It's high time that someone rewrote Andy Williams' hit single "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" to be about Halloween instead of the godforsaken hellscape known as Christmas. With October officially in bloom and everyone currently scrambling to figure out what to wear this All Hallow's Eve, there's no better time to curl up with a good scary movie. Fortunately, every streaming service understands the value of a good horror movie in October, and the options for one good scare are limitless. Whether it's ghosts, aliens, slashers, psychological nightmares, or even animals run amok, there's absolutely something for everyone.

The classic holiday favorites like "Halloween," "Trick 'r Treat," "Psycho," "The Exorcist," and "The Shining" have all been recommended time and time again, but there's a rich throng of horror movies ready and waiting for your viewing pleasure. To make things even sweeter, 2022 has been a banger year for horror, with both studio and independent releases alike bringing the goods. There are countless fantastic films to choose from, but we've wrangled together a list of five titles that are an absolute must-watch this spooky season.

Happy haunting, and don't forget: "To avoid fainting, keep repeating, 'It's only a movie … Only a movie … Only a movie…'"

Lake Mungo (2008)

Originally released as part of After Dark Horrorfest's "8 Films to Die For" series, the Australian ghost movie "Lake Mungo" has become an independent horror cult classic, and every horror fan's secret weapon when providing horror movie recommendations each October.

Filmed to resemble a documentary by incorporating found footage and docufiction interviews, "Lake Mungo" chronicles the haunting aftermath of the death of Alice Palmer, a teenage girl who tragically drowned a few months before. Following Alice's burial services, the Palmer family begins to suspect that their daughter is still with them somehow, inspiring the family to set up home video cameras to potentially catch a glimpse of Alice on tape, and enlist the assistance of a medium named Ray Kemeny.

As the family comes to terms with their loss and the unexplainable supernatural events, their investigations also lead to uncovering disturbing secrets that Alice had been keeping while still alive.

"Lake Mungo" is a deliberately paced exploration of grief, but filled with some truly devastating imagery that will shake you to your core. There's a reason that horror fans can't stop talking about this film all these years later, and it's one of the most inventive uses of the found-footage subgenre. Without divulging any spoilers, be sure to stay once the credits begin. You won't regret it.

Give yourself nightmares by watching "Lake Mungo" on TubiTV.

Verónica (2017)

At the time "Verónica" was released on streaming, the Spanish possession film was overhyped with many claiming it to be "the scariest movie of all time," which is, of course, a subjective opinion. This may have motivated plenty to seek out the demonic scarefest, but it also put the film on an impossible pedestal that left some skeptical as to whether or not it was actually worth a watch.

Directed by Paco Plaza, the writer and director of the legendary found-footage series "[REC]," "Verónica" marked the director's first feature since helming the aforementioned franchise with Jaume Balagueró. Sandra Escacena stars in the titular role, a teen girl who performs a seance in an attempt to communicate with her deceased father. Unfortunately, Verónica makes a different sort of contact and soon finds herself at the center of terrifying and unexplainable phenomena.

Verónica seeks assistance from a blind nun who is nicknamed "Sister Death," and learns that her seance made her the target of a demon that has attached itself to her. Now, Verónica and everyone in her life that she loves are in grave danger. As if this tale of possession wasn't terrifying enough, "Verónica" is actually based on a true story, where a teen girl died under mysterious circumstances after playing with a Ouija board. Spooky.

Catch "Veronica" by streaming on Netflix, if you think you can handle it.

Sissy (2022)

Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes weren't messing around when they made "Sissy," which may be the first horror film to truly capture the horrors of the social media age and influencer culture.

Aisha Dee stars as Cecilia, more commonly known on Instagram as "@SincerelyCecilia." While Cecilia's public persona gives the impression that she's a confident, mentally stable, independent young woman, she'll always be the tepid "Sissy" in the eyes of her long-lost childhood best friend Emma (Hannah Barlow). The two women have an unlikely reunion in a drug store after a decade apart, with Emma taking the chance encounter as a sign to invite Sissy to her engagement party and bachelorette weekend at a vacation home. Sissy is reluctant to attend, but nothing could prepare her to come face to face with the owner of the vacation home, Sissy's former bully, Alex (Emily De Margheriti).

Sissy has spent the last decade of her life crafting the "@SincerelyCecilia" persona, but it's exactly that — a persona. The reality of who Sissy is on the inside is so different from her meticulously curated online character, that it has caused her to become obsessed with the validation she receives from strangers, allowing her to concoct her own version of reality. After years of lying to the public and herself, Sissy finally embraces who she really is, and who she's always been beneath the filters and staged photos … and the results are extremely violent.

"Sissy" is available to stream exclusively on Shudder.

Deadstream (2022)

The Halloween season is certainly the best time to be scared out of one's mind, but there's no shame in admitting if a horror film is too much to handle. Fortunately, the subgenre of "horror comedy" exists, and some of the best horror films ever made fall under this umbrella. If a film like "Shaun of the Dead" or "Happy Death Day" is more your speed, the upcoming release "Deadstream" is a perfect fit.

Joseph and Vanessa Winter's addition to the screenlife horror canon sees a disgraced internet personality named Shawn Ruddy (Joseph Winter) attempt to fix his scorned reputation and win back his followers by live-streaming his night in an abandoned haunted house. Ruddy is known for pulling stunts that require him to face his fears, but after one too many idiotic "pranks" that are just wildly disrespectful, he's got to go big or log off forever.

In an attempt to liven things up and make this stream more enjoyable for the viewers, he begins doing everything a horror movie has told him not to do, solely to spike his viewership numbers. Unfortunately for Ruddy, his hubris gets the better of him, and his publicity stunt turns into a legitimate fight for his life against the unknown. "Deadstream" is filled with plenty of solid scares, but includes a bevy of vlog-life nonsense that'll have you wanting to immediately like and subscribe.

"Deadstream" will be available on Shudder beginning October 6, 2022.

Hellraiser (2022)

Outside of "Halloween Ends," David Bruckner's revival of the "Hellraiser" series is one of the most anticipated horror releases of the year. With Jamie Clayton stepping into the role of Pinhead/The Hell Priest and Bruckner having established a great reputation with his films "The Ritual" and "The Night House," there's plenty to be excited about. The "Hellraiser" films have an unfortunate legacy, one that started truly iconic before spinning out into embarrassing direct-to-video sequels made by selfish production companies refusing to let go of the rights to the property. Fortunately, with the rights back in the rightful hands of franchise creator Clive Barker, "Hellraiser" is back to getting the care it deserves.

The film sees a young woman named Riley (Odessa A'zion) who is crashing with her brother and his boyfriend in an attempt to maintain her sobriety. Low on cash and needing to find a way to support herself, she joins her sort-of-boyfriend Trevor (Drew Starkey) on a mission to obtain an enigmatic puzzle box for a wealthy collector, which turns out to be the configuration that unleashes the sadistic, demonic Cenobites. Now Riley must do everything she can to keep her loved ones safe and make it out of the clutches of the Cenobites with all of her flesh still attached.

"Hellraiser" will show you such sights on Hulu starting October 6, 2022.

Read this next: The Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See In 2022

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