With summer turning to fall, the idea of staying inside all day and watching movies becomes increasingly enticing. Halloween and horror movies start creeping into theaters around this time of the year. Ranging from kid-friendly to intense and gory, they are almost always fun to watch.

The latest scary movie I encountered was “Hereditary,” which was released in June 2018. The suspense paired with the twists and turns of that movie made for a truly scary climax. I rarely lose sleep over a movie, but I am not embarrassed to admit that movie had me spooked for a few nights after my viewing.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas” is a cult-classic Halloween movie that often comes up when discussing memorable Halloween movies. Fun characters and the uniquely creepy art style makes the movie entertaining to watch every time.

“I really like ‘Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed’ and ‘The Haunted Mansion,’” junior architectural studies major Sara Wang said. “I don’t really [like scary movies]. I used to think it was because they’re scary, but honestly they’re just boring.”

Horror movies are not for everybody, whether it is because they are too scary or just not interesting. Halloween is a great inspiration for movies because there is so much room for interpretation.

The movie “Halloween” is a much more anxiety-filled horror movie about a serial killer who goes on a killing spree on Halloween night.

On the other end of the spectrum are movies like “Hocus Pocus” and “Monster House,” both of which have spooky moments but are family-friendly and have happier endings than “Halloween” and “Hereditary.” The variety of Halloween and horror movies is awesome because they can be watched by all age groups, and can still be fun for young children.

The “Alien” movie franchise has been of particular interest to me recently. Combining nail-biting chase scenes and some gripping action sequences, they are fun movies to watch. The best movie in the franchise is the first one, the self-titled “Alien,” which came out in 1979 and is one of the most influential science fiction movies of all time. While the movie might not hold up to today’s “scary” standards, it remains very tense and creates an atmosphere of unease.

“I love [scary movies.] … I really like the actual ‘Halloween’ movie from the ‘70s,” said Lindsay Chandler, junior human development major. “It focuses on Halloween, and it’s a scenario you wouldn’t want to happen to you.”

Chandler recounted a story of a neighbor wearing a Michael Myers costume following her and her friends around one Halloween night.

Halloween and horror movies bring a fun sense of danger and excitement that we do not experience in our everyday lives. Stepping out of our own shoes for a few hours and getting into a movie is a fun way to bring some thrills into our lives.

From “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” to “The Conjuring,” scary movies are a great way to usher in the fall and Halloween season.