My ten favorite scary scenes in horror movies

Happy Halloween. To celebrate, here is a list of my ten favorite scary scenes in horror movies, not in any particular order. Beware of spoilers, since I can't make this list without revealing some.

1. I have to start this list with the granddaddy of them all, so my numero uno is the legendary shower scene from "Psycho." Even today, almost sixty years later, when you know what's coming and perhaps have watched the scene dozens of times, like I have, it never ceases to rivet my attention and scare me. If you watch closely, you'll see that never once does Hitchcock show the knife entering Janet Leigh's body. And that soundtrack is simply unbelieveable. In my humble opinion, the best of the best.

2. The arm coming out of the grave in "Carrie." It sounds so lame when you type the words like I just did, but really, there is no other scene in the history of cinema with the power to make you jump right out of your seat as this one. With the serene, lovely, build-up, and the sweetly innocent music on the soundtrack, this is an incredible illustration of the power of cinema.

3. The creepy little girl coming out of the TV in "The Ring." These days, it takes a lot to scare me when I watch a movie, but this was the creepiest and scariest in a movie filled with creepy, scary scenes.

4. Danny on his Big Wheel in "The Shining." For the most part, the classic scary Stephen King books just don't translate well onto the big screen, and Kubrick's film is nowhere near as scary as King's novel. But when little Danny rides his Big Wheel through the Overlook Hotel, rounds a corner, and sees those two creepy little long-dead girls, who then say "Come and play with us, Danny", man, it gets me every time.

5. "The Exorcist." I suppose you can take your pick of scary scenes from this movie, but my favorite is when Father Karras goes into the bedroom and sees the written message "Help Me" slowly materialize on Regan's chest. Much more effective than all the split pea soup/vomit scenes.

6. The first appearance of Pennywise, the Clown in "It." Like "The Shining," Stephen King's novel is far more scary than the TV mini-series, but the scene where Little Georgie chases his toy boat along the puddles in the street, then watches it go down the storm drain, only to see a creepy, scary clown down there in the drain, is scream-out-loud frightening.

7. The opening sequence of "Halloween." There are many terrifying moments in John Carpenter's classic, but it's hard to top the terrifying sequence of little Michael Myers spying on, and then massacring his older sister and her boyfriend, all shown from his point of view. A virtuoso piece of film-making.

8. The birds gathering on the playground while Tippi Hedren obliviously smokes a cigarette in "The Birds." This scene is not scary, per se, but is an excellent example of how to build suspense. We can see the birds gathering behind her, and we want to shout out to her to look out, but obviously we can't, and we can only watch as the danger ratchets up, while our heroine has no clue what's about to happen. Hitchcock was truly a master.

9. The wolf attack in "American Werewolf in London." Until this scene, the movie is light and funny and goofy. Sure, the patrons of the Slaughtered Lamb are creepy as they tell our two heroes to be aware, but it's played for laughs and hard to take seriously. And then comes the realization that Jack and David are lost on the moors, something is following them, and all of a sudden..... Truly frightening.

10. The scene in the original "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" when Miles realizes that his girlfriend, Cathy, has given in and fallen asleep and is now one of the aliens. The expression of pure horror on Miles' face is classic, and the feeling of hopelessness and helplessness is palpable.

I'm sure I've left a bunch of classic scenes out, but for now, this is my list. Hope you enjoy it.