Scary movies have always been a staple of the Halloween season. From “The Ring,” to“Paranormal Activity,” movie goers continuously bring in huge amounts of money to view horror movies.

“I think that the appeal of scary movies is the idea of getting scared,” senior Abby Denshaw said. “You’re willing to watch the movie even though you know the outcome will most likely make you unhappy.”

The highest­grossing movie of all time is “The Sixth Sense,” which made $293.5 million. The movie was nominated for six Oscars including best director and best actor. “The Sixth Sense,” is followed by “Jaws,” and then “The Exorcist” (1973), “What Lies Beneath,” and the “Blair Witch Project.”

“’The Grudge,’ is the scariest movie I have seen because of the jump-out-at-you scariness,” senior, Monet Kunde, said. “‘Would You Rather,’ is also another one, rather because it’s psychological scary, and it doesn’t end with a happy ending like most scary movies.”

Four more movies are being released this year, including “Crimson Peak” released on Oct. 16, “Goosebumps,” released on Oct. 16, “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension,” on Oct. 23 and “Victor Frankenstein” on Nov. 25.

“‘As Above So Below,’ is my favorite because that movie has probably been the most terrifying I’ve seen in awhile,” senior Grace Colaw said. “It really made me scream.”

The reason that some people like scary movies so much is psychological. When people watch scary movies their blood pressure, respiration and heart rate increase. This effect can last even after the movie is over. It also makes other experiences heightened, so if you have a positive emotion soon after you will connect it to the movie, whereas if you have a bad experience after then you might sway away from scary movies from then on.