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Sure, as a parent, I have watched my share of It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie and other various family friendly “scary” movies. Several times.

But, really, there’s nothing like putting the candy-filled children to bed after a long day of costuming and trick-or-treating, crawling under some blankets and watching a scary movie while I may or may not be digging into my children’s candy stash. After trying out some less-than-scary movies recently, I wanted to share my top-five scariest movies with you.

1. The Ring. Oh, this one still gives me nightmares. If there’s one thing that scares me, it’s creepy children. And luckily for us The Ring has two of them. One who comes out of televisions seven days after you’ve watched the creepiest video ever, and one who draws disturbing pictures and calls his mother by her first name. Warning: I take no responsibility if you are forever frightened by static on your television set after watching this flick.

2. The Shining. Creepy, creepy twins. Need I say more? Okay, fine. They are creepy twins who say things like, “Come play with us. Forever. And Ever. And Ever.” And there is really not much that is scarier than watching Jack Nicholson tailspin into complete lunacy. Warning: I take no responsibility if you are forever frightened of room 237 in hotels.

3. The Others. I was not expecting to be as freaked out by this one as I was. It’s similar to The Sixth Sense in that there are twists and turns that you definitely do not expect. Warning: I take no responsibility if you are forever frightened of locked doors and closed blinds.

4. Paranormal Activity. The real creepiness of this movie is that things are taking place at night, while the sleeping family members are blissfully unaware. Unaware, of course, until they watch the tapes back and realize there’s demonic activity in their suburban home. Warning: I take no responsibility if you are forever frightened of going to sleep at night.

5. Pet Sematary. Sometimes dead is better. Yes, really. Also, things just should not get buried up at the Micmac Burial Ground. Warning: I take no responsibility if you forever feel the need to look under the bed before going to sleep.

What are the scariest movies you have ever seen?

—Ali, senior associate editor of CF.ca