“Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here!”

Horror films have been set in a wide variety of locations, but certain settings continue to get used again and again. Of course, some places are inherently spooky. It’s easy to see why cemeteries are a popular horror location, for example. But some of the settings below may surprise you. Many horror films take place in locales that seem superficially harmless, but are hiding sinister secrets. Like the quote from Dante’s Inferno above, most horror characters abandon all hope of survival when they enter these places. Here are the ten most terrifying horror movie settings.

Carnivals

Carnivals are supposed to be family-friendly places filled with harmless fun, but there’s something sinister lurking beneath the loud music and colorful lights. We’re fascinated by things that seem innocent but are hiding a sleazy underbelly.

Carnivals have creepy reputations because of their transient nature and the stereotype that carnival workers are seedy drifters. Clowns are a huge part of carnivals, of course, and many people are terrified of them as well.

With so much to be scared of, it’s no surprise that carnivals are often used as horror movie settings. Carnival horror dates back to the controversial vintage horror movie Freaks (1932). Another relatively early entry is Carnival of Souls (1962).

The Funhouse (1981) is an early slasher movie with a carnival setting. More recently, the climax of Terrifier 2 (2022) takes place in an abandoned carnival.

Cabins in the Woods

Virtually nothing on Earth is more isolated than a cabin in the middle of a vast forest, especially if there’s no internet or mobile phone service.  All manner of terror and mayhem can happen there, and good luck finding anyone who can help you.

Cars have a peculiar habit of breaking down when located near these cabins. You could try hiking out, but you’ll probably end up getting dismembered by a possessed tree or hacked to pieces by a crazy mountain man.

Maybe you and your friends should split up to cover more ground! If you somehow make it out of the forest alive, don’t bother stopping by the nearest gas station to ask for directions. The employees will be cranky, unhelpful, and possibly dangerous.

We’ve seen all the cabin horror clichés a million times, but there’s a reason why they became clichés in the first place. Cabins are awesome horror movie settings!

Starting with Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead (1981), cabins have become ubiquitous in horror. Along with the first, second, and fourth Evil Dead movies, other notable examples are Wrong Turn (2003), Cabin Fever (2002), Cabin in the Woods (2011), and The Ritual (2017).

Graveyards and Cemeteries

Graveyards are great horror movie settings for obvious reasons. They’re most effective if located in a remote spot, perhaps a rural area or a small town. Extra points if the cemetery is old and abandoned, with long grass and faded writing etched into the gravestones.

Graveyards and cemeteries symbolize the omnipresent threat of death and decay. Not surprisingly, they are often featured in zombie movies. After all, zombie apocalypses start with the reanimated undead rising from their graves.

Of course, graveyards are also a common haunt for ghosts, witches, and even undertakers from a parallel dimension like The Tall Man from Phantasm (1979).

Other notable horror movies set in graveyards include Night of the Living Dead (1968), Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1972), House by the Cemetery (1981), Return of the Living Dead (1985), and Pet Sematary (1989).

Haunted Buildings

You’ve arrived home safely and you’re exhausted. You plop down in bed and fall asleep. Hours later, you are jolted awake in the middle of the night. What was that strange noise? You search the house. No sign of an intruder. Could your home be haunted?

Haunted houses are one of horror’s oldest tropes. They’ve been showcased in horror movies since virtually the beginning of the genre. Many of the most chilling horror films depict people being terrorized in their homes by ghosts or demons.

Of course, the terror isn’t limited to family residences. Abandoned buildings, especially hospitals and asylums, are also common haunts. Whether they’re built over ancient burial grounds, possessed by demons, or inhabited by vengeful spirits, haunted buildings are among the most effective horror movie settings.

Since the release of Paranormal Activity (2007), haunted buildings have become a common location for found footage movies like Grave Encounters and Hellhouse LLC. The characters in these movies are absurdly obsessed with filming paranormal phenomena, even when any sane person would be dropping their camera/phone and getting the hell out of there.

One of the first haunted house movies was The Cat and the Canary (1927). Other notable non-found footage haunted house movies include The Haunting (1963), The Amityville Horror (1979), Poltergeist (1982), Night of the Demons (1988),The Grudge (2004), and Insidious (2010).

Hotels and Motels

Hotels and motels are among the most common settings for horror films. What is it about motels that make them inherently creepy? After all, these places are designed, at least in theory, to make guests feel comfortable. Maybe it’s because of the natural disorientation that we feel when we’re staying overnight away from home.

Deprived of familiar comforts, we experience a motel room as an alien world, complete with furnishings that we didn’t choose and a bed where countless strangers have slept. Who knows what dangers could be lurking inside?

If you have trouble getting a good night’s rest in these locations, you’re not alone. Sleep researchers have studied a common phenomenon called “first night effect“ that often troubles travelers in motels and hotels.

As I mentioned in my review of Night Shift, there are two main types of antagonists in these movies. Some feature spirits, like The Shining (1980), 1408 (2007), and The Innkeepers (2011). Others depict stalkers, such as Psycho (1960), Motel Hell (1980), and Vacancy (2007). 

Whether the villains are human or supernatural, motels and hotels have a long history of scaring the daylights out of any horror movie characters unfortunate enough to visit them.

