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I recently sat at a table where everyone was talking about the first movie that ever scared the crap out of them. And the answers were abundant.
There was Child’s Play, the Chucky movie, which scared one woman’s mother so much she turned all the dolls in her home to face backward.
*That would actually scare me MORE.
Psycho, the original Hitchcock version, made one woman terrified she’d be stabbed to death whenever she showered.
IT, that creepy clown movie/miniseries, was one we all nodded our head to. We were scared of clowns, public bathrooms, sink drains, sewer systems, you name it!
Then there’s my list. It’s a long one. Because I’m a chicken sh*t when it comes to scary movies.
When I was growing up, here are the things that scared me about…
Exhibit A: sausage fingers
E.T. – Yah, not even a scary movie, but his fingers looked like sausages and they creeped me out and I was convinced he lived in our basement so I would only go down there if someone else was down there.
P.S. This movie is also frightening in Spanish. We watched it in my high school Spanish class and I had bad dreams with E.T. yelling “E.T. telefono a mi casa!!!” in them. It’s just scarier for some reason.
Scream (1, 2, & 3) – While this series is not very scary now, it was in middle school. And creepers wearing masks was all the rage. Not cool, bro. Not cool at all.
Sixth Sense – What a mind f*ck this movie was. Creepiest scene? I think it’s when the little boy is sitting in his tent and all the walls start shaking and he’s looking up, then when he looks forward again – there’s a dead girl in front of him, and she pukes!
The Ring – This movie came out when I was in high school. It’s about a dead girl who kills people by crawling out of their television sets and their bodies are found all mutilated and twisted. Now, I had a TV in my bedroom at this time. So I behaved in a normal fashion and slept with it on for a week straight because I was more terrified of waking up in the middle of the night and hearing the click of the dial on my TV and see the dead girl coming after me.
P.P.S. My TV was SO OLD. It actually did have dials. Two of them. And I could only get two channels to come in, so I watched a lot of Antiques Roadshow and Ricki Lake talk shows.
Joy Ride – What? No! The fact that Paul Walker is coming to save me does not make this better? Don’t feckin mess with late night truck drivers, ok?!
Halloween – Who would agree to ever babysit again after this???
The Exorcist – Um, that scene where the girl crab walks all crazy down the stairs. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiightmares!
Village of the Damned – Well hello angelic looking blonde child, please don’t kill me.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – NO! No I will not go out to your grandpa’s cabin in the country! Just NO!
I Am Legend – Circles of heaving zombies lurking in the dark? Nope. I’ma karate chop all the doors down in my house first.
The Exorcism of Emily Rose – Well that’s just great. I’m now terrified whenever I wake up in the vicinity of 3:33 am.
Paranormal Activity – Hell, even the previews for this were horrifying! I believe too much in ghosts and this movie made me think every house I ever lived in was haunted.
Evil Dead – Waaaay too much self inflicted torture in this one for me. If anyone needs me I’ll be curled up in a fetal position, clutching my teddy bear for the next several hours.
I could go on, but I think the ghosts are listening.
I need to go hide under the covers now.
What’s the scariest movie you’ve ever seen?
Jess Witkins' Happiness Project 
I remember watching Psycho on TV with my parents when I was about 11 or 12 (don’t ask me why they let me watch it; I have no clue). I refused to take a bath or shower for a week afterwards, until my mother marched me into the bathroom and stood over me while I took a bath. Long, long, long time before I would shower again. (And I hate baths.)
Never watched a scary movie since.
LOL. Really? You haven’t watched a scary movie since? I get so creeped out, but I can’t help myself. I love watching them.
My parents took my brother and I to a drive-in when I was about ten I guess. The Shining was playing. I think they expected us to curl up in the back of the car with blankets and sleep. I actually watched it & I don’t think I understood the psychological aspect enough to as scared as I should have been but it was still pretty creepy. Then there was Pet Cemetery. Yeah, I couldn’t sleep for weeks after that one. Stephen King is definitely a master of horror. I can’t watch the new horror films, the graphics have gotten too good..lol! But I love the old classics like Halloween. 🙂
I agree with you there, Shannon! The new movies’ special effects do intensify the cringe factor. I’m a bigger fan of the classics – Halloween, Poltergeist, Exorcist. But I’m a glutton for punishment and watch the new ones anyway. I’m surprised your parents took you to The Shining! Stephen King is the master – Misery is my fave.
Nosferatu – his spooky eyes, creepy fingers and jaggedy teeth give me the chills every time I watch it. http://nosferatumovie.com/
Oooh good one! We just watched that for the first time 1 or 2 years ago. It is creepy. And the old Dracula too with Bela Lugosi.
Jaws affected me the most. I still get nervous in the ocean! I was way too young to watch that movie.
