To quote Bela Lugosi: I bid you welcome.

I'd like to start with an attempt to define, my interpretation of, the genre: 'Classic Horror'.

Horror movies began at the very birth of cinema with the 1896, three minute short, 'Du Diable, aka The Devil's Castle', by Georges Melies.

Capturing astounded audiences with, what appeared to be genuine, physical transformations, was the beginning of a fantastical voyage into folklore, myths, and legends, on the cinematic screen.

It is this blend of fantastic, impossible, supernatural elements, the suspension of disbelieve, and alternate realities, which are key elements in Classic Horror films, but which in themselves do not make them 'horror' by default.

Any list of films from the Horror genre, classic or otherwise, will have glaring anomalies when compared to it's definition, as it is an impossibly difficult subject matter to classify.
Indeed, where does horror begin and where does it end, with it's regular overlaps into science fiction, fantasy, horrific moments in thrillers and monstrous elements in comedy.

Classic Horror was virtually eliminated, in the mid Seventies, with the emergence of the slasher movie, with their purely voyeuristic, blood and gore, scenes, intent on shocking the audience with a visual barrage, rather than the building of suspense in that most imaginative realm, the human mind.

Horror is resident in our subconcious, with each individual holding the key to his own personal fears, and dread, and Classic Horror relies on us immersing fully in the experience, for otherwise 'horror' ceases to be, and the disbelief becomes unbelieveable!

Perhaps, my own definition of Classic Horror can only be found by examining my list of films, which I perceive to be so, with a seperate list of films which I do not feel fit in the category, and the arguments can begin from there.

To some, 'my' Classic Horror Films may be viewed as anything but horror, but for me they are the world which the inner child views with awe, wonder and fear.
A world of monsters, shadows, demons and death, and the excitement which can only be found by entering that realm of imagination.
Just don't look back!

DB

This is your paragraph

Dr. Julian Karswell: Do I believe in witchcraft? What kind of witchcraft? The legendary witch that rides on the imaginary broom? The hex that tortures the thoughts of the victim? The pin stuck in the image that wastes away the mind and the body?
Dr. John Holden: Also imaginary.
Dr. Julian Karswell: But where does imagination end and reality begin? What is this twilight, this half world of the mind that you profess to know so much about? How can we differentiate between the powers of darkness and the powers of the mind?
Night of the Demon (1957)

Larry Talbot: You don't understand. Every night when the moon is full, I turn into a wolf.
Wilbur: You and twenty million other guys!
Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Dr Otto Von Niemann: Mad? I, who have solved the secret of life, you call me mad?
The Vampire Bat (1933)