Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
General Christian
Religious Music & Entertainment
Great Spiritual Horror Films of the 20th Century (by Decade)

Great Spiritual Horror Films of the 20th Century (by Decade)

Last updated on: October 25, 2026 at 11:39 am by Paul Asay

0 Comments

Great Spiritual Horror Films of the 20th Century (by Decade) 2026-10-25T11:39:41-06:00 Paul Asay

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

From The Exorcist, screenshot courtesy Warner Bros. trailer

For the Christian, horror movies are often troubling—and many would say that Christians should never, ever watch them.

But here’s the funny thing about horror movies: They often deal with the biggest of big, spiritual issues that your regular ol’ romcom just can’t touch. They probe life and death. They mull over the nature of good and evil. Many point to supernatural forces well beyond our understanding, and more than a few ultimately point to an all-loving, all-powerful God.

And they’ve done that since almost the dawn of film itself.

We’ve seen a number of spooky, spiritual films since 2000. In fact, I’d say that even as the culture grows less religious, the movies we watch may be growing more spiritual. But let’s leave the 21st Century to take care of itself for another year and take a look at what the 20th Century had to offer. Here’s a look at some classic fright flicks—one per each decade—and what they have to say about God, faith and ourselves.

Max Schreck in 1922’s Nosferatu, screenshot courtesy trailer

Nosferatu (1922)

This German movie is one of the true granddaddies of horror flicks—a slightly modified version of Bram Stoker’s original novel “Dracula.” The Stoker estate was not amused, and it demanded that all versions of the film be destroyed. Thankfully, that did not happen—giving us one of silent movie’s true classics.

The film’s vampire, Count Orlok, moves to Wisborg, Germany, to find some, um, fresh blood. He takes special interest in his real estate agent’s fiancée, Ellen. The latter learns that vampires can be destroyed if a pure-hearted woman willingly offers her blood to the creature—and keeps him distracted until the sun rises. It all works like a charm, of course, and the nosferatu vanishes at sunrise.

Despite its age, Nosferatu still comes with some impressively eerie moments. But it’s also a story of truly diabolical evil being overcome by goodness, sacrifice and love. Nosferatus (vampires) are said in the movie to be creatures of the demon Belial, and in the Old Testament, phrases such as “sons of Belial” were used to describe the corrupt or rebellious—apt descriptions for Count Orlok. Ellen’s willing offering of herself is obviously an echo of Jesus’ own sacrifice. But I also love the imagery of the light of day banishing the darkness of night. It’s a great nod to John 1:5: “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Boris Karloff and Marilyn Harris in 1931’s Frankenstein, screenshot courtesy Universal Pictures’ trailer

Frankenstein (1931)

The second great Universal monster movie to be made (after 1931’s Dracula), Frankenstein is based on Mary Shelley’s famous novel of the same name—and in my opinion, is the most effective of these early horror films.

As in the book, the real monster in the movie isn’t the “monster” at all, but the scientist, Dr. Frankenstein himself. He seeks to overturn the natural order and create life from a collection of reclaimed body parts. He … succeeds? But it turns out to be a terrible success, one that destroys the lives of plenty of folks—including, originally, those of Frankenstein and his monster. (The success of the film, though, made a number of sequels inevitable, just as success breeds repetition today.)

The original book was about the hubris of man when he seeks to overreach into God’s domain—a message perhaps even more timely now. After the doctor succeeds in reanimating his menagerie of body parts, he says, “Now I know what it feels like to be God!” It’s a sobering message. And in many ways, the sequel (The Bride of Frankenstein, which many believe is even superior to the original) ups the spiritual ante. Both are well worth a watch.

(The Netflix remake of Frankenstein is pretty good, too—though it has some issues. Take a look at my Patheos piece on the film to learn more.)

Lon Chaney Jr. in The Wolf Man, screenshot courtesy the Universal Pictures trailer

The Wolf Man (1941)

Another great Universal monster movie, The Wolf Man stars Lon Chaney Jr., son of the famous silent movie legend Lon Chaney, “Man of a Thousand Faces.”