Outer Space

The vast universe beyond our planet is filled with unimaginable mysteries. Humans have scarcely begun to explore the colossal worlds beyond our own. If human space travel eventually ramps up, what kind of wonders, and terrors, will we discover among the stars?

Out of all the most popular horror movie settings, none is more isolated than outer space. Most of these movies involve a group of astronauts who are on a dangerous mission and/or are forced to confront an unexpected adversary. Alien (1979) is an iconic example of this.

There was a brief surge around the turn of the century of horror sequels being set in space: Hellraiser: Bloodlines (1996), Leprechaun 4 (1997), Jason X (2001), and Dracula 3000 (2004) all took their villains beyond Earth for forgettable adventures. The low commercial and critical performances of these movies mercifully ended this trend.

Along with the Alien franchise, other notable outer space horror movies are Event Horizon (1997), Pitch Black (2000), and Sunshine (2007). And, if you’re really desperate, there’s always Critters 4 (1992)!

Ships and Boats

Ships are yet another example of an isolated setting that is a popular horror movie trope. There are many horror movies about ships stranded in the middle of a vast sea. Of course, terror can also strikes boats when they’re closer to shore, like in Jaws.

Related: Five Unforgettable Post-Jaws Aquatic Horror Movies

Sharks are by far the most common antagonists in these movies (Deep Blue Sea (1999), The Meg (2018), etc.). There are numerous creepy creatures hiding in the bowels or within the water below. Ships are menaced by vampires (The Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023), ghosts (Ghost Ship (2002), and Lovecraftian monsters (Underwater (2020)).

Shopping Malls

Sprawling American shopping malls bustled with activity for decades, in an era before easy internet shopping and modern big box supercenters. We (or our parents) thronged to them, eager to buy the latest fashions and accessories. Malls are fun, but also frightening. The chances of being attacked, robbed, or abducted were, and are, plausible outcomes at many malls.

Dead malls have become increasingly common in the United States, and creative works are beginning to reflect this. For example, the episode “Left Behind” of HBO’s post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us is set primarily in an abandoned mall. Surprisingly, however, malls were already common horror movie settings before their decline.

But why? Until recently, malls weren’t associated with the isolation that characterizes most horror movie settings. Similar to carnivals, malls have a sinister façade hiding behind their happy veneer. They are often associated with artificiality and rampant consumerism.

The quintessential example of mall horror is Dawn of the Dead (1978, remade 2004), a gory satire of consumerism that is set in a literally dead mall filled with zombies. In the ’80s, fun cheesy mall horror movies like Night of the Comet (1984), Chopping Mall (1986), and The Initiation (1984) were released. More recently, Slaxx (2020) and Fear Street 1994 (2021) have used mall settings.

Summer Camps

In horror movies, summer camps are always located near lakes situated deep inside dense forests. Crickets chirp, late-night ghost tales are told around a blazing campfire, and unknown creatures lurk beneath the surface of the dark, murky water.

Summer camps are places designed for innocent (and not so innocent) fun far from the reaches of modern civilization. Summer camps are inevitably difficult to escape from. The nearby forests provide plenty of cover for a killer to hide.

The camp counselors are often teenagers operating without adult supervision. Younger children are often involved as well, heightening the sense of danger.

Related: The Best Summer Camp Slasher Movies (Besides Friday the 13th)

Summer camps were rarely associated with horror before the original Friday the 13th (1980). After that film’s success, these movies quickly proliferated. Within just a few years, The Burning (1981), Madman (1982), Sleepaway Camp (1983), and countless other summer camp slashers appeared.

Like cabins, summer camps are now a horror movie cliché. This setting has been spoofed by The Final Girls (2015) and in a season of American Horror Story. Summer camps have continued to be used in recent horror movies like Fear Street 1978 (2021).

Wax Museums

This is the creepiest of all the horror movie settings! Anyone who has spent time in wax museums knows that they’re eerie as hell. Why does it always seem like the wax figures are watching us? Are they waiting patiently for the right moment to snatch us and carry us away to parts unknown?

There’s something inherently spooky about objects that look human. That’s why wax figures, dolls, and ventriloquist dummies are often the subjects of horror movies.

Filmmakers figured out early on that wax museums are great horror movie settings. Wax horror movies date back to Mystery of the Wax Museum (1933).  Other significant entries are Tourist Trap (1979), House of Wax (1953, remade 2005), and Waxwork (1988).

There’s a surprising level of variety and creativity in these movies.  For example, Tourist Trap has wax figures that are manipulated by a serial killer with telekinetic powers, and Waxwork has its protagonists transported to various wax worlds – places where the wax figures are real people.

What about other great horror movie settings?

The locations above have been used repeatedly, and deservedly so, but there are plenty of other locations that have potential as well. Here are a few that I think could reach greatness.

Jungles: There have been a decent number of horror movies set in jungles, but this setting still feels underused. Swamps, brutal weather conditions, and fearsome beasts make jungles perfect places to set scary movies.

Rest Stops: This setting seems so obvious and yet, surprisingly, few horror movies have used it. Hopefully someday we’ll get a great rest stop horror movie.

Airports: Airports are often crowded and tend to have high security, making them a difficult place for a slasher villain to hide. Still, airports would be great for an apocalyptic horror movie, with people taking shelter from a plague or zombie outbreak.