What scares you? (movies, books, stories, etc.)

[marcshoe]

I'm talking fiction, not news or politics.

I heard a podcast on this subject today, and was really disappointed in what was offered. For me there's so much; this is the stuff I read and write. A few things:

*When I was small I read a book about "true life" weird stuff. This book included a story about a boy who went out to the well to get water late at night and was drawn up into the sky and never heard from again. I was terrified to go outside after dark for years after, and when sent out at night, I kept one eye on the sky and one on the door. I still do.

*Acid-washed horror movies from the late sixties and early seventies. My favorite was Dan Curtis' "Burnt Offerings" with Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith. Two images stick with me: The creepy chauffeur of Oliver Reed's nightmares and the final shot of Karen Black.

*Several Stephen King stories, including the short story about the man whose hands become infested with eyes. Salem's Lot, too.

*M.R. James' 'O Whistle and I'll come to you, my lad." E.F. Benson's "The Room in the Tower." The latter may be the scariest short story I've ever read. Many other short horror offerings from the turn of the 19th/20th century.

This is just an intro. I'll add more later.

[757690]

Warming up in the Reds bullpen... (Anyone besides Chapman)

[nate]

Stephen King was the first author who made me scared reading a book in the middle of the day.

Recently, I'm not sure if it's "scary" but it's creepy and interesting (at least for awhile) the various "Slenderman" "creepy pasta" videos were pretty good (and well done.)

[marcshoe]

Warming up in the Reds bullpen... (Anyone besides Chapman)

No reality!!!:p

[marcshoe]

A couple of other short stories: "They Bite" by Anthony Boucher about what you see out of the corners of your eyes and a story I can't remember the title of by John Dickson Carr about "the thing that clutches and catches".

[foxfire123]

Stephen King was the first author who made me scared reading a book in the middle of the day.


Same here. I still to this day cannot read Salems Lot without having nightmares. Or go near a window at night. lol!

I love horror books, but what really scares me are authors like Dean Koontz, who can weave real life issues into his stories along with supernatural stuff. Like the Bioethics in One Door Away From Heaven and the government manipulation in Dark Rivers of The Heart. Or a doctor with a God Complex and drugs being able to destroy a life like in False Memory...

[marcshoe]

One that I intended to put in my next post was then non-supernatural Koontz book "Intensity". Probably the most disturbing book I've ever read.

A couple 180 degrees away: Whitley Streiber's "Communion" which is supposed to be non-fiction, but is really, imho, a collection of delusions caused by hypnosis. This one scared me because one incident mirrors something that happened to me when I was small in exact detail, including the words that were said, and a film in the same vein, again based on a supposedly true story (and I think the whole alien abduction stuff is bunk) "Fire in the Sky". I don't know why I find this stuff, which is complete nonsense, so creepy.

[redsfandan]

One that I intended to put in my next post was then non-supernatural Koontz book "Intensity". Probably the most disturbing book I've ever read.

A couple 180 degrees away: Whitley Streiber's "Communion" which is supposed to be non-fiction, but is really, imho, a collection of delusions caused by hypnosis. This one scared me because one incident mirrors something that happened to me when I was small in exact detail, including the words that were said, and a film in the same vein, again based on a supposedly true story (and I think the whole alien abduction stuff is bunk) "Fire in the Sky". I don't know why I find this stuff, which is complete nonsense, so creepy.

Maybe how it was portrayed in the movie OR the possibility that maybe, just maybe, SOMETHING really did happen but we'll never know what.

[RichRed]

One that I intended to put in my next post was then non-supernatural Koontz book "Intensity". Probably the most disturbing book I've ever read.


I'll back you up on that one. Just thinking about the bad guy (that term is so far from doing the character justice) in "Intensity" gives me the willies.

[WildcatFan]

I'll back you up on that one. Just thinking about the bad guy (that term is so far from doing the character justice) in "Intensity" gives me the willies.

I'm not a big fan of Koontz, but that book is creepy as HELL. I'll echo Stephen King; I read It a little too young, and the book sitting on my shelf takes me back to my childhood bedroom reading it with a flashlight and scaring the bejeezus out of myself.

