It’s that time of year again.

Massive amounts of candy consumption, watching that tree in front of Anderson turn fiery orange, getting ready to make the best Halloween costume ever (although that probably got started sometime in early August), going to haunted houses and ValleySCARE and watching horror movies on television.

But some people are looking for something else, something more.

Yeah, watching “Hocus Pocus,” “Scream,” “Casper” and Jamie Lee Curtis frantically scamper away from Michael Myers is great, but some people want to be scared, truly scared.

Why?

It is hard to say sometimes.

It could be the adrenaline that courses through veins when watching something scary, conjuring memories of exciting roller coasters and theme park rides; or maybe it’s just that watching the dreadful things unfold in a horror film make people feel alive, grateful for their lives and to not be running through a field being chased by a giant man with a chainsaw who is wearing someone else’s face. Most people shoot for avoiding that situation when they wake up in the morning.

So the films that are about to be listed are for those people; the ones who want to be a little frightened, the ones who enjoy a good scare every now and again. So strap on your angel wings, throw in your vampire teeth and let’s dive right in.

Well, not quite yet. First it will be important to go over some requirements for this list. No non-horror films will be listed. Of course, war movies, films about social injustices and other harrowing real life events are terrifying, but this list will stick to traditional horror films. All the films will be modern, meaning made in the year 2000 or later. The films will be lesser-known, which is a loose requirement but will knock off favorites like “Insidious” and “The Ring.” And lastly, they will be listed in no particular order.

All of these films contain severe trigger warnings, so stay away from them altogether if you are worried.

1. “The Fourth Kind” (2009)

We’ll kick off our list with a creepy alien film directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi and starring Milla Jovovich. This film is scary not only because it takes place in an isolated, dark town in Nome, Alaska, but also because it is played off as real. Of course, the audience generally knows it isn’t real, but the mixture of this supposedly real footage and re-enactments gives it a genuine feel. Another creepy factor is that the aliens in this film don’t want to be your friend – no, not at all, they have a very evil and menacing feel. Stay away from owls after you watch this one.

2.  “The Strangers” (2008)

This home invasion horror film, directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Liv Tyler, seems to be an exercise in minimalist terror. The soundtrack is minimal, the concept is simple and the action mainly takes place inside one house. What makes the film so effective is that there is not really any in-your-face jump scares; the masked villains are just there, hiding in the background or skulking outside, waiting for the protagonists to separate. A very nihilistic film, “The Strangers” uses its small budget to create effective and unsettling scares.

3. “The Descent” (2005)

This one may be more well known than the others, at least in circles of people who are horror movie fans. But the British horror film, directed by Neil Marshall, usually has a place on most “scariest horror films” lists. The film follows six women who go on a caving expedition. As you can probably guess, this being a horror film list and all, the expedition goes horribly wrong, and the women are thrust into a bloody nightmare. High in jump-scares and higher in violence, “The Descent” is a film not to be watched alone.

4. “Session 9” (2001)

Directed by Brad Anderson and starring David Caruso, “Session 9” is an underrated terrorfest with probably the creepiest setting on the list. Set in a dark, dirty, abandoned mental hospital, this film follows a dysfunctional cleaning crew as they start uncovering chilling secrets about the place. “Session 9” is genuinely unsettling and can bring a tense anxiety to even the most hardened of horror movie fans. If you check this one out, good luck getting the voice of Simon out of your head.

5. “Lake Mungo” (2008)

The final film on our list, directed by Joel Anderson, is one that should be watched with as little information as possible. Knowing that the movie is filmed in the mockumentary format and that it is a movie about a death in the family should be enough. Any further information would ruin the experience of watching this generally creepy and unnerving film. Just rent this on iTunes, grab some popcorn, turn off the lights and get ready to be freaked out.

Hopefully this list is enough to keep everyone busy over Halloween. Enjoy the scares, Hamline… And good luck.

“The Fourth Kind” can be found on Netflix, while the rest of the films can be rented on iTunes. For more information about any of the five, visit www.imdb.com.