Chaney Jr. stars as Larry, a man who returns to his ancestral home in Wales to bury his brother and reunite with his father. He meets a young woman named Gwen, and the two hit it off famously. But alas, when they decide to have their fortunes told with Gwen’s friend, Jenny, the fortuneteller sees a pentagram on Jenny’s hand—a sure sign she’s going to be murdered by a werewolf. Sure enough, Jenny’s attacked by an apparent wolf that very night. And when Larry kills the beast with his silver, wolf-headed cane, the wolf turns into the fortuneteller. Things go downhill from there.

Again, The Wolf Man presupposes truly demonical forces at work in this lycanthropian curse, as emphasized by the pentagram appearing on the palms of the werewolf’s victims. But another huge motif here is that of the banishing power of silver. Larry’s silver-headed cane proves to be the undoing of the movie’s werewolves, and Universal’s own cinematic mythology would cement the idea that only silver, particularly silver bullets, could destroy one of those monsters. But why silver? As in Nosferatu, it has something to do, at least in part, with light banishing darkness. Silver is perhaps the most reflective substance found in nature, making it a great conduit to reflect light. But there’s another, even more deeply spiritual element in silver, too. Because Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, the metal reminds evil creatures of their own separation from God—and thus recoil from it.

From the movie Diabolique, screenshot courtesy the Criterion Collection trailer

Diabolique (Les Diaboliques, 1955)

This stylish French film is more a psychological thriller than a horror film—a Hitchcockian movie that, in some ways, outdoes Hitchcock himself.

Three characters form the crux of the story: Christina, a devoutly religious woman who owns and teaches at a private school; Michel, her cruel and abusive husband and the school’s principal; and Nicole, another teacher an Michel’s lover—who’s also been the victim of Michel’s abuse. You’d think that Christina and Nicole would be mortal enemies, but not so: Because of their shared trevails, they unite against Michel and decide—mainly at Nicole’s prompting—to murder the guy. What happens next will truly leave you at the edge of your couch.

The movie’s spiritual themes are more nuanced and, in some ways, ambiguous than we’ve seen so far. But they’re still there. *Diabolique’*s most sympathetic character, Christine, is a woman of deep faith who’s plagued by guilt for her role in the plot. Nicole is far less spiritual, far more pragmatic—and, in her own way, far more duplicitous. And Michel, in some readings, can be seen as an almost demonic figure, seeking near-worship from those involved with him and a first-class tormenter. Justice is finally meted out, though not before we see an act of painful confession—another nice echo of Christianity.

From The Carnival of Souls, screenshot courtesy the Janus Films trailer

Carnival of Souls (1962)

This may be one of the strangest inclusions on the list for a couple of reasons. First off, the quality of Carnival of Souls can be very much in the eye of the viewer. It was made for a scant $33,000 and stars a collection of nobodies, and its vibe was sufficiently lowbrow enough to earn a feature-length riff by RiffTrax (an offshoot of Mystery Science Theater 3000). And yet, it has also been praised for its lighting, sound and incredibly creepy atmosphere. It holds an 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And while I can definitely see aspects of the film that would make it a “so-bad-it’s-good” sorta flick, I lean on the “so-good-it’ll-surprise-you” side of the ledger.

The story begins with a car crash—one that killed two young women and should’ve claimed a third. But that survivor, Mary Henry, has no idea how she made it out alive. Shortly thereafter, she takes a job in Salt Lake City as a church organist. And while Mary’s quite the accomplished musician, her music can sometimes take on a much more eerie, even sinister tone—a tone that her boss describes as, quite literally, of the devil. And if Mary’s music is unsettling, Mary is unsettled as well. Sometimes she walks around and feels that she’s, quite literally, invisible. And she can’t account for the visions she has of someone the movie only knows as “The Man,” a man of ghostly complexion who may live (as much as he can) at a deserted carnival nearby.

Highlighted by this year’s film Backrooms, the concept of liminal spaces is having a moment. Such spaces are defined as places of transition—areas typically filled with people but curiously empty: Long hallways, deserted airport terminals, etc. But the concept is hardly new, and Carnival of Souls can feel very liminal—a place teetering on the edge of here and there, between life and death. And that place comes with a vague Christian tang. When the organist Mary starts playing a piece of her own design, the church’s reverend comes in and promptly fires her: To him, the organ music sounded truly diabolical.

