# List of horror films of the 1940s

A list of horror films released in the 1940s. After the success of Son of Frankenstein (1939), Universal horror caught a second wind and horror films continued to be produced at a feverish pace into the mid-1940s. The early 1940s saw the debut of Lon Chaney Jr. and "The Wolf Man", both of which became fixtures in the Universal landscape. Meanwhile, Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster appeared in numerous sequels, often together in what was colloquially called "monster rally" films.
Hoping to present a viable alternative to the Universal juggernaut, RKO decided to embark on a series of its own horror films, starting with Cat People in 1942. Led by producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur, this critically acclaimed series focused less on visible horrors and more on the psychological aspects of fear.

## List

Horror films released in the 1940s :
| Title | Director | Cast | Country | Notes |
| 1940 |||||
| The Ape | William Nigh | Boris Karloff, Maris Wrixon | United States | |
| Before I Hang | Nick Grinde | Boris Karloff, Evelyn Keyes, Bruce Bennett | United States | |
| Black Friday | Arthur Lubin | Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Stanley Ridges | United States | |
| The Devil Bat | Jean Yarbrough | Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien | United States | |
| The Door with Seven Locks | Norman Lee | Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge | United Kingdom | |
| Dr. Cyclops | Ernest B. Schoedsack | Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan | United States | |
| The Ghost Breakers | George Marshall | Bob Hope, Paulette Goddard, Willie Best, Richard Carlson | United States | |
| The Invisible Man Returns | Joe May | Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey | United States | |
| Island of Doomed Men | Charles Barton | Peter Lorre, Rochelle Hudson, Robert Wilcox | United States | |
| The Man with Nine Lives | Nick Grinde | Boris Karloff, Roger Pryor, Jo Ann Sayer, Stanley Brown | United States | |
| The Mummy's Hand | William Christy Cabanne | Dick Foran, Peggy Moran, Wallace Ford | United States | |
| Son of Ingagi | Richard Kahn | Zack Williams, Laura Bowman, Spencer Williams | United States | |
| You'll Find Out | David Butler | Kay Kyser, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi | United States | |
| 1941 |||||
| The Black Cat | Albert Rogell | Basil Rathbone, Hugh Herbert, Broderick Crawford, Bela Lugosi, Gale Sondergaard | United States | |
| The Devil Commands | Edward Dmytryk | Boris Karloff, Richard Fiske, Amanda Duff | United States | |
| Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | Victor Fleming | Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, Lana Turner | United States | |
| The Face Behind the Mask | Robert Florey | Peter Lorre, Evelyn Keyes, Don Beddoe | United States | |
| Horror Island | George Waggner | Dick Foran, Leo Carrillo, Peggy Moran | United States | |
| Invisible Ghost | Joseph H. Lewis | Bela Lugosi, Polly Ann Young, John McGuire | United States | |
| King of the Zombies | Jean Yarbrough | Joan Woodbury, Dick Purcell, Mantan Moreland | United States | |
| Man Made Monster | George Waggner | Lionel Atwill, Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Nagel | United States | |
| The Monster and the Girl | Stuart Heisler | Ellen Drew, Robert Paige, Paul Lukas | United States | |
| Spooks Run Wild | Phil Rosen | Bela Lugosi, Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan | United States | |
| The Wolf Man | George Waggner | Lon Chaney Jr., Warren William, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Evelyn Ankers | United States | |
| 1942 |||||
| The Boogie Man Will Get You | Lew Landers | Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Jeff Donnell | United States | |
| Cat People | Jacques Tourneur | Simone Simon, Kent Smith, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph | United States | |
| The Corpse Vanishes | Wallace W. Fox | Bela Lugosi, Luana Walters, Tristram Coffin | United States | |
| Dr. Renault's Secret | Harry Lachman | J. Carrol Naish, John Shepperd, Lynne Roberts, George Zucco | United States | |
| The Ghost of Frankenstein | Erle C. Kenton | Lon Chaney Jr., Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi | United States | |
| A Light in the Window | Manuel Romero | Narciso Ibáñez Menta, Irma Córdoba and Juan Carlos Thorry | Argentina | |
