Classic horror movies are an inspiration for adult Halloween costumes around the world. Where would we be without vampires and Frankenstein costumes based on those movies? These movies aren't necessarily scary or frightening in terms of more modern releases, but the newer movies were made possible by those early ones. Modern directors owe their gratitude to those early directors.

Many consider 1931 as the start of the horror movie genre. That year saw the release of both Frankenstein and Dracula. However a few years before that, the classic movie Nosferatu hit theaters. This classic vampire movie inspired directors and showed that the movie going public wanted films that scared them. Werewolf of London came out in 1935, but the majority of films traded on the popular names.

Universal became known as the main studio for horror movie releases. In addition to Frankenstein and Dracula, they also released movies featuring the Creature from the Black Lagoon and the Wolf Man. They were also known for using Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Senior and his son in their films. These men made a career out of playing the same character such as Dracula in an entire series of movies.

Resources on classic horror movies include:

• Classic Horror : offers reviews and artwork from different classic horror flicks.

• The Vault : specializes in older horror movie films, with reviews and trivia.

• Horror Films : discusses the early roots of the genre and the early films released.

• Classic Horror & Science Fiction : resource covering different areas of classic films and different types of horror.

• 100 Illustrated Horror Film Posters : offers copies of classic horror movie posters.

• The Stories Behind Three Classic Halloween Movies : gives a behind the scenes look at some of the more popular classic movies.

• 9 Terrifying Classic : gives 9 of the scariest classic movies including The Exorcist.

• Best Classic Horror Movies : lists the best movies from the early years of the genre.

• The Missing Link : provides information on horror movies from 1960 and earlier.

• The Other Movies : covers creature type horror movies considered classics.

• Sinister Cinema : provides DVD releases on some hard to find classic horror movies.

• Classic Horror : gives a genealogy showing how the genre evolved.

• Classic Horror Movies : resource covering news and the latest information on classic films.

• The Vintage Library : focuses on horror movies from the 1920s up to the 1960s.

The end of the classic era is generally considered the 1960s. During the 1950s studios shifted to creature feature movies, with an oversized creature attacking people in a small town. The rise in popularity of sci-fi films also signaled the end. However a lot of great horror movies were released in the following years and some of them such as The Exorcist, which was released in the 1970s is considered a classic. These movies inspired a number of adult costumes and continue to grow. At some point the movies made today will fall under the category of modern classics.