If you've outgrown the traditional Halloween slasher films like "Friday the 13th" and you're afraid that after the new uber-frightening "Paranormal Activity" you'll have to drive home checking the rear-view mirror every few seconds to make sure the back seat is still empty, then check out these holiday DVD classics, any of which are a better alternative to donning an Obama mask and going door-to-door for miniature candy bars.

Tales From the Crypt (1972)

A classic horror anthology. In one short, Joan Collins is stalked by a maniacal Santa Clause; in another, a car-crash victim realizes he was only dreaming but awakes to find that he was dreaming while at the wheel and veers into an oncoming vehicle. The others are better: an old man harassed by a neighbor sends the bully a personalized Valentine and a memorable poem; a woman makes a poor choice wishing that her husband is brought back to life; and a blind man exacts clever revenge on a heartless hospital administrator.

Horror of Dracula (1958)

With apologies to Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee's Count Dracula is probably the most ominous in this retelling of the classic Bram Stoker novel from Britain's Hammer Films. Peter Cushing's archetypal Van Helsing exquisitely counter-balances Lee's evil omnipresence. Co-stars are a gaggle of busty burial-shrouded women.

The Glass House (2001)

Leelee Sobieski, Diane Lane and Bruce Dern star in this Hitchcockian thriller about a brother and sister who are adopted by friends of the family after their parents die in a car crash. But are their benefactor's motives as selfless as they seem? Unimpressive at the box office, but worth a midnight screening. Don't confuse it with the 2006 follow-up.

Poltergeist (1982)

"They're heeeeerrrr!" Steven Spielberg's tale of a family who moves into a new home that just happens to be a portal to the afterlife is just as chilling the second time around. Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams are the parents who set out to retrieve their daughter from the cold grasp of a cadre of ghosts attracted to her youthful energy. Spooky, of course, but for my money, not nearly as disturbing as Robbie's clown.

The Lady in White (1988)

Lukas Haas stars as a 9-year-old who, locked in his grade school's cloakroom, encounters the ghost of a little girl killed there years earlier. It effectively modulates between suspense and mystery (and at times is downright unsettling) as the details of the crime unfold and mesh with town legend. Don't be fooled by its reminiscent "Wonder Years" feel, this one is quite possibly the creepiest film ever made.

Next week's review: "Amelia.

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