So by now, everyone has heard about Frankenstorm—the blizzard-hurricane-thunderstorm-apocalypse headed for the USA.

It’s threatening our Halloween plans! How can we take the kids trick-or-treating or, more realistically, go consume massive quantities of alcohol and sugar at Halloween parties? What happens when we’re trapped inside as the weather threatens our very existences?

Assuming we still have power, we can at least watch scary movies. Regular readers know I’ll grab any excuse to watch a scary movie, but this could not be a more perfect set up to watch something Halloween-y. So what are my picks for an “Oh, no, the rain ruined my plans,” movie night?

I always really liked “The Grudge”—a lot of people will complain that the American version isn’t as good, or that it’s cheesy or confusing. But that croaking noise still gives me the willies, and if there wasn’t a single moment in that movie that scared you (the jaw in the attic, the crawling on the stairs, the boy on every floor as the elevator went by), then you’re probably the Terminator.

If you’re looking for older classics, I recommend “Psycho.” There’s a reason it’s one of the most famous scary movies ever made, and to me, it’s not even the shower scene. Sure, that part is great, but it’s so iconic that everyone knows it and all the parodies of it.

I can think of a number of moments that are much creepier. When the main character, Marion, realizes she’s getting away with stealing thousands of dollars, she smiles the creepiest smile you will ever see… at least until you get to the end of the movie and Norman gives you an even more chilling grin. It’s the small things like that. They add up and make the movie completely spooky.

Monster movies might be more of your thing, and you can’t go wrong with “Alien.” I recently gave a dramatic reenactment of this movie to my workshop group in my creative writing class, but if you want to watch actual monsters and actual actors in an actual spaceship instead of me making lots of noises, watch it.

Again, this is one of those movies that has been parodied a zillion times and everyone knows the most famous scene, but it’s a beautifully slow build. Even if you’ve seen it before, it’s still great to watch.

So that’s what I’ll be watching if I get stuck indoors over Halloween. What about you guys? What scary movies are your Halloween traditions? What movies will you be watching once the Halloween season is over? Let me know in the comments!