Jaws really got me as a kid, too. I'm still afraid of sharks today. I've never jumped like the moment when that head popped out of the sunk boat.

Recently, it seems scary movies are all about blood and jump scenes, but a couple that really stayed with me recently were Insidious and, you'll laugh, but I thought the original was horrifying, Paranormal Activity.

[wolfboy]

The original Halloween. I still suspect that Michael Myers is lurking behind me in the dark, just waiting for his moment to pounce.

http://classic-horror.com/files/images/halloween-still.jpg


Stephen King's "It." (book, not movie) I never pass a sewer grate that doesn't make me think of the clown. Other Stephen King books were creepy, but that one took the cake for me.

[RichRed]

The single creepiest thing I've ever seen on TV is the "Home" episode of X-Files. It was the only episode of the show banned by FX from being repeated, due to its gruesome subject matter.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751137/

That peppy "Wonderful! Wonderful!" song playing during a particularly violent scene...yeeesh, I just got the chills again.

[redsfanmia]

The Exorcist and parts of the Shining movies still scare me to this day.

[919191]

When I was reading Lovecraft I has several nightmares that were related to his stories. The stories themselves didn't really creep me out- must have touched something on a deeper level.

[11larkin11]

As a child, I saw a news story about a boy who was going to the bathroom and a snake had made its way through the pipes and bit him while he was pooping.

To this day, when I lift the seat, I wait for about 10 seconds to make sure nothing is there.

Also as a child, Are You Afraid of the Dark was the scariest show on television.

[coachpipe]

Are You Afraid of The Dark

[HeatherC1212]

The movie Poltergeist scared the crap out of me for the longest time. I saw the movie way too young (I think I was 7-8 years old) and was convinced for years that the TV was going to suck me in, a clown was going to come attack me from under my bed, or that I was going to get sucked out my window somehow. I seriously jumped into and out of my bed for YEARS because of that movie and still get the willies every so often when I'm sleeping in unfamiliar places. :eek:

[RichRed]

The Exorcist and parts of the Shining movies still scare me to this day.

Those two freak me out, as well. If they're ever on one of the movie channels, I ain't watchin' 'em and you can't make me.

[redsfanmia]

Clowns make me very uncomfortable, not sure if scared is the right word but very uneasy.

[edabbs44]

When a Stranger Calls, the original.

[foxfire123]

The original movie Phantasm gave me nightmares for weeks. To make it even worse, we lived in the country, lots of trees, and not far from an old cemetery... I have never been able to rewatch that movie in the past 30-odd years since...!

[marcshoe]

The original "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" with Jim Hutton and the girl from True Grit was extremely scary. I liked the remake a lot too, but more so for the story than the scares.

Guillermo del Toro's The Orphanage was good and creepy as well.

[Roy Tucker]

I stumbled across "28 Weeks Later" on cable on a late winter night and it scared the pee out of me.

[Johnny Footstool]

The single creepiest thing I've ever seen on TV is the "Home" episode of X-Files. It was the only episode of the show banned by FX from being repeated, due to its gruesome subject matter.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751137/

That peppy "Wonderful! Wonderful!" song playing during a particularly violent scene...yeeesh, I just got the chills again.

Momma on the gurney = nightmare.

I believe the sheriff was named "Andy" and his deputy was "Barney." Extra laughs.

[NebraskaRed]

The movie Poltergeist scared the crap out of me for the longest time. I saw the movie way too young (I think I was 7-8 years old) and was convinced for years that the TV was going to suck me in, a clown was going to come attack me from under my bed, or that I was going to get sucked out my window somehow. I seriously jumped into and out of my bed for YEARS because of that movie and still get the willies every so often when I'm sleeping in unfamiliar places. :eek:

Same here! We had a VHS copy when I was a kid, and even though it scared me to death, I'd still try to watch it. I think I'd get about 30 minutes in, and turn it off every time.

When I was a little bit older, Twin Peaks terrified me. BOB is the single creepiest thing I've ever seen on TV.

[marcshoe]

Bumping this for Halