To the modern eye, this short film about a train arriving at a station seems hardly the stuff of ghastly nightmares. Yet this pioneer work created by Lumiere Brothers was so terrifying to early audiences that it sent the panic-stricken lot running for cover.

Only three minutes long, this breakthrough work by French filmmaker Georges Méliès has been dubbed the first horror movie. Méliès meant only to amuse audiences with this imaginative piece, not scare the living daylights out of them. But spooked crowds cringed as they watched a bat flying into an ominous castle.

The creature then morphs into Mephisopheles, who begins preparing a bubbling cauldron. Skeletons, witches and ghosts emerge from its unholy rumbling depths. A rogue spirit ventures forth brandishing a crucifix and sends Satan packing in a dramatic gust of smoke.

Marking the first appearance of the Frankenstein monster film in the U.S., this 16-minute silent reel made by the Edison Studios starred Charles Ogle as the creature born from a cauldron of churning chemicals. Other early silent Frankenstein flicks include "Life Without a Soul" (1915) and "Homunculus" (1916), a German expressionist serial about an artificially-created man.

Hebrew mythology inspired one terrifying silent flick and the first horror sequel. Directed by German Paul Wegener, "Der Golem" ("The Monster of Fate"), (1914), showcases an ancient clay figure brought to life by a magic amulet to defend the Jews from Rudolf II of Habsburg. Neither alive nor dead, the man-made creature roams the Jewish ghetto of medieval Prague and wreaks havoc.

When his job is done, the monster - just like any human being -- refuses to give up his existence and all hell breaks loose. This eerie fright-fest was followed by "The Golem and the Dancer" (1917) and "The Golem: or How He Came Into the World" (1920).

The granddaddy of all horror films, this chilling tale about a mad doctor in a carnival circus and the zombie-like sleepwalker he controls to carry out murderous deeds has influenced countless 20th-century movies. It's phantom-like doctor, twisted alleyways, lopsided doors and disturbing cityscapes still cast a powerful spell on viewers on any dark and stormy night.

The first genuine vampire picture, F.W. Murnau's feature-length classic started out as an unauthorized film adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel "Dracula." Thanks to Max Schreck's iconic balding head, pointy ears, vein-puncturing teeth stubs and long, curling nails, the film's grotesque star remains one of the world's most frightening blood suckers of all time.

A groundbreaking horror movie, Lon Chaney inspired countless shivers with his portrayal of the disfigured madman who lives beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House. Based on the 1911 novel by Gaston Leroux, Chaney's shriek-inspiring makeup still makes this one of the most haunting screen portrayals ever of the masked murdered.