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“Dream House,” the haunted house scary flick, is not being shown to critics. Not a good sign! So instead, we’ll compile the Top 10 Best Haunted House Movies Ever Made! With Halloween just around the corner, I hope this list will help you prepare. Are you ready? Here it goes:

10. “The Amityville Horror” – Not the 2005 remake but the original 1979 flick starring James Brolin and Margot Kidder. No list of haunted house movies is complete without this quintessential scary flick, supposedly based on real life which makes it scarier! Boo!

9. “Insidious” – I enjoyed this haunted house thrill ride because of its old-school gothic style -- no frills, just chills.

8. “Paranormal Activity” – This found footage film tells the tale of a San Diego couple (now simply known as Micah and Katie) haunted by a malevolent force. It's so simple it's smart and further shows us that Hollywood can scare on a shoestring budget.

7. “The Devil’s Backbone” – This Spanish film from Guillermo del Toro is a political movie masquerading as a ghost story. It's creepily potent and thoroughly entertaining.

6. “The Others” – From Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenabar, Nicole Kidman stars as a mother who will do anything to protect her photosensitive kids from the mysterious forces haunting their home. We still remember the haunting images of the movie burned in the deep recesses of our gray matter.

5. “The Haunting” – This 1963 masterpiece from director Robert Wise talks about a sinister house with a terrifying past. It's horrific, it's deadly, It's haunting.

4. “Poltergeist” – Who can forget Heather O’Rourke’s famous line, “They’re Hereeeeeee?” Director Tobe Hooper (with the guiding hands of Steven Spielberg) gave us a palpable ghost story about a family being threated by not one, but a host of ghosts!

3. “Evil Dead 2” – This horror comedy from director Sam Raimi, years before creating his “Spider-Man” series, deconstructed the genre and came up with a film that is not only original but was also so funny, it’s scary.

2. “The Innocents” – Based on the novella “Turn of the Screw” by Henry James and co-written by Truman Capote, a gothic mansion is front and center in this diabolically tragic film starring Deborah Kerr. It’s psychological horror at its finest!

1. “The Shining” – This scary flick just gets better with age. Director Stanley Kubrick created a tension-filled movie that's atmospheric and creepy. The whole cast headed by Jack Nicholson is superb and it made us think twice about staying in creepy hotels. Stephen King just announced that he's writing a sequel to this, and I can't wait to say “Here’s Johnny” again! Or perhaps, “redrum.”

Honorable Mentions:

“Beetlejuice” – Tim Burton, back when he was ultra-cool, created this fantastic gothic comedy featuring Michael Keaton in the lead role. This is actually a feel-good movie that will make you want to say “Beetlejuice” three times!

“The Grudge” – I figured, I have to add an Asian-inspired ghost story in the film. The American remake is pretty much a carbon-copy of the original Japanese film (known as “Ju-On”), also directed by Takashi Shimizu. We get to see Buffy, I mean, Sarah Michelle Gellar, all powerless against a vengeful ghost.

“Ghost Story” – This 1981 film starring Fred Astaire, Melvyn Douglas, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. tells the tale of four successful older gentlemen, all members of the Chowder Society, who hides a dirty secret that is coming back to haunt them!

“Burnt Offerings” – This 1976 film may be cheesy and campy now (it stars the camp-licious Karen Black after all), but this is the basis of Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Once again, a gothic house is haunted and Black screams and screams and screams! I love it!

“The Orphanage” – Written by Sergio G. Sanchez and directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, this fairy tale of a ghost-revenge story stars the fantastic Belen Rueda as Laura, a mom who is saddled with a mysterious problem – her son has a powerful invisible friend! Leave it to the talented Spanish filmmakers to give us the heebie-jeebies.