The best horror films often know the best ways to pull at your heartstrings. Intensifying the effect of horror often relies on invoking other negative feelings. Appealing to other senses and generally "bad" emotions – like disgust, depression, hopelessness, and loss – often make these films more realistic and hard-hitting. While some horror movies incorporate the element of sadness into the main plot, others string you along on an emotional roller coaster ride.

Horror is a multifaceted genre that expands far beyond simple, cheap jump scares. There are many ways to truly scare and shock audiences, and often, this involves appealing to their very human sense of pathos. This is especially true when viewers aren't expecting what's coming, leading them into a false sense of safety and the promise of a somewhat happy ending. Filmmakers can conjure up dread in a multitude of different ways, but including some sincere tear-jerker moments is often the best way to do so. Though there are some spoilers ahead, let's take a look at some of the most emotional scenes in horror movies, ranked.

Updated October 10, 2023: This list has been updated with even more emotion-filled scenes from horror movies.

12 The Prom Night - Carrie (1976)

Sissy Spacek from Carrie

United Artists

Kids can be mean, but teenagers can be outright terrible people when they want to. Sissy Spacek plays Carrie in the breakout hit that made Stephen King a superstar for horror fans. Directed by Brian De Palma, Carrie tells the story of an outcast forced to live with a fanatically religious and mentally unstable mother who sees sin in everything she does.

Carrie is driven to a false sense of security by the same people who bullied her for most of the film, with the most popular girl even letting her go to the prom with her boyfriend. The teens manipulate the voting to make her prom queen of the night, only to have a couple of jerks drop a bucket of pig blood on her and humiliate Carrie in front of everyone. It's a harsh moment, but the downfall of the would-be pranksters is brutal.

11 Ben is Killed - Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Duane Jones as Ben in Night Of The Living Dead
Continental Distributing 

Night of the Living Dead has been elevated into a cult classic for being a horror film that highlights the worst of humanity. While the zombies are horrifying, the lack of reason and compassion from humans makes for some of the most baffling moments in the film. Romero would indict most of his films with social commentary, but none is more horrifying than his first offering.

Ben is the voice of reason through most of the story. The only black man in the cast presents himself as level-headed and chooses to help the people hiding at the house survive, even if they disagree with him. After trying to assist Karen in making a run for medical supplies, Ben is left as the last man standing hiding in the cellar. When he finally hears people coming close to the house, he emerges only to be killed after being confused with a zombie.

10 Simon is Lost - The Orphanage (2007)

Óscar Casas in The Orphanage
Warner Bros. Pictures Spain

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona, this film is often credited to Guillermo Del Toro for its unique visual style, but the Mexican filmmaker was only involved as an executive producer. The Orphanage is a disturbing exploration of well-meaning intentions gone wrong. Laura grew up in an orphanage and led a happy life. Years later, she's married and has an adopted son, so she decides to pay back by opening an orphanage.

Things begin to go awry when her son is lost in a game of hide and seek. Months after the event and with Simon still missing, she begins to hear voices in her head, which she believes to be spirits trying to help her find her child. Laura is stricken with a harsh realization after learning Simon was dead in her own home, and she was partly to blame for his disappearance.

9 Liz is Killed - Wolf Creek (2005)

Wolf Creek Cassandra Magrath
Roadshow Entertainment 

Backpacking in the Australian wilderness has to be the worst idea ever when you remember you're doing tourism in a country whose fauna and climate are trying to kill you at every turn. Yet, the film Wolf Creek presents precisely that premise as a trio of tourists go to explore the Australian Outback when all their tech goes down. A man named Mick comes along to help, and things go downhill from that moment.

The trio find themselves gagged and trapped within Mick's property, who's been stashing victims for quite a while. As the trio do their best to escape, they are all taken out, along with the people trying to help them. During a critical moment, Liz, one of the travelers, seems like she will make it by using a car to make a run for it, only for Mick to appear suddenly and sever her spinal cord, leaving her paralyzed. Not cool at all.

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8 Gage's Death - Pet Sematary (1989)

Dale Midkiff and Miko Hughes in Pet Sematary.
Paramount Pictures

Every parent's worst nightmare is losing their child, and the original movie adaptation of Stephen King's Pet Sematary captures the feeling in a gut-wrenching way. Dr. Louis Creed (Dale Midkiff) moves his family to the town of Ludlow, Maine, a sleepy place with a dark secret – the local pet cemetery, known to raise things from the dead.

One afternoon, the Creeds and their neighbor Jud Crandall are enjoying a picnic together when a semi truck comes speeding up the road. Toddler Gage (Miko Hughes) chases a runaway kite, stumbling into the street, where he quickly gets hit. As the music swells, a bloody shoe flops into view. Gage's split-second death strikes a chord with anyone who's ever spent time taking care of children, especially since Louis only turned his back for a mere moment.

7 Dan Sacrifices Himself - Doctor Sleep (2019)

Ewan McGregor in Doctor Sleep.
Warner Bros. Pictures

Doctor Sleep incorporates themes of hope and recovery alongside typical true horror elements. The story follows the continued journey of Danny Torrance as an adult, picking up where The Shining left off. Wrestling with alcoholism and the trauma of his past, Dan (Ewan McGregor) struggles to find his purpose until he psychically connects with Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), a teenage girl with similar abilities.

The two team up against the True Knot, a band of energy vampires who "eat what shines." Dan returns to the Overlook Hotel with Abra, where its hungry ghosts quickly possess him. He breaks through the noise to tell Abra to run and then goes down to the boiler room to finish the job as flames consume the hotel. In Stephen King's original novel, Dan escaped with his life, but his unfortunate death in the film still draws this chapter to a powerful close.