Linda Blair in The Exorcist, screenshot courtesy Warner Bros. trailer

The Exorcist (1973, R)

The Exorcist is considered one of the scariest movies ever made. And given its premise (and extraordinarily difficult content), many Christians would find even watching the thing to be almost unthinkable. And yet, William Peter Blatty, author of the original novel The Exorcist, wrote it with Christian motives in mind. In fact, Blatty said he intended the book to be a sermon that no one could possibly sleep through.

The movie centers on a 12-year-old girl named Regan, who played with a Ouija board and welcomed the worst sort of guest into her life. Regan’s frantic mother at first believes that her little girl must be sick. But with science offering no help and with Regan growing increasingly terrifying, she turns to the Church.

The Exorcist is a deeply disturbing, truly horrifying watch. First time I saw it, I actually didn’t see much of it at all: I pretended to sleep through it during a sleepover. But it comes with a surprisingly redemptive message—reminding us that in the face of unimaginable evil, Christ, love and sacrifice can save the day.

Heather O’Rourke in The Exorcist, screenshot courtesy MGM/Warner Bros. trailer

Poltergeist (1982, PG)

I’m a sucker for haunted house stories, and this quasi-Steven Spielberg flick (actually directed by Tobe Hooper, as Spielberg was contractually obligated to spend his time helming E*.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial* at the time) offers a unique spin. This haunted house is a shiny new suburban tract home, and its spirits introduce themselves by way of the family T.V.

Again, the initial action centers on a little girl—this time 5-year-old Carol Anne. The spirits are allegedly attracted to her life force. And it’s not long before the house itself swallows her up.

The 1980s were not a time of deeply spiritual horror movies worth the watch. This one isn’t particularly Christian: Indeed, the family plagued by spirits bring in science-tinged ghost hunters and a Tangina—a spiritual medium of uncertain spiritual background (and one who manages an only partially successful cleansing). But it does come with a nod to one of Christianity’s most notable sins: greed. The neighborhood’s developers were supposed to move a cemetery, so that its inhabitants could rest in peace. But in a cynical profit-preserving measure, those developers just moved the gravestones—and the dead proved not to be very peaceful at all.

Gary Oldman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, screenshot courtesy Sony Pictures’ trailer

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992, R)

We’ll bookend this list with another adaptation of Stoker’s original book—one that has inspired countless movies, shows and Halloween costumes over the years. But curiously, even though this one is explicitly titled Bram Stoker’s Dracula, it departs significantly from the novel.

In this re-imagination, the 15th-century Vlad “the Impaler” Dracula becomes a vampire after learning of the suicide of his beloved wife, Elisabeta. He renounces God, defames his chapel and drinks blood, determined to avenge his wife with the powers of darkness. Fast-forward to the Victorian era, and Dracula discovers that his long-lost wife has been reincarnated—and is now living as the fiancée to his real estate agent, Jonathan Harker. The story follows Dracula’s usual beats, except that Mina truly falls in love with the Count and helps him escape to his home in Transylvania.

Spiritually, you can look at this movie in two different ways—and I’ve bought into both. And to say why, I’ll need to spoil the ending, when Dracula is penned in and dealt a near-mortal blow to the undead vampire. Dracula and Mina retreat to the same chapel where Dracula renounced God. There, the vampire begs Mina to give him rest as the chapel repairs itself and the candles mysteriously light around them. She acquiesces, and Mina lifts her eyes to see a fresco of Dracula and Elisabeta, ascending into heaven.

When I first saw this, I hated that finale. God, not the love of a reincarnated spouse, is the only possible conduit to Dracula’s salvation. And I still believe that. Then again, love itself is, as Paul says, the “greatest,” and the idea that Dracula sets aside his rage and hate may come with a tang of confession and salvation. And it certainly tells us that faith is predicated on a real, active God—even if that God may work in mysterious ways.

I could write about plenty of other 20th Century horror flicks that come with some spiritual pop, and I’m sure you could, too. In fact, why don’t you let me know what you would’ve included on this list? Let me know below.

General Christian

Previous Post

May 27, 2026

Finding Forgiveness in the Great Horror Film ‘Hokum’

I appeared to Paul on the Damascus road as a blinding light. I spoke to him and changed his life forever. Who am I?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Jesus An angel The Holy Spirit God the Father

Books by This Author Books by Paul Asay

See All Titles »