I almost put Jaws on my list, Kirsten! You aren’t alone with that. But I still kinda want to go cage diving with sharks. I know, I’m mad!
I enjoy more psychological thrillers than gory movies. So for me the movie The Others with Nicole Kidman scared the living daylights out of me. The twist at the end was even better than The Sixth Sense. Sent chills straight down my spine. I’ve rewatched it several times since and it still creeps me out.
I just rewatched that within the last year and I agree – it is creepy and you don’t see the twist coming. I like that one a lot too, and I’d forgotten about it. Now I might need to watch it AGAIN!
I think the scariest one for me was Exorcist. Maybe part of that was due to my religious beliefs, but the other part was probably that I’d never seen anything remotely scary and I was in 3rd grade. I ran up and down the stairs of my friend’s house all throughout that movie (I was there for his birthday party). To this day I don’t like movies that delve into Satanism, etc. My philosophy is why give that kind of potential for evil a foothold in my mind? Better to not take any chances.
I snickered when I saw your comment about Sixth Sense. Hubby was so pissed at me because it was the first dvd movie we’d bought, and as we were going through the register, I suddenly had this thought and said, “I wonder if Bruce Willis’ character is dead in that movie.” He looked at me and said, “So help me if you’re right, I’m going to kill you.” 😀 That’s what happens when you tell someone who thinks about things way too much that “the end is really going to shock you” while the commercials for the movie keep focusing on Haley Joel Osmond saying “I see dead people.” 🙂
Oooooh what a bummer! Your poor hubby. Yah that movie just isn’t as good if you know what’s coming. SPOILER ALERT!!!
I was absolutely terrified of Poltergeist when it first came out. The skeletons in the swimming pool – yikes! But then I watched it again a few years ago and wondered what all the fuss was about. I think the combination of being young and seeing it in the theater made the movie far worse than it really was.
So, I gotta go with The Shining. Just watched it again last night, and I never tire of it. I think it’s the psychological horror, the sound effects – beating heart, howling wind – that compound the impending sense of dread. Not just my favorite horror movie, but one of my favorite films all around.
Oh it’s a classic. And a creepy one. I prefer the psychological ones too. Misery is one of my favorite Stephen King stories/movies too. Lots of good ones…and then there was Dreamcatcher. *sigh*
One of the few books I just quit reading halfway through. It was THAT stupid.
Bahahahaha! Yah…butt aliens. #HeadDesk
I don’t remember the name of the movie. We lived around the corner from a family that managed a Spanish Theater. I used to go with one of their daughters when they had to work. We would watch whatever was playing and eat to our hearts content candy and ice cream. Okay..back to the movie. It was in Spanish so I don’t know what was being said. I just remember it being in black and white. There was someone playing at the piano and suddenly this disembodied hand appeared out of nowhere and stabbed the pianist. I still have nightmares of this movie to this very day.
Ohmygod! That does sound horrifying. If you think of the title, tell me! Sounds super spooky.
It was horrifying and I was only about 11 at the time. I will try and remember.
For me, the Ring is probably the scariest one on your list.
There was a movie I watched years ago called “Trilogy of Terror”. I don’t even remember a thing about two of the stories in it, but the last one scared me to death. I had to look up the name of it, and it was “Amelia”. There’s this little doll running around chasing this woman, and you can hear its little feet as it runs. It has this spear. Razor sharp teeth. But the ending…oh my stars! I’m not going to give it away in case some of you want to watch it. I have chills right now thinking about it!
I don’t know if I can. I’ve self diagnosed myself with pediophobia – the fear of dolls coming alive. Movies that have that in it give me the major willies! I’m creeped out by your description.
I would add The Omen. My boyfriend at the time drew 666 on my ankle with a sharpie!
So mean! That is a creepy one! The hanging in the beginning? Yikes!
I loooove scary movies! i’ll have to think about it! 🙂
Do share your faves!
IT and Child’s Play both freaked me out when I was a kid. Lol – ET scarier in Spanish.
After watching The Exorcism of Emily Rose, I was terrified of waking up in the middle of the night and seeing 3.33 on the clock.
Good! Then I’m not alone!
I missed this post last week! How did I miss it?
I remember a sleepover in an old farmhouse where we watched Children of the Corn AND Poltergeist. I couldn’t have been more than 9 or 10 at the time. So freaking scary. To this day, I’m not big on scary movies and my hubs HATES them, so we don’t really watch many. I’ve seen many on your list, though. I also prefer the psychological thrillers to the blood and gore type movies.
Have you seen Gone Girl yet? Yikes!
Joe and I watched Children of the Corn for the first time last year. I bought it kind of by accident. I was thinking it was Village of the Damned. Oops.