| The Mad Doctor of Market Street | Joseph H. Lewis | Una Merkel, Lionel Atwill, Nat Pendleton | United States | |
| The Mad Monster | Sam Newfield | Johnny Downs, George Zucco, Anne Nagel | United States | |
| The Man Who Wouldn't Die | Herbert I. Leeds | Lloyd Nolan, Marjorie Weaver, Helene Reynolds | United States | |
| The Mummy's Tomb | Harold Young | Lon Chaney Jr., Dick Foran, Elyse Knox, Turhan Bey | United States | |
| Night Monster | Ford I. Beebe | Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Irene Hervey, Ralph Morgan | United States | |
| The Undying Monster | John Brahm | James Ellison, Heather Angel, John Howard, Bramwell Fletcher | United States | |
| Whispering Ghosts | Alfred L. Werker | Milton Berle, Brenda Joyce, John Shelton | United States | |
| 1943 |||||
| The Ape Man | William Beaudine | Bela Lugosi, Wallace Ford, Louise Currie, Minerva Urecal | United States | |
| Captive Wild Woman | Edward Dmytryk | Evelyn Ankers, Acquanetta, John Carradine | United States | |
| Carnival of Sinners | Maurice Tourneur | Antoine Balpêtré, Pierre Fresnay, André Bacque | France | |
| Dead Men Walk | Sam Newfield | George Zucco, Mary Carlisle, Ned Young, Dwight Frye | United States | |
| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man | Roy William Neill | Lon Chaney Jr., Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi | United States | |
| I Walked with a Zombie | Jacques Tourneur | Tom Conway, Frances Dee, James Ellison, Edith Barrett | United States | |
| The Leopard Man | Jacques Tourneur | Dennis O'Keefe, Margo, Jean Brooks | United States | |
| The Mad Ghoul | James Hogan | David Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, George Zucco, Robert Armstrong | United States | |
| The Mysterious Doctor | Ben Stoloff | John Loder, Eleanor Parker, Lester Matthews | United States | |
| The Raven | Henri-Georges Clouzot | Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Pierre Larquey | France | |
| The Return of the Vampire | Lew Landers | Bela Lugosi, Frieda Inescort, Nina Foch, Roland Varno | United States | |
| Revenge of the Zombies | Steve Sekely | John Carradine, Robert Lowery, Gale Storm, Veda Ann Borg | United States | |
| The Seventh Victim | Mark Robson | Kim Hunter, Tom Conway, Isabel Jewell | United States | |
| Son of Dracula | Robert Siodmak | Lon Chaney Jr., Robert Paige, Louise Allbritton, Evelyn Ankers | United States | |
| 1944 |||||
| The Climax | George Waggner | Boris Karloff, Susanna Foster, Turhan Bey | United States | |
| Crazy Knights | William Beaudine | Billy Gilbert, Maxie Rosenbloom, Shemp Howard | United States | |
| Cry of the Werewolf | Henry Levin | Nina Foch, Stephen Crane, Osa Massen | United States | |
| The Ghost Catchers | Edward F. Cline | Ole Olsen, Chic Johnson, Gloria Jean | United States | |
| House of Frankenstein | Erle C. Kenton | Boris Karloff, J. Carrol Naish, Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine | United States | |
| The Invisible Man's Revenge | Ford Beebe | Jon Hall, Leon Errol, John Carradine | United States | |
| Jungle Woman | Reginald Le Borg | Acquanetta, Evelyn Ankers, J. Carrol Naish, Samuel S. Hinds | United States | |
| The Lady and the Monster | George Sherman | Vera Ralston, Richard Arlen, Mary Nash, Sidney Blackmer | United States | |
| The Lodger | John Brahm | Merle Oberon, George Sanders, Laird Cregar | United States | |
| The Man in Half Moon Street | Ralph Murphy | Nils Asther, Helen Walker | United States | |
| The Monster Maker | Sam Newfield | J. Carrol Naish, Ralph Morgan, Tala Birell | United States | |
| The Mummy's Curse | Leslie Goodwins | Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Coe, Virginia Christine | United States | |
| The Mummy's Ghost | Reginald Le Borg | Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Ramsay Ames, Robert Lowery | United States | |
| Return of the Ape Man | Phil Rosen | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco | United States | |
| The Tower of the Seven Hunchbacks | Edgar Neville | Antonio Casal, Isabel de Pomés | Spain | |
| The Soul of a Monster | Will Jason | Rose Hobart, George Macready, Jim Bannon, Jeanne Bates, Erik Rolf | United States | |
| The Uninvited | Lewis Allen | Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey | United States | |
| Voodoo Man | William Beaudine | Bela Lugosi, John Carradine, George Zucco | United States | |
