SCARY: With the approach of Halloween, and everything that’s happened in 2020, it’s no surprise that people are turning to scary movies for entertainment.

Good Housekeeping has a list of the most popular scary movies for each year, from 1950 forward.

We perused the list, and selected a few to share, many of which are still must-see Halloween favorites today.

In 1954, the movie was Creature from the Black Lagoon, where “a group of scientists attempt to capture a beast living in the depths of the Amazonian jungle.” In 1958, the movie was The Fly.

The 1960 selection, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, is still ranked as one of the best films of all time. For 1963, another Hitchcock classic was named as the best film — The Birds.

For 1973, the still-terrifying film The Exorcist was named the best horror film. We would have to agree.

In 1975, Jaws kept people leery of going in the water.

In 1976, Stephen King made his first entry onto the Good Housekeeping list with the film Carrie. Alien, the classic film with Sigourney Weaver and Tom Skerritt topped the list for 1979.

The first of the Friday the 13th movies came out in 1980, and was so successful that 12 sequels have followed it.

In 1982, Poltergeist made the list. In 1984, Freddy Krueger slashed his way onto the list with the first film in A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.

In 1986, a remake of 1958’s The Fly was named the top horror film, the first remake to appear on the Good Housekeeping list.

Stephen King made the list in 1989 with Pet Semetary.

We’ll share more from the list in a future column.