Top 10 most haunting endings in horror movie history

9. The Thing (1982)

This John Carpenter classic tells the story of a parasitic alien life form that infiltrates an Antarctic research base. One this “thing” assimilates its victims, it can then take their form and pretend to be them, thus keeping the creature’s identity a secret. As the researchers realize what is happening, nobody knows who to trust, as the Thing could be inside any one of them.

Ultimately, the research base winds up totally destroyed by the end of the movie. Only two survivors are left, but without shelter, they quickly realize they’re both going to freeze to death in a matter of minutes. Knowing there’s no reason to be paranoid about the Thing anymore, the two share a drink and await their impending death. Talk about depressing.

8. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

An oldie but a goodie, if there ever was one. This 1968 zombie film would spawn an entire sub-genre of horror. Without it, we would not only miss out on Romero’s stellar sequels, but perhaps every bit of zombie fiction as well. And, yes, that includes The Walking Dead, which is remains one of TV’s highest rated shows eight seasons in.

The story is simple in this flick; the dead rise from the grave to start feasting upon the living. A group of survivors hole up in a house to survive the night, but by morning, only a man named Ben is still alive. Outside, the locals have been killing the ghouls with firepower, which draws Ben to the window to investigate what’s happening. Mistaking him for a zombie, one of the men shoots Ben through the head, killing him. His body is added to a pile of burning zombie corpses, haunting anyone watching that had been hoping for a happy ending.