These movie scenes featuring seances will freak you out! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most terrifying sequences in film where characters try to communicate with the dead.
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00:00 "Charlie, it's mommy, and daddy and Peter."
00:04 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most terrifying
00:08 sequences in film where characters try to communicate with the dead.
00:12 Keep in mind, we will be uncovering some spoilers.
00:16 "Now say, 'Talk to me.'"
00:20 Number 10, The Amityville House - The Conjuring 2
00:25 "Okay, we ready? Then let's get started."
00:29 While Ed and Lorraine Warren did indeed investigate the Amityville House in real life,
00:34 this franchise only briefly covers it at the beginning of this sequel,
00:38 but boy, what an opener it is.
00:41 Lorraine leads a seance whereby she tries to get to the bottom of the Lutz family haunting.
00:46 Her spirit enters the shoes of the factual Ronald DeFeo Jr.,
00:50 as he cold-bloodily shoots his entire family.
00:54 But because this is a Conjuring movie, things get even spookier.
00:58 "Lorraine, Lorraine, what has happened?"
01:02 "I have to see him."
01:04 "We're through, we're through. It's time to come back."
01:07 Lorraine is led into the basement, where she comes face-to-face with the franchise's main antagonist, Valak.
01:14 And what a sight the demon nun is.
01:24 In just a few short minutes, this scene chillingly sets the tone for what's to come.
01:30 "Dad, this is as close to hell as I ever want to get."
01:36 Number 9 - Meeting Joseph - The Changeling
01:39 "You've suffered a cruel loss, John Russell. You've lost a wife and child."
01:46 "The presence in this house is reaching out to you through that loss."
01:52 This under-seen Canadian classic sees a man named John Russell move into a creepy Seattle mansion
01:59 sometime after the tragic loss of his wife and daughter.
02:02 And surprise, surprise, the place is haunted.
02:06 About halfway through the film, John and some others hold a seance,
02:10 whereby they seek to find the root of the haunting,
02:13 ultimately communicating with the ghost of a young boy named Joseph.
02:17 "What is your name?"
02:20 "Joseph."
02:22 "Joseph."
02:29 The scene is a perfect progression of momentum and tension,
02:33 as the medium dazedly scribbles responses on sheets of paper.
02:37 Joseph's anger over his untimely demise is evident,
02:41 as he ultimately demonstrates just how dangerous he really is.
02:45 "Joseph, did you die in this house?"
02:49 Number 8 - Demon Goat - Drag Me To Hell
02:58 Drag Me To Hell possesses the campy edge that can be found in director Sam Raimi's previous horror outings.
03:04 But even when that factor gets cranked up to 11, the movie is just as scary.
03:10 "I welcome the dead into my soul."
03:18 "Something else is here with us."
03:24 After being cursed to be literally dragged to hell,
03:27 Christine turns to a medium named Sean Sandina to remove the hold the demon Lamia has on her.
03:33 They plan to trick Lamia into possessing a goat, which they can then sacrifice.
03:38 But things go wrong quickly.
03:41 "You're mine!"
03:43 "No!"
03:49 "You tricked me!"
03:50 After taking hold of Sandina and the goat,
03:53 Lamia jumps into Sandina's assistant and makes a real show out of tormenting Christine.
03:59 "Taste this!"
04:02 "No!"
04:04 "Ahh!"
04:08 It's very over the top, but in such a way that makes for the film's most memorable scene.
04:14 Number 7 - Solo Séance - Ouija - Origin Of Evil
04:18 "My friends have gathered blah blah blah. What happened to my neck?"
04:23 This prequel to the god-awful Ouija movie is way, way better than anyone anticipated.
04:29 And a lot of that is thanks to the theatrics of modern horror maestro Mike Flanagan.
04:34 In this one, a family reeling from the death of the patriarch
04:37 has set up a business in which they perform phony séances.
04:41 But when they start incorporating a Ouija board into the proceedings,
04:45 they unwittingly contact a dangerous entity.
04:48 Young Doris becomes the conduit for the spirit,
04:57 becoming full-on possessed in this scene where she plays with the board in the middle of the night.
05:03 The image of the spirit is wholly alarming,
05:13 and the terrifying shot of it bending Doris backwards is unforgettable.
05:19 Number 6 - Séance Over Zoom - Host
05:23 The COVID-19 pandemic was detrimental to the film industry,
05:27 but on the other hand, it forced filmmakers to get creative,
05:31 and thus the wickedly clever "host" was born.
05:34 "What it does mean is that we're slightly less protected than we might have been.
05:39 So it's very important that you respect the spirits and you respect each other."
05:44 Taking place at the height of lockdowns, a group of friends' weekly Zoom calls
05:49 take a turn for the macabre when they decide to bring in a medium to conduct a séance.
05:54 You wouldn't think a séance over the computer would work,
06:04 but things get all too real when they make contact with an actual spirit.
06:08 Things predictably don't go well from there.
06:11 But credit the short feature for finding legitimate scares on such a tight budget.
06:16 "Get out of there right now! Get out of there!"
06:19 No séances for us, thanks.
06:25 Number 5 - Séance at the Windward House - The Uninvited
06:29 "Is anybody here?"
