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For more than a decade, The Conjuring franchise has kept us fans checking our attics and cupboards for any ghostly presence while putting us off completely of raggedy-ann dolls and music boxes. With the final chapter in the series, The Conjuring: Last Rites hitting theaters, it's the end of an era that redefined the horror genre and kept us glued to our seats for quite some time.
Fortunately, the genre of horror is stacked with terrifying worlds just waiting for you to hit click. Whether you're into cursed objects or haunted families or demonic activities in the attic, there are quite a few long running sagas to satiate your hunger for horror for a long time. Here are five franchises you can turn to next, if you need more of what The Conjuring franchise offers you.
The Insidious franchise
Since 2010, Insidious has been one of modern horror’s most enduring nightmares. Dreamed up by Leigh Whannell and James Wan, and backed by Blumhouse Productions, the franchise has spun five films that together grossed over $731 million from a shoestring $42.5 million budget. It’s proof that sometimes the scariest things don’t cost much to unleash.
The story begins with the Lambert family, whose young son slips into a mysterious coma and becomes trapped in a shadowy astral realm called the Further. This forbidden dimension becomes the stage for demons, restless spirits, and a family’s desperate attempt to save their child. Psychic Elise Rainier and her quirky team of investigators step in, becoming the connective tissue of the saga. In ways more than one, the franchise is bound to remind you of The Conjuring franchise.
Like The Conjuring, Insidious thrives on the fusion of family drama and paranormal terror. Both franchises use investigators, exorcisms, and generational hauntings to explore what happens when evil isn’t just in the house, but in the bloodline.
Bonus points because Patrick Wilson leads this franchise too. So if you're looking for some more Ed Warren action, let us introduce you to Josh Lambert.
Available to stream on: Prime Video.
The Amityville horror franchise
The Amityville Haunting is one of America's most infamous ghost stories that blurs the lines between true crime, folklore, and horror cinema. The real story of the Amityville Haunting involves a murder that happened in a house in Amityville. Years later when other people moved into the house, they reported paranormal activity and the presence of demonic entities.
It all started with Anson’s 1977 book The Amityville Horror, which then later spilled into the movies. A film adaptation came out in 1979 and became one of the most successful indie films of all time. Soon enough sequels and spinoffs followed and although the stories strayed away from the original incident, it still thrived on some realness as it was partially based on true incidents. It is one of the rare horror franchises apart from The Conjuring, that is rooted in reality.
Like The Conjuring franchise, Amityville is based on the idea of real-life families under siege in their own homes, battling forces that defy logic. Both tap into the primal fear that the one place meant to keep us safe, our home, can become the most dangerous place of all. Brownie points about the fact that Ed and Lorraine Warren were actually involved in The Amityville incident, so you're really just watching another story your favorite ghostbusters worked on.
Available to stream on: Prime Video.
The Evil Dead franchise
The Evil Dead franchise has made a name for itself in horror history as it continues to take the throne for some of the most gorey plots in horror history. Started by Sam Raimi, the saga started in 1981 with The Evil Dead, followed by Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, all written and directed by Raimi, with producer Robert Tapert and Bruce Campbell forming the franchise’s holy trinity. Together, they gave fans a trilogy that veered from pure horror to slapstick splatter, cementing Ash as one of the most iconic heroes in the genre.
The franchise revolves around The Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, the cursed book that awakens demonic forces. Similar to The Conjuring series, Evil Dead takes on the idea of ordinary people confronting forces beyond comprehension. Both franchises mix folklore, possession, and cursed objects to craft nightmares that feel eternal, reminding us that evil never truly dies, it just waits for the next summoning.
Available to stream on: Prime Video.
The Exorcist franchise
The Exorcist franchise remains one of the most enduring names in horror, and that has now been going on for multiple decades. Starting with 1973's The Exorcist, the film redefined the genre of horror and quickly became one of the scariest films ever made. With its shocking imagery and unflinching portrayal of faith versus possession, the film set a standard for the genre that has rarely been matched. You'll find a lot of common things with The Conjuring here. The exorcisms, the faith the families put in priests and everything holy and how demonic presence haunts these homes.
The Exorcist franchise revolves around Pazuzu, a demonic entity that targets innocent people and how priests and religious figures fight against it. So far there are six films in The Exorcist franchise, with a seventh one on it's way.
Just like The Conjuring, The Exorcist is born out of possession, faith, and the terrifying idea that evil can infiltrate even the safest homes, forcing ordinary people to confront the unholy.
Available to stream on: Apple TV
The Paranormal Activity franchise
Paranormal Activity is a franchise that turned low-budget horror into a box office phenomenon. Created by Oren Peli, the first film came out in 2007 on a small budget but quickly became a cultural event. The series now boasts seven films, each of them revolving around a demon called Tobi.
The eerie part about the movies is that they are told through the lens of security footage, handheld cameras, and household devices. Instead of the shots and scenes being clear, concise high definition footage, the films thrive on blurry footage from security cameras, giving the audience the feeling of being voyeurs in homes under siege. Each film involves families being haunted by Tobi, who eventually destroys them with violent possession, demonic activity and death. All the while the audience can simply watch from afar, silent participants to whatever horror lurks inside the walls.
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Much like The Conjuring series, it thrives on domestic horror, possession, and cursed family legacies. Both franchises remind viewers that evil isn’t confined to haunted castles or crypts, it lives in the places we feel safest, waiting for the lights to go out.
Available to stream on: Prime Video.
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