For filmmakers, the bedroom takes on a very different form. It’s transformed into a place where we are caught off guard by some unseen thing. Sometimes there are things under it, like the grasping hands that grab from under the bed in the 1987 film The Gate. Sometimes there are things outside the window looking in, such as the tree from Poltergeist of the ghost man in Insidious. Often, the bedroom is the setting for a horrible event, such as the terrible demonic rape of Rosemary’s Baby or Lucy’s death at the hands of Bram Stokers Dracula. These are events are all shocking, terrifying and disturbing, but made worse because of its location.

You can hide under the sheets, you can close your eyes, but it seems that horror will strike even in the safety of your bedroom. So, get yourself comfy, turn down the lights, as we look at 11 Scariest Bedroom Scenes in Horror Movie History.

Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – Glen’s on Liquids

Wes Craven not only gave us one of the most terrifying film villains of all time, but also the bloodiest bedroom scene, as Freddy Kruger turns one of his sleepy victims into a human smoothie in the original Nightmare on elm Street.

When Glen Lantz (Johnny Depp) fails to heed the warnings about falling asleep, he misses out on watching Miss Nude America. Oh, and he’s also brutally murder by Kruger, who pulls Glen down into his bed and his bloody remains are sprayed out all over the celling, floor, wardrobe and just about anything else within 5 feet of the bed. It’s one of the most bloody Kruger kills in the entire film franchise and we only got to see the aftermath of it! One thing is for sure, it’s going to take some really hardcore cleaning to get Glen out of the carpet.

Halloween (1978) – Hitting the Right Cords

The original Halloween gave us one of the most iconic bedroom kills, as Michael Myers phones in his next victim with some hilarious side-effects.

Disguising his true nature, shy Michael embraces the Halloween celebrations by donning a sheet with eye holes cut out. Yes, Michael stopped his rampage for a short time to make eye holes in some sheets. Lynda Van Der Klok (P.J. Soles), sitting in the bed with the sheets covering her modesty (for the most part) mistakes the approaching “ghost” for her boyfriend Bob. Annoyed at Bobs silence, she calls up her friend Laurie.  Michael pounces upon the young teen, strangles her with the telephone cord just as Laurie picks up, who assume the noises coming down the line are sexual of nature. Kinky!

Friday the 13th (1980) – Smoked Bacon

Before Kevin Bacon became centre of the universe, he was a young actor happy to take on any role offered to him. And whilst he went on to do bigger and better things, it was a low budget horror film that teased him in during the late 70s.

Bacon appeared in the very first Friday the 13th flick as camp counsellor Jack Burrell, whose sexual encounter with fellow counsellor Marcie, leads to a grim fate. After the two lovers rough and tumble in one of the cabin’s bunk beds, Marcie heads for a classic post coital shower, leaving Jack to his thoughts. Jack is sadly unaware that there’s a killer under the bed, as he takes an arrow to his throat. Marcie follows a short while after, as the killer slams an axe into her pretty little face.

Deadly Blessing (1981) – Sharon Stone Eats a Spider

Deadly Blessings is a lesser known Wes Craven film that revolved around a woman being terrorised by a bunch of neo-Hittites. Lacking all the flair and tension that most Craven films are renowned for, this slow-ass film has only one redeeming moment, a nightmare sequence that’s right out of a 1970s Giallo flick.

Lana Marcus (Sharon Stone) has a terrible nightmare where a pair of hands slither out from behind her bed and garb hold of her head. As Lana screams, her eyes bulging, a large spider drops down from it’s web and falls into her open mouth.  It’s an incredibly striking scene, and it’s the one that appears on the poster and box art.

Dawn of the Dead (2004) – Morning Wake Up

There have been many films that tried to capture the magic that George A. Romero weaved in his amazing series of ‘Dead’ films, but none have come closer than the Zack Snyder’s 2004 remake of Dawn of the Dead. And the film kicks off in a blood-soaked bedroom.  

The film opens with nurse Ana (Sarah Polley) finishing a long shift and returning to her suburban neighbourhood and her husband Louis (Louis Ferreira). As dawn breaks, a young girl from the neighbourhood enters the bedroom and attacks the couple, Killing Louis with a vicious bite to the neck. Not one to lie down on a job, Louis reanimates into a furious, blood drenched, zombie and attacks Ana, forcing her to flee through the bathroom windows. Outside she finds chaos as the world falls to the zombie apocalypse. It’s a startling pre-title sequence which really ramps up the terror and gore and heralds in the start of the end.

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Se7en (1995) – Sloth

As crime thrillers go, none are as dark and bleak as David Fincher’s Seven. Brad Pitt stars as Detective David Mills, who has moved to a gritty rain soak city, along with his wife. His very first case leads on him down a rabbit hole of horror, as a serial killers master plan begins to unravel.

Having already discovered two bodies representing gluttony and greed, a third victim is found strapped to a bed. Evidence strewn across the bedroom reveals that man was a drug dealer and child molester and he had been strapped to bed for over a year. This emaciated figure represent sloth, as he was unable to move for the entire time he was strapped down. Worse still, the rotting figure is still alive, clinging to life, having suffered just about as much as anyone could.

