Shows that good horror doesn't need gore

I think Poltergeist would be the best example. It didn't rely on a kill count or gore (except for Marty tearing his own face off) and it had fantastic mood.

I think the whole whining is because nowadays many horror films seem to be aimed at the teenage audience. Thus, not too scary. In my opinion, horror/thriller films with this type of tone found in what lies beneath seems to be more rare. However, I did enjoy the original Paranormal Activity, and even the original Saw, but it is disappointing that mainstream horror needs to be all about jump scares and whatnot. Ever so often we will get a great grab from the bunch, such as Sinister, early Shymalan (spelling?) The Ring back in 2002 (borrowed from the Japanese, of course). What are some of your favorites from the past decade which stood out??

I agree but I would call these kind of movies more suspenseful than horror. I prefer suspense over gory horror any day. Gore is not scary at all. I wish they made more movies like What Lies Beneath.
Another one I would add is Stir of Echos. Don't know the rating on that though.

I agree that good horror films do not need gore, but those you listed are thrillers, not horrors.

🐺 Boycott movies that involve real animal violence (& their directors) 🐾

I think it's just because a horror movie being PG-13 is so rarely planned to be that way—it's often a warning sign that there was some internal compromise or censorship along the way, and that's been a long-running thorn in the side of fans of horror movies.

I agree, this is a fantastic ghost story.

Aside from the overuse of fakeout jump scares, I agree. This had some fine suspense and build-up. The bathtub scene during the climax should be considered a classic thriller setpiece. No one in the room breathed when I watched this with my family.