What better time to present our countdown of the most spine-tingling, bone-chilling, pant-wettingly scary movies to ever make you cower behind your popcorn than Halloween? But which of these do you think is the most frightening of all? Cast your vote...

Alien (1979)

"In space, no one can hear you scream..." But that didn't stop audiences shrieking at this superior sci-fi monster mash. Tapping into primeval fears of impregnation, infection and rape, director Ridley Scott holds us in a vice-like grip from the moment his weirdly phallic ET makes his bloody entrance through John Hurt's stomach lining. Three sequels followed, with another - monster mash-up Alien Vs Predator - in 2004.

The Blair Witch Project (1999)

If you go into the woods today, you're in for a big surprise. Despite having no money, stars or gore, this startlingly effective lo-fi horror became a massive cult hit, scaring punters silly with a canny blend of menace, suggestion and paranoia. Three student film-makers researching the legend of the "Blair Witch" get lost in the forest in a mock-documentary so authentic many thought it was the real deal.

Carrie (1976)

Adolescent angst and paranormal powers make a deadly cocktail in Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's novel, which despite being much imitated still has the power to shock. Sissy Spacek is heartbreaking as the cloistered heroine whose high school prom becomes a nightmare, while Piper Laurie freezes the blood as her religious maniac of a mother. Look out too for a young John Travolta as one of Carrie's tormentors.

The Exorcist (1973)

"The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape," said Hamlet. So it proves in this all-time horror classic, with virginal Linda Blair becoming a levitating, head-spinning demon with a talent for vomiting pea-soup and putting a crucifix where the sun doesn't shine. Outlawed by the British Board of Film Classification for many years, the recent reissue proved time had not dulled its impact or its genuine capacity to unsettle the viewer.

Halloween (1978)

Shot in 21 days for just $300,000, John Carpenter's relentless slasher spawned a string of sequels and a slew of imitations. The original is still the best though, with Jamie Lee Curtis becoming the ultimate "scream queen" as the babysitter in peril from masked maniac Michael Myers. The mask - based, incidentally, on the face of William Shatner - became a genre staple, from Freddy Kreuger's pizza face to Jason Voorhees' hockey grill.