Movies have the ability to provoke the senses.  They can make you cry.  They can make you laugh.  And some movies can provide such a scare that you actually scream out loud and try to hide in you seat.  And there are those scenes in some scary movies that are so memorable that they cause nightmares for weeks after seeing them.  The following is a short list of memorable scary movie moments.

Poltergeist was released in 1982 and was produced and co-written by Steven Spielberg.  The movie tells the story of a ordinary American family who moves into a suburban family home that turns out to be haunted.  The Poltergeist movie and its progeny is said to be itself cursed because of the unusual deaths of several people associated with the movies. 

Poltergeist was ranked 80th on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments.  The memorable scary movie moment oddly involves a clown.  Enjoy. 

Psycho was released in 1960 and was directed by the legend Alfred Hitchcock.  Psycho tells the story of a corporate secretary who runs from her employer after stealing money and ends up at the Bates Hotel.  The hotel is run by Norman Bates who is an obviously lonely man who lives with his mother, so the audience is led to believe. 

Psycho was scary in its time with its combination of music and photography and fifty years since its release it holds up well.  The memorable scary movie moment is of course the Shower Scene.

Carrie was released in 1976.  Directed by Brian De Palma and starring Sissy Spacek, Carrie tells the story of a social outcast who discovers that she has telekinetic powers.  After being endlessly harassed by her classmates, Carrie then uses her new found powers to get even.

Sissy Spacek is very eerie in this movie and plays the part really well.  The scary movie moment comes at the end when Carrie has finally had enough of her classmates abuse.

The Shining was released in 1980 and was directed Stanley Kubrick.  Starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, The Shining tells the story of a struggling writer who accepts a job as a winter caretaker of a hotel that gets snowed in during the winter.  The writer moves his wife and son to the hotel and then slowly starts to lose his mind.  The hotel, of course, is also haunted.

The Shining is one horror movie that lives today in public lore.  The memorable scary movie moment is the scene known as Here's Johnny.