For years I loved a good horror movie and scary novel. Okay, true confessions? I was a bit of a junky. In my teens and twenties, I watched everything from the slasher films like Halloween, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th to the ghost and demon filled movies like Amityville Horror, Rosemary’s Baby and The Omen. I read everything by Stephen King and Dean Koontz, and I loved the crime novels of Patricia Cornwell. When my college drama professor asked our class why we liked horror and thrillers, I had the oh so clever and insightful answer of, “I like to be scared.” Dumbed down though it may sound, it was the truth. At that time, I really enjoyed being scared out of my mind.
My how times have changed!
I don’t know exactly when it happened (though I have a pretty good idea of why), but sometime around my thirtieth birthday, I lost my taste for the scary. I couldn’t sit through the rental of Wolf Creek. I literally had to leave the room. I spent the last hour of that movie in my friend’s kitchen, reading the latest issue of People magazine. I didn’t even bother entertaining the notion of going to see Saw II, The Hills Have Eyes, Last House on the Left, or any remakes or new editions with Freddie and/or Jason. I could no longer read a thriller without having to sleep with the lights on or putting the book in the freezer like Joey on Friends.
You see, sometime around my third decade I realized that bad stuff really does happen. All the time! People really do get stalked and murdered and tortured. It all became very real to me and suddenly, it really scared me. I realized I wasn’t scared before, merely entertained. NOW it’s scary and I don’t like to be scared! Maybe it makes me an old fuddy duddy, but I’d rather watch comedies and romances. When I want a thrill, I watch spy and action films.
My attraction to the things that go bump in the night didn’t die completely though. I do still like a good ghost story or movie this time of year. They’re rarely graphic and they let me use my imagination. Plus, I feel less threatened by the specter in the attic than the crazy man in the basement.
Some of my all time scary favorites:
The Exorcist – the ultimate and a classic!
Amityville Horror
Poltergeist –TV static can be very unnerving.
The Shining – The book is just as scary (if not more so) as the movie!
How about you? Do you like a good scary movie near Halloween or do you avoid them? What are some of your faves?
3 comments:
I"m funny about scary movies. Sometimes I'm just in the mood for one. Other times, NO WAY am I gunna watch that alone.
I like the scary, but medium level scary lik Supernatural or Xfiles. A good interesting episode that also allows me to be able to sleep.
I tend to stick with the comedies these days. The horrors just bother me too much for too long. Empty public restrooms, like the ones in movie theaters in the middle of a movie, scare me to death, from Copycat which I saw in oh I don't know 1996?
B, like you, I prefer "medium" scary. X-files is a good barometer (minus the Home epi).
E, I remember that movie and that scene!!! empty public restrooms are scary. right up there with parking garages!
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