
  11. Zombieland: Double Tap (9,900 searches)
  12. The Shining (9,500 searches)
  13. The Babysitter (9,160 searches)
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Singapore

  1. Midsommar (36,220 searches)
  2. The Shining (31,500 searches)
  3. Doctor Sleep (29,850 searches)
  4. It (29,300 searches)
  5. Hereditary (25,300 searches)
  6. Annihilation (23,100 searches)
  7. Insidious (22,800 searches)
  8. Alien (22,000 searches)
  9. Zombieland: Double Tap (19,800 searches)
  10. World War Z (19,800 searches)
  11. Gerald’s Game (19,300 searches)
  12. A Quiet Place (18,720 searches)
  13. It Chapter II (16,560 searches)
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Australia

  1. Saw (764,500 searches)
  2. Antebellum (393,400 searches)
  3. Alien Covenant (198,000 searches)
  4. Doctor Sleep (150,200 searches)
  5. Host (111,400 searches)
  6. Blade (110,800 searches)
  7. The Babysitter: Killer Queen (110,050 searches)
  8. Candyman (106,200 searches)
  9. Hannibal Rising (105,680 searches)
  10. 28 Days Later (104,460 searches)
  11. Hellboy II The Golden Army (103,800 searches)
  12. Zombieland: Double Tap (94,500 searches)
  13. The Conjuring II (89,000 searches)
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New Zealand

  1. Alien (21,800 searches)
  2. Gerald’s Game (20,340 searches)
  3. It (19,500 searches)
  4. Zombieland: Double Tap (18,130 searches)
  5. The Babysitter (17,570 searches)
  6. What We Do In The Shadows (17,000 searches)
  7. Hereditary (16,900 searches)
  8. The Shining (16,800 searches)
  9. Scream (16,100 searches)
  10. Midsommar (14,840 searches)
  11. Insidious (14,400 searches)
  12. Annihilation (13,780 searches)
  13. The Conjuring (13,600 searches)
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Spain

  1. Alien (156,200 searches)
  2. Resident Evil (142,900 searches)
  3. Scream (109,500 searches)
  4. Hereditary (107,480 searches)
  5. Sleepy Hollow (99,700 searches)
  6. Insidious (98,600 searches)
  7. Hellboy (98,300 searches)
  8. Poltergeist (97,200 searches)
  9. Host (76,500 searches)
  10. The Ring (73,200 searches)
  11. Alien Covenant (61,000 searches)
  12. Balde (58,200 searches)
  13. Hannibal (56,500 searches)
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France

  1. Alien (285,500 searches)
  2. Scream (255,500 searches)
  3. The Conjuring II (188,300 searches)
  4. Constantine (144,200 searches)
  5. Resident Evil (136,800 searches)
  6. Doctor Sleep (136,310 searches)
  7. Hellboy (131,900 searches)
  8. Insidious (127,800 searches)
  9. Dark Shadows (118,200 searches)
  10. Midsommar (110,520 searches)
  11. Hannibal (109,500 searches)
  12. Alien Covenant (108,200 searches)
  13. World War Z (107,900 searches)
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Germany

  1. Alien (321,500 searches)
  2. Resident Evil (252,000 searches)
  3. The Conjuring II (182,300 searches)
  4. Insidious (176,200 searches)
  5. Hannibal (172,600 searches)
  6. Scream (156,200 searches)
  7. Alien Covenant (142,300 searches)
  8. Midsommar (138,600 searches)
  9. The Ring (136,800 searches)
  10. From Dusk Till Dawn (122,900 searches)
  11. Silent Hill (118,000 searches)
  12. Hereditary (112,900 searches)
  13. World War Z (96,400 searches)
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Italy

  1. Doctor Sleep (204,600 searches)
  2. Alien (172,600 searches)
  3. The Ring (157,600 searches)
  4. The Conjuring (14,5300 searches)
  5. Resident Evil (142,800 searches)
  6. Scream (135,200 searches)
  7. World War Z (134,700 searches)
  8. Host (117,200 searches)
  9. Silent Hill (95,600 searches)
  10. Hellboy (84,500 searches)
  11. Hannibal (80,600 searches)
  12. Insidious (78,100 searches)
  13. The Conjuring II (74,700 searches)
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Norway

  1. Alien (29,500 searches)
  2. Hereditary (21,800 searches)
  3. The Conjuring II (21,000 searches)
  4. Scream (19,200 searches)
  5. The Shining (19,000 searches)
  6. The Conjuring (17,600 searches)
  7. Insidious (16,300 searches)
  8. The Babysitter (14,910 searches)
  9. The Ring (14,800 searches)
  10. Hannibal (14,100 searches)
  11. It (12,700 searches)
  12. A Quiet Place (12,030 searches)
  13. Annihilation (10,080 searches)
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Brazil

  1. Resident Evil (711,000 searches)
  2. Scream (258,100 searches)
  3. Alien (244,500 searches)
  4. Hellboy (225,800 searches)
  5. Constantine (180,000 searches)
  6. Hannibal (172,600 searches)
  7. Midsommar (165,150 searches)
  8. Silent Hill (156,200 searches)
  9. Blade (126,400 searches)
  10. Poltergeist (91,500 searches)
  11. Alien Covenant (84,500 searches)
  12. Preacher (79,500 searches)
  13. Host (76,500 searches)
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India

  1. The Conjuring II (565,000 searches)
  2. Alien (495,000 searches)
  3. It (334,400 searches)
  4. Zombieland: Double Tap (301,020 searches)
  5. Resident Evil (288,000 searches)
  6. Insidious (228,100 searches)
  7. The Conjuring (224,500 searches)
  8. Annihilation (196,700 searches)
  9. A Quiet Place (184,150 searches)
  10. The Exorcist (183,600 searches)
  11. Hereditary (160,700 searches)
  12. Gerald’s Game (155,140 searches)
  13. Alien Covenant (153,500 searches)
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Methodology

We analysed the Google search volumes in the UK and around the world during October for 80 of the most popular horror movies according to IMDB*. The search count reflects the combined total of October monthly searches going back as far as Google Keyword data allows (i.e October 2016, ’17, ’18 and ‘19).

*https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?title_type=feature,tv_movie,short,video&genres=horror&sort=num_votes,desc