Stephen King — Danse Macabre
Curated by the horror codex · From Stephen King — Danse Macabre (Everest House, 1981) · 94 films · Last updated Apr 26, 2026
The films listed in Appendix I of Stephen King's 1981 non-fiction book on horror — King's personal canon of essential horror, fantasy, and dark fantasy cinema from 1950 to 1980. Entries 1-41 are King's personally-marked favorites.
1Alien
1979 ★ 4.8
2Black Sunday
1960 ★ 4.0
3The Brood
1979 ★ 4.3
4Carrie
1976 ★ 4.4
5Creature from the Black Lagoon
1954 ★ 3.3
6The Quatermass Xperiment
1955 ★ 3.5
7Night of the Demon
1957 ★ 4.1
8Dawn of the Dead
1978 ★ 3.9
9Deliverance
1972 ★ 4.2
10Dementia 13
1963
11Duel
1971 ★ 3.3
12Quatermass 2
1957 ★ 3.3
13The Exorcist
1973 ★ 4.2
14Frenzy
1972 ★ 3.8
15Halloween
1978 ★ 4.6
16The Haunting
1963 ★ 4.1
17I Bury the Living
1958 ★ 3.5
18Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1956 ★ 4.0
19It Came from Outer Space
1953 ★ 4.0
20Jaws
1975 ★ 4.1
21Lady in a Cage
1964 ★ 4.0
22Let's Scare Jessica to Death
1971 ★ 3.7
23Martin
1978 ★ 3.8
24The Night of the Hunter
1955 ★ 4.8
25Night of the Living Dead
1968 ★ 4.5
26Picnic at Hanging Rock
1975 ★ 3.8
27Psycho
1960 ★ 4.5
28Rabid
1977 ★ 3.8
29Repulsion
1965 ★ 4.1
30Rituals
1977
31Rosemary's Baby
1968 ★ 4.4
32The Seventh Seal
1957 ★ 4.1
33Sisters
1973 ★ 3.9
34The Shining
1980 ★ 4.2
35Suspiria
1977 ★ 4.1
36The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
1974 ★ 4.4
37Them!
1954 ★ 3.5
38The Thing from Another World
1951 ★ 3.5
39Wait Until Dark
1967 ★ 4.2
40What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
1962 ★ 4.3
41X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes
1963
42The Abominable Dr. Phibes
1971 ★ 3.8
43Asylum
1972 ★ 3.3
44The Bad Seed
1956 ★ 3.5
45The Birds
1963 ★ 3.8
46The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
1970 ★ 3.6
47Burnt Offerings
1976 ★ 3.8
48Night of the Eagle
1962 ★ 3.8
49Witchfinder General
1968 ★ 4.0
50The Day of the Triffids
1963
51The Deadly Bees
1966
52Deep Red
1975 ★ 4.0
53Diabolique
1955 ★ 4.2
54Dr. Terror's House of Horrors
1965 ★ 3.5
55Don't Look Now
1973 ★ 3.8
56Eraserhead
1977 ★ 4.2
57The Exterminating Angel
1962 ★ 3.5
58Eye of the Cat
1969
59The Fly
1958 ★ 3.8
60The Fury
1978 ★ 3.0
61Gorgo
1961 ★ 2.8
62The H-Man
1958
63Horrors of the Black Museum
1959
64Hour of the Wolf
1968 ★ 4.1
65The House That Dripped Blood
1971 ★ 4.0
66Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
1964 ★ 3.3
67The Incredible Shrinking Man
1957 ★ 4.0
68Invasion of the Body Snatchers
1978 ★ 4.1
69I Saw What You Did
1965
70It! The Terror from Beyond Space
1958
71The Killer Shrews
1959
72Last Summer
1969
73Macabre
1958
74The Masque of the Red Death
1964 ★ 3.9
75Night Must Fall
1964
76Not of This Earth
1957
77No Way to Treat a Lady
1968
78Panic in Year Zero!
1962
79The Pit and the Pendulum
1961 ★ 4.0
80Race with the Devil
1975