| Weird Woman | Reginald Le Borg | Lon Chaney Jr., Anne Gwynne, Evelyn Ankers | United States | |
| 1945 |||||
| The Bellman | Christian-Jaque | Fernand Ledoux, Renée Faure, Madeleine Robinson | France | |
| La Fiancée des ténèbres | Serge de Poligny | Pierre Richard-Willm, Jany Holt | France | |
| Dead of Night | Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer | Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Sally Ann Howes, Mary Merrall | United Kingdom | |
| Fog Island | Terry O. Morse | George Zucco, Lionel Atwill, Jerome Cowan | United States | |
| Hangover Square | John Brahm | Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, George Sanders | United States | |
| House of Dracula | Erle C. Kenton | Lon Chaney Jr., John Carradine, Martha O'Driscoll, Lionel Atwill | United States | |
| The House of Fear | Roy William Neill | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce | United States | |
| Isle of the Dead | Mark Robson | Boris Karloff, Ellen Drew, Marc Cramer, Katherine Emery | United States | |
| The Jungle Captive | Harold Young | Otto Kruger, Amelita Ward, Phil Brown | United States | |
| Murder, He Says | George Marshall | Fred MacMurray, Helen Walker, Marjorie Main | United States | |
| The Picture of Dorian Gray | Albert Lewin | George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed | United States | Supernatural horror film |
| The Unseen | Lewis Allen | Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall | United States | |
| The Vampire's Ghost | Lesley Selander | John Abbott, Charles Gordon, Peggy Stewart | United States | |
| The Woman in Green | Roy William Neill | Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce | United States | |
| Zombies on Broadway | Gordon Douglas | Alan Carney, Bela Lugosi, Wally Brown | United States | |
| 1946 |||||
| The Beast with Five Fingers | Robert Florey | Robert Alda, Andrea King, Peter Lorre | United States | |
| The Cat Creeps | Erle C. Kenton | Fred Brady, Lois Collier, Paul Kelly | United States | |
| The Catman of Paris | Lesley Selander | Carl Esmond, Lenore Aubert, Adele Mara | United States | |
| The Dark Mirror | Robert Siodmak | Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell | United States | |
| The Devil Bat's Daughter | Frank Wisbar | Rosemary La Planche, John James, Michael Hale | United States | |
| The Face of Marble | William Beaudine | John Carradine, Claudia Drake, Robert Shayne | United States | |
| The Flying Serpent | Sherman Scott | George Zucco, Ralph Lewis, Hope Kramer | United States | |
| House of Horrors | Jean Yarbrough | Robert Lowery, Martin Kosleck, Rondo Hatton | United States | |
| The Mask of Diijon | Lew Landers | Erich Von Stroheim, Jeanne Bates, William Wright | United States | |
| She-Wolf of London | Jean Yarbrough | Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden | United States | |
| The Spider Woman Strikes Back | Arthur Lubin | Brenda Joyce, Gale Sondergaard, Kirby Grant | United States | |
| Strangler of the Swamp | Frank Wisbar | Rosemary La Planche, Robert Barrat, Blake Edwards | United States | |
| Valley of the Zombies | Philip Ford | Robert Livingston, Adrian Booth, Ian Keith | United States | |
| 1947 |||||
| Fantômas | Jean Sacha | Marcel Herrand, Simone Signoret, Alexandre Rignault | France | |
| 1948 |||||
| Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein | Charles Barton | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr. | United States | |
| The Amazing Mr. X | Bernard Vorhaus | Turhan Bey, Lynn Bari, Cathy O'Donnell | United States | |
| The Creeper | Jean Yarbrough | Eduardo Ciannelli, Onslow Stevens, June Vincent | United States | |
| Night Has a Thousand Eyes | John Farrow | Edward G. Robinson, Gail Russell, John Lund | United States | |
| 1949 |||||
| Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff | Charles Barton | Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff | United States | |
| Alias Nick Beal | John Farrow | Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell | United States | |
| Fantomas Against Fantomas | Robert Vernay | Marcelle Chantal, Aimé Clariond, Alexandre Rignault | France | |
| Mahal | Kamal Amrohi | Ashok Kumar, Madhubala | India | |
| Master Minds | Jean Yarbrough | Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall | United States | |
| New Version of the Ghost of Yotsuya | Keisuke Kinoshita | Kinuyo Tanaka, Ken Uehara, Hisako Yamane | Japan | |