Misery (1990) – Hobble on Over

Misery loves company, and for a writer who is recused by an overly exited fan, I think he can see the irony in that age old saying. Misery, based on a novel by Stephen King, is a psychological horror film that stars James Caan as an author of a successful series of Victorian romance novels featuring a character named Misery Chastain. But a car accident puts him in the hands of mega fan Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who’s pretty pissed about his latest book.

Bed ridden with broken legs and a dislocated shoulder, Paul Sheldon (Caan) faces the wrath of angry Annie, as she finds out that he plans to kill off Misery. Annie forces Sheldon to re-write the entire novel, but to keep him in check, and to stop him from escaping, she hobbles the writer with a sledgehammer, breaking both his ankles. Now that’s one way to keep a writer motivated!

Poltergeist (1982) – Clowning around

Something funny is going on in the Freeling family home. Furniture is moving around by itself and a wardrobe just swallowed up their youngest member. In Tobe Hooper and Steven Spielberg’s collaborative horror Poltergeist, a spooky presence has taken hold and it knows what scares you.

There are several terrifying bedroom scenes in the film and any of them could have sat on this list proudly. There’s a tree that tries to swallow up one of the Freeling children, a poltergeist attack that has Diane Freeling (JoBeth Williams) literally climbing the walls and a giant tentacle mouth thing that grows out of the kids bedroom wardrobe. However, for our pick of the most scariest bedroom scene, we had to pick the clown attack, that sees a creepy clown doll that drags poor Robbie (Oliver Robins) under the bed. If nightmares had faces, it would look like this damn bedroom clown.

Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988) – Julia’s Resurrection

There Hellraiser franchise has lost its ways in recent years, but the first three films are still sensational shockers that are everything horror fans need. Hell bound continued the story of Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) , as she discovers that the box has fallen into the hands of a crazed doctor. Worst still, he’s just resurrected Kirsty stepmother, Julia (Clare Higgins), and she’s got a real hunger for flesh.

Continuing from the first film, we last saw Julia’s bloody corpse cradling the Lament Configuration lying across a bed. Hellbound brings her back when evil Dr. Channard (Kenneth Cranham), who is secretly obsessed with the Lament Configuration, convinces a mentally ill patient to cut himself with a straight razor, whilst lying on the same mattress Julia died on. The resulting bloody mess frees Julia from the Cenobites hell and her skinless naked corpse emerges from the mattress and devours the bleeding patient.

The Hellraiser films do many things so very well, but one of its greatest achievements is its gritty portrayal of resurrection. It looks painful, stressful and extremely messy. You’d certainly want a mop and bucket on standby.

Trainspotting (1996) – Baby comes back!  

Most of the films on this list are horror and whilst I’d happily populate this entire page with our favourite genre, there is one single drama film that deserves a spot here on this list. Trainspotting is a brutal, often times funny, other times terrifying portrayal of drug addiction. And one of its most powerful moments comes when the films anti-hero, Mark “Rent Boy” Renton, wakes from a heroin hit to find his friends baby daughter has died of neglect. It’s a shocking moment that shows just how gripped by addiction the characters are. It also leads to one of the most disturbing scenes in the film.

Renton’s parents lock him in his childhood bedroom and force him to go cold turkey. Whilst stuck in the grips of withdrawal, Renton experiences distributing hallucinations, including one that see the dead baby crawling across the ceiling towards him. Renton blames himself for the baby’s death, and it’s here that his inner turmoil manifests itself as a creepy baby with an Exorcist complex. It’s nasty stuff but a testament to Ewan McGregor’s acting skills, who sells the entire scene.

Exorcist (1973) – The Power of Christ

The majority of William Friedkin’s Academy Award winning adaption of The Exorcist takes place inside of Regan MacNeil bedroom. As the film is still classed as one of the scariest films ever made, you could say that entire film is one big terrifying bedroom scene. Picking one moment above the rest is hard. But for this list, it’s a classic scene that has cemented itself into public consciousness, as it’s discussed, critiqued and parodied, even in today’s film and TV.

Strapped to the bed, Regan (Linda Blair) screams and twist as Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) and Father Merrin (Max von Sydow) begin to exorcise the demon. They spray holy water on the young girl and read passages from the bible. The two priests are knocked off their feet as the entire room shakes and Merrin briefly sees an image of a statue depicting Pazuzu, a demon of ancient origins. The entire sequence is extremely powerful and has to be one of the greatest moments in horror history.

“Zzzzz…..(Bonk)  Wow..what the hell! You just caught me having forty winks when this article just slapped me upside my head! Nothing beats a good snooze in bed but when some angry zombie clown is trying to drag you under it, it’s time to start sleeping in the car! What do you think Horror Fans? Sound up and let us know what’s your favorite bedroom related scene in film. 

Keep Rotten”

“Morti” The Mortician