* Le Manoir du diable (1896), a short French film directed by Georges Méliès, is considered by some to be the first horror film. It features a scientist experimenting on a human subject, transforming him into a skeleton.
* Frankenstein (1910), an American short film based on Mary Shelley's novel of the same name, tells the story of a scientist who creates a grotesque creature from body parts.
* The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a German silent film, is often cited as one of the first psychological horror films. It tells the story of a hypnotist who controls a sleepwalker to commit murders.
* Nosferatu (1922), a German silent horror film based on Bram Stoker's Dracula, is considered a classic of the vampire genre.
* The Phantom of the Opera (1925), an American silent film based on the novel of the same name, is another classic horror film that features a disfigured musician who haunts the Paris Opera House.
These films helped to establish the conventions and tropes that would go on to define the horror genre, influencing countless subsequent scary movies.