This is probably going to be an interesting post because of the term “childhood”. Movies that come to mind for a lot of people are probably Disney movies, Mary-Kate and Ashley movies, etc. I did watch some Disney movies growing up, but I never really got into them. I loved Mary-Kate and Ashley growing up, but their movies were still never on my all-time favorites list. I had a bit of an interesting childhood, I guess. From the time I was around three years old (the earliest I can remember), I was obsessed with horror movies. My parents never filtered what I watched, so I was able to watch whatever I wanted, even if it wasn’t age appropriate. A few of my favorites actually were age appropriate though, so you’ll see some of those on this list as well.

I want to give a quick shoutout to Hunida for giving me the inspiration for this post. I just love posts like this which give you some insight into a persons life and interests, and they’re just really fun to do. You can see her favorite childhood movies post here.

Without further ado, here are my top ten favorites from my childhood in order of their release dates.

Edward Scissorhands (1990)

This movie will always have a special place in my heart. The earliest memories I have are from when I was 3 years old. I was two when this movie first came out, and I honestly can’t picture a time in my life when this movie didn’t exist to me. This was one of my most watched movies when I lived with my Great Grandmother. Tim Burton has such a great vision, and this is my favorite film he has done. I love the contrast of the dark gothic castle and the suburban retro pastel town.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

This is another one of my most watched movies as a child. It is a terrific Halloween comedy that is great for children and adults alike. Sarah (played by Sarah Jessica Parker) was always my favorite of the Sanderson sisters when I was a kid. My favorite part of the movie when I was growing up was when they sing “I Put a Spell On You”.

New Nightmare (1994)

I’m pretty sure this was the first Freddy Krueger movie I ever saw, before I eventually ended up watching the other Nightmare on Elm Street films. It was a bit confusing to me because I didn’t understand why characters were suddenly being called different names (like Heather being called Nancy, etc.) because I hadn’t seen the original movie and didn’t understand the complex theme of the actors portraying themselves in this movie. Now as an adult, I realize the cleverness of this movie. Still, that didn’t stop me from loving this as a kid. I find Freddy to be at his scariest in this film, even though it’s technically a different demonic entity that has assumed Freddy’s identity and not the Freddy from the other films.

Casper (1995)

I remember around the time this movie came out I had some glow in the dark stickers of the ghosts from this movie. At my Great Grandma’s house, we had a box that allowed us to get all the paid movie channels, so I always got to watch all the good movies growing up. This was one of them, and of course I taped it on a VHS so I could watch it all the time. Plus, it had Christina Ricci in it!

Species (1995)

Another movie that I first got to see on my Great Grandma’s cable box. I remember I was obsessed with this movie. I asked for it for my birthday that year, and my dad bought it for me on VHS. I watched it all the time. The cocoon scene still grosses me out, even as an adult. I eventually saw the sequel as well, and it was okay but not as good. I’ve never seen the third or fourth ones though.

The Craft (1996)

This movie brings back so many memories. It’s what jump started my interest in Wicca. I had so many Witchcraft books, and I still have them somewhere. I do not classify myself as Wiccan now, but I actually do still have a lot of the same beliefs. I remember I had a birthday party when I was in 6th grade, and we all sat around trying to do spells. We even tried the “light as a feather, stiff as a board” one that was in the movie, but of course it did not work.

Scream (1996)

I loved this movie as soon as I saw it. I still remember trying to figure out who the killer was as I was watching, and I loved that mystery. Scream is my favorite horror movie, and I really can’t picture anything else coming along and replacing it. This movie was so clever with its satire. I love how it poked fun at horror movies but still maintained a serious tone. The opening sequence with Drew Barrymore is still one of my favorite film openings to date.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

This movie was made following the success of Scream, and this became another favorite of mine. I was already a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer at that point, so the fact that Sarah Michelle Gellar was in this movie made it even better. Although I still remember watching her big chase scene and being flabbergasted because it was so out of character for Buffy. (My childhood mind was still trying to figure out the difference between actors and their different characters, haha).

Titanic (1997)

A funny story about this movie. I actually had no idea what the Titanic was before this movie came out, and I somehow managed to not see any of the advertising for it. My best friend at the time had saw it in theaters with her mother multiple times, and she kept raving to me about how amazing it was. I kept telling her I had no interest. Finally, when the movie came to VHS, she gave it to me to borrow so I could watch it. From that point on, I practically watched this movie non-stop. There is never a dull moment, and it has one of the best movie scores I’ve ever heard. I was always jealous of the people who got to see this in theaters, but thankfully I ended up having my chance in 2012 when it came back to theaters in 3D.

Bride of Chucky (1998)

I grew up watching Chucky. The first Child’s Play movie came out in 1988, the year I was born. The sequels soon followed. I always watched them all growing up, but once Bride of Chucky came out, that one ended up being my favorite.

This list started out with 30 movies, and I had to narrow it down to only ten. Believe me, that was hard because I loved them all growing up. Therefore, I figured I would still list the rest down here as honorable mentions.

Honorable mentions:Child’s Play 2 (1990), IT (1990), Ernest Scared Stupid (1991), Leprechaun (1993), Leprechaun 3 (1995), Twister (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Disturbing Behavior (1998), The Faculty (1998), Halloween H20 (1998), The Parent Trap (1998), Spice World (1998), Wild Things (1998), Urban Legend (1998), American Pie (1999), Cruel Intentions (1999), Deep Blue Sea (1999), Jawbreaker (1999), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Bring It On (2000)