Most horror films pride themselves on gore and violence, but some PG-rated entries in the genre prove that even family-friendly scary movies can pack a serious punch. By definition, horror movies are designed to scare audiences, and since many viewers find gore to be one of the most disturbing sights imaginable, the genre has garnered a reputation for featuring violent, upsetting imagery. That sort of content usually makes such movies suited for more mature audiences, garnering them PG-13 or even R ratings.
However, there are also a lot of horror movies that use supernatural threats to disturb viewers instead of bloody killings. While slashers and body horror movies typically feature more gore, supernatural horror movies, including haunted house films, often steer clear of visceral content. Many seriously scary horror movies are even rated PG, despite what viewers might expect with this family-friendly rating. Most of these PG-rated horror movies were released before the introduction of the PG-13 rating, of course, and some still feature their share of gore and violence.
10 Tales From The Crypt (1972)
For many horror aficionados, the title Tales from the Crypt will conjure up images of a very un-PG horror anthology series that aired on HBO in the ‘90s. However, before that campy show became a hit, Tales from the Crypt began life as a horror comic book in the ’50s and was first adapted into this anthology movie. Split into five segments, the 1972 feature follows a quintet of strangers who meet with the creepy crypt keeper in an abandoned catacomb and learn about the circumstances of their eventual deaths. While admittedly not the goriest of the Tales from the Crypt movies, this ‘70s chiller is still genuinely unsettling.
9 Patrick (1978)
Patrick is an Australian horror movie about a coma patient who displays some creepy telekinetic powers. A slow-burn psychological horror, Patrick sadly never reaches the campy heights of the comparable Stephen King adaptation Carrie. However, this PG-rated horror movie remains a scary watch thanks to a few effective set pieces and some tense scenes, and its trippy melding of reality, dream, and fantasy makes it all the more unsettling for younger audiences.
8 The Baby (1973)
The Baby is one of those uniquely creepy horror movies from the ‘70s that somehow earned a PG rating solely because none of its content quite qualified the movie for an R. Rest assured, The Baby certainly has enough creepiness to keep the movie far from young viewers. The Baby tells the tale of an unhinged family who keep a 21-year-old man trapped in their home, treating him like an infant and referring to him as their “baby.” As if that weren’t enough, this bizarre story eventually leads to a downbeat ending that viewers will struggle to recover from.
7 Kingdom Of The Spiders (1977)
Kingdom of the Spiders is a nightmare for any arachnophobes and not an easy watch for anyone else either. A traditional monster movie, Kingdom of the Spiders follows the citizens of an unfortunate small town as they are overrun by killer spiders. While William Shatner’s typically stoic performance offers some unintentional comic relief, Kingdom of the Spiders plays as a lot more serious than later, more playful efforts like Arachnophobia and Eight-Legged Freaks. As a result, it is a surprisingly scary PG-rated creature feature.
6 The Legend Of Hell House (1973)
The Legend of Hell House is a supernatural horror movie based on Richard Matheson’s novel Hell House. The adaptation is a rather straightforward chiller. A monstrous sadist used to own the creepy house that a group of paranormal investigators foolishly attempt to explore and, while the plot is predictable, the shocks are plentiful. The story also takes some surprisingly nasty turns that push the boundaries of the PG rating to its limit.
5 The Haunting (1963)
Based on the same material as the 1999 movie The Haunting and Mike Flanagan’s more successful The Haunting of Hill House miniseries, this PG-rated 1963 feature was the first screen adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s seminal horror novel. The Haunting remains a terrifying piece of psychological horror. Director Robert Wise’s masterful technique forces viewers into the perspective of the story’s troubled heroine Nell, and a total lack of gore does not stop The Haunting from getting under the skin of audiences.
4 Poltergeist (1982)
Poltergeist saw The Texas Chain Saw Massacre director Tobe Hooper link up with Steven Spielberg for a haunted house horror movie that veers wildly between family-friendly fun and something nastier, darker, and gorier. One minute a spectral hand appears from a TV set, and then just a few scenes later, a paranormal investigator is tearing their face off their skull. While Poltergeist’s jarring tonal shifts sometimes make the movie feel uneven, they also guarantee that it is one of the scariest PG-rated movies of all time.
3 It’s Alive (1974)
B-movie legend Larry Cohen’s career is filled with darkly comedic satirical horror stories, from 1985’s The Stuff to 1982’s Q: The Winged Serpent. However, it is the director’s wild spin on the earlier horror hit Rosemary’s Baby that became one of the most shocking PG horror movies ever. Where the ending of Rosemary’s Baby sees the birth of its cursed child, It’s Alive begins with the arrival of a ravenous mutant baby. The killer baby tears its way through the cast in a gruesome, blackly comedic horror story that somehow managed to slip by censors despite its wild premise.
2 The Innocents (1961)
Much like The Haunting, 1961’s The Innocents is another literary horror adaptation that relies on subtle insinuation and implication to sell its spooky story. Like The Haunting, this PG-rated take on The Turn of the Screw is somehow utterly terrifying despite its lack of violence. The Innocents follows the story of a nanny who becomes convinced that her young charge is possessed by the spirit of a late criminal, but the adaptation leaves the truth of the story ambiguous. The chilling result is an unforgettable experience.
1 Jaws (1975)
Director Steven Spielberg’s monster movie Jaws toned down the sex, swearing, and violence from author Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name to secure a PG rating. This risky gamble paid off as Jaws became a monster-sized hit and helped spawn the modern blockbuster in the process. While many of the most famous shocks in Jaws have been parodied and copied more times than a movie fan could count, the sudden appearance of Ben Gardener’s severed head is still a shock that can leave viewers shaking decades later. As a result, Spielberg’s summer hit is undoubtedly one of the scariest PG-rated horror movies ever.