6 Insect Politics - The Fly (1986)

Jeff Goldblum in The Fly.
20th Century Fox

David Cronenberg's version of The Fly is perhaps the most disgusting entry on this list. After a teleportation experiment goes awry, scientist Seth Brundle (Jeff Goldblum) finds himself slowly turning into a human-housefly hybrid as his girlfriend Veronica (Geena Davis) watches in horror. As his transformation intensifies, Seth asks Veronica, "Have you ever heard of insect politics? Neither have I."

Through labored breaths, his body puckered with growths; as his body continues to change, he talks about the brutality and lawlessness of the insect world. The audience literally watches his humanity fade, lost forever to his new nature. This scene solidifies that the person Veronica once knew is gone, replaced by a cruelly animalistic attitude. This deeply dark film has been called one of Cronenberg's best works; a true example of body horror on steroids.

5 A Father's Love - A Quiet Place (2018)

John Krasinski in A Quiet Place.
Paramount Pictures Studios

In a post-apocalyptic America, one family fights to survive in A Quiet Place. The impact of this film just goes to show that spoken dialogue isn't always needed to create an atmosphere of fear – quite the opposite, actually. At the mercy of terrifying alien creatures who hunt humans based on sound, the Abbott family has learned to live life in complete silence to ensure survival. Father Lee (John Krasinski) reunites with his children Marcus (Noah Jupe) and Regan (Millicent Simmonds), who is deaf, at the film's climax.

He motions for them to get into his truck, where they'll be safe. The creature attacks Lee, and Marcus yells for his dad, causing the creature to jump onto the truck with the kids inside. Lee understands what he has to do and signs to Regan in ASL, "Love you... I've always loved you", before choosing to scream louder, sacrificing himself in the process. This tragic scene exemplifies a father's love and devotion until the very end.

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4 Dani's Loss - Midsommar (2019)

Florence Pugh in Midsommar.
A24

The perfect conditions for joining a cult include a need for a stable community, emotional charisma, and utter loneliness. So, it's no wonder that Dani Ardor (Florence Pugh) in Midsommar falls victim to the promising sunny smiles of Hälsingland. Before the film's opening credits even start rolling, viewers catch a glimpse of the horrors to come. Dani's sister, Terri (Klauda Csanyi), hasn't answered her messages, worrying Dani sick, and we soon find out why.

Terri died by suicide in their home, causing the death of their parents as well, after the house was engulfed in toxins. The slow camera pan out covers the shocking aftermath, with wailing stringed instruments in the background. Dani's cries after she finds out the truth are truly haunting, setting up a sickeningly scary rest of the story. Midsommar has been called one of Florence Pugh's best performances.

3 The Ending - The Mist (2007)

Thomas Jane in The Mist.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, The Weinstein Company, & Dimension Films

The Mist has been regarded as one of the darkest Stephen King adaptations since its release in 2007. In the aftermath of a storm, a small Maine town is besieged by a mysterious fog that starts to leak gigantic, long-limbed creatures. David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his son Billy (Nathan Gamble) fight for survival alongside a group of others. They all travel together until they discover that David's wife, Stephanie, is dead and their home has been ransacked.

Seeing no way out, the survivors decide to end it when their car begins to run on empty. David takes it upon himself to shoot the others, including Billy. Screaming, he stumbles out of the van and watches an Army tank roll in through the mist. He slowly realizes that help was just a few moments away all along. This ending is absolutely bleak, as the film fades out and credits start rolling with a haunting choral backing track.

2 Seok-woo is Bitten - Train to Busan (2016)

Gong Yoo in Train to Busan.
Next Entertainment World

Bong Joon-ho is known as one of the greatest horror directors in recent history, and for good reason. Before Parasite, another South Korean director, Sang-ho Yeon, freaked out audiences across the globe as Train to Busan revolutionized the realm of zombie movies. The story follows father Seok-woo (Gong Yoo), and his daughter, Su-an (Kim Su-an), trapped on a South Korean locomotive during an uprising of the undead. Close to the film's ending, they run into zombified passenger Yon-suk on the outside of the speeding train.

Seok-woo fights him as Su-an shrieks, but he receives a bite in the process. He flings Yon-suk off the side of the train before whisking Su-an and Seong-kyeong into the engine room to show them the controls. Knowing his work here is done, he bids his Su-an goodbye as she screams and emotional piano music emanates. Seok-woo's life flashes before his eyes as his body starts to change, and he sacrifices himself by falling off the train.

1 Charlie's Death - Hereditary (2018)

Milly Shapiro in Hereditary.
A24

Hereditary is full of genuinely horrifying scenes, but the most jarring is the death of the Graham family's youngest child, Charlie (Milly Shapiro). In the wake of their grandmother's passing, the Grahams struggle to maintain a sense of normalcy, as strange happenings start to occur. One night, big brother Peter (Alex Wolff) is forced to take Charlie along with him to a high school party, where she eats cake containing nuts.

Severely allergic, Charlie begins to swell up, and Peter starts to drive her to the hospital. As her reaction worsens, they end up on a dirt road, and Charlie, struggling to breathe, rolls down the window. Peter swerves to avoid hitting a dead deer, and a telephone pole appears in the darkness. With a disgusting thud, Charlie is quickly decapitated. The sudden silence that follows this scene turns into Toni Collette's ragged sobs as she cries for her daughter. Paired with an image of Charlie's severed, ant-covered head, this scene will absolutely appear in your nightmares.