Winter and the holidays are upon us! Stuck inside for days on end, cold creeping into your bones making them ache, and finding yourself sequestered inside with family.

Sound glorious, right? Yeah, not so much to me either.

Thankfully, we’re horror fans, and the genre has a whole host of brilliant wintry titles for our viewing pleasure! These are my top seven picks of awesome horror films for those endless winter nights.

#1 Storm of the Century (1999)

If you want to talk winter horror films, you have to put this on your list.

Little Tall Island, Maine, has known its share of troubles. It was the home of Dolores Claiborne, after all, and one horrible night, when an unprecedented winter storm struck land, the Devil came to town.

At least he seemed like the devil. All we were ever really sure of is that he wanted to take one of the children of Little Tall Island as his apprentice, and he wasn’t leaving until they gave him what he wanted.

Written by Stephen King and starring Tim Daly, Colm Feore, Jeffrey DeMunn, and Debrah Farentino, Storm of the Century was a masterpiece that was so cold onscreen that it actually made you feel warm inside.

#2 Black Christmas (1974)

It’s Christmas break and the young women at a local sorority house are celebrating the end of the semester with a little party. Little do they know that someone is hiding in the home’s attic with murder on their mind.

The granddaddy of holiday-themed horror films, Black Christmas is richly deserving of its cult following with stars like Olivia Hussey, Keir Dullea, Margot Kidder, and Andrea Martin in the mix.

If you haven’t seen it, put it on your list this winter. If you have seen it, maybe it’s time to revisit it!

#3 30 Days of Night (2007)

There’s a place in Alaska where the sun disappears for an entire month, plunging the land into constant darkness. The locals know how to contend with the yearly occurrence and take every precaution.

Unfortunately for them, a clan of vampires have decided to put that constant darkness to use and treat themselves to a nice, long buffet.

Based on a graphic novel, the film stars Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston. It turned on the vampire genre on its head and is perfect for a long, cold night!

.#4 Frozen (2010)

Written and directed by Adam Green (Hatchet, Digging up the Marrow) and starring Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, and Kevin Zegers, Frozen centers on three friends who decide they need one more trip down the slopes before the ski resort closes down. Unfortunately for them, the lift operator doesn’t know they’re on their way up and he shuts things down leaving them stranded 50 feet in the air.

Green’s film was a fun and intense character study as the three try to escape the freezing cold AND the hungry wolves circling below.

#5 Misery (1990)

Tense and claustrophobic, 1990’s Misery kept audiences on the edge of their seat. Kathy Bates and James Caan star in the adaptation of the novel by Stephen King.

When Paul Sheldon (James Caan), best selling author, leaves his hotel in the middle of a snowstorm, he has no idea the chain of events he has set in motion. After his car careens from the highway, his broken body is pulled from the wreckage by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates).

Wilkes is a nurse and at first, it seems like Paul has found himself in the best possible situation. It’s doesn’t take long to realize, however, that Annie might not be as stable as she seems.

Can a game of cat and mouse be played in a single room? If so, then it would be called Misery, and it’s perfect for a night in with a nice glass of brandy.

#6 Ghost Story (1981)

Once a month, the Chowder Society puts on their tuxedos and gather together to tell each other ghost stories over drinks late into the night, but the four men who are members share a secret from their past that haunts them more than any story could.

Ghost Story had one of the most amazing casts. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Melvyn Douglas, Fred Astaire, John Houseman, and Patricia Neal were some of the most respected actors in the world in 1981. They were “Old Hollywood” and added a sense of dignity and legitimacy to the film while younger stars Craig Wasson and Alice Krige brought youthful vigor and sensuality.

The cold snows and whistling winds of New England were vibrant in the film and the story, based on the novel by Peter Straub, is terrifying.

#7 Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984)

A controversial film when it was first released, Silent Night, Deadly Night centers on a young man who grew up in an orphanage under the abusive control of the Mother Superior in charge. A great deal of his childhood trauma centers on Santa Claus, but who would have guessed that dressing him up as the jolly Christmas elf would turn him into a homicidal maniac?

Starring the hunky Robert Brian Wilson, the film spawned a franchise with four sequels.

So there’s my list of winter horror films!  Let us know your picks in the comments!