06:31 Not to be confused with the 21st century horror flicks of the same name,
06:44 this oldie but goodie has a séance scene that still holds up today.
06:49 "But you're holding it, Rick. And you, Dr. Scott, holding it hard. Take your fingers off."
06:55 This one follows a brother and sister duo as they buy the estate known as Windward House.
07:01 Trouble is, Stella, the granddaughter of the previous owner,
07:04 has become unhealthily attached to the house,
07:07 believing it inhabited by the ghost of her dead mother.
07:10 A séance is eventually staged to persuade Stella into forgetting about Windward House,
07:15 but it turns out all too real when an entity takes over the proceedings and Stella herself.
07:21 "Are you Mary Meredith, Stella's mother?"
07:24 "No, I'm not. I'm not. I don't believe it."
07:28 The chilling atmosphere is palpable,
07:30 and there's also some impressive early industry effects work as the spirit manifests.
07:36 Number 4. Charlie Takes Over. Hereditary.
07:41 There's a real bad vibe permeating this movie, in the best way possible,
07:46 and that extends to this upsetting scene.
07:49 After learning séance basics from her "friend" Joan,
07:53 Annie leads her family in an attempt to contact her recently deceased daughter Charlie.
07:58 But the atmosphere is less than inviting,
08:01 as Annie's grieving husband and son aren't open to the concept of Charlie's spirit being among them.
08:07 "I'm a medium, okay? I was seeing apparitions earlier and I just shook them off and I shouldn't have.
08:12 Please, I know how it sounds, but there's no way to talk about it. I just need to show you, okay? Please, you'll see. I'm completely lucid."
08:18 It's obviously more complicated than that,
08:20 but things get even more disturbing when a confused Charlie speaks through Annie.
08:26 "Hello?"
08:28 "Mom?"
08:29 "Mom?"
08:31 "Mom?"
08:32 "I don't like this. Dad, I don't like this."
08:34 Peter especially is perturbed, crying out in horror, and we can't help but feel the same way.
08:40 "Stop! Stop! Stop it now! Please stop! Now make it stop!"
08:46 "You're scaring me!"
08:49 Number 3. Riley's Turn. Talk to Me.
08:53 The séances in this freaky Australian movie aren't of the conventional variety,
08:58 but boy are they visceral.
09:00 "Talk to me."
09:02 "No!"
09:04 "Hey, hey, don't let go of me. Do not let go!"
09:06 This one centres on an embalmed hand that allows people to temporarily let the dead inhabit their bodies.
09:12 At first, it's used simply as a fun party game,
09:15 but you can only tempt fate for so long, before something goes horribly wrong.
09:21 Teenager Riley consistently pleads with his big sister to get a turn with the hand
09:25 before her friend Mia finally gives in.
09:28 "I miss you so, so much, Mia."
09:33 "I don't want you to hate me."
09:41 At first, it seems like Mia's dead mother is the one inhabiting Riley,
09:45 but the emotional moment soon turns shocking when he starts violently hurting himself.
09:50 "God."
09:55 The others are able to barely save Riley's life, but we will never forget those visuals.
10:07 Number 2. Communicating with Dalton. Insidious.
10:11 The supernatural workings of the Insidious franchise are a little more complicated
10:16 than simply dialing 1-800-OTHERSIDE.
10:19 But this first outing still gets a terrifying seance out of it.
10:24 "Dim the lights, please."
10:28 When their son Dalton inadvertently spirit walks into the realm called The Further,
10:33 Josh and Renee seek out help from specialists.
10:37 Psychic Elise and paranormal investigators Spex and Tucker
10:41 lead a seance in Dalton's room in the hopes of contacting his spirit,
10:45 but things do not go well.
10:48 "If they hear me, they'll hurt me."
10:51 "Who will hurt you?"
10:53 "Who will hurt you, Dalton?"
10:56 Director James Wan is at the top of his game in this scene,
11:00 with a steady yet disorientating progression of lights and sound.
11:04 Oh, and an effective use of jump scares. Can't forget those.
11:09 "Dalton?"
11:12 "Dalton?"
11:15 "Dalton?"
11:18 "Dalton?"
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11:36 1. We're Not Dead - The Others
11:40 Seances are all about the dead, so it's surprising that we never get their perspective of the events in movies.
11:47 Not here.
11:49 "Why are you crying, children?"
11:52 "What happened in this room?"
11:55 "What did your mother do to you?"
11:59 In this classic gothic horror, Grace Stewart and her photosensitive children
12:03 spend their days in a country house in the aftermath of World War II.
12:07 They're seemingly plagued by imperceivable spirits, but the opposite turns out to be true.
12:14 "Something about a pillow."
12:16 "Is that how she killed you?"
12:20 "With a pillow?"
12:22 "She didn't kill us!"
12:24 "Children, if you're dead, why do you remain in this house?"
12:28 In the finale, Grace and the kids come across a seance in progress, as they're the ones who are haunting the house.
12:35 Grace having taken her family's lives when her husband didn't return from the war.
12:40 "We're not dead!"
12:54 Grace and the kids hysterically refute their undead nature,
12:58 hitting us with a twist that's as frightening as it is shocking.
13:03 Are there any seance scenes we missed? Raise hell in the comments.
13:08 "They like you."
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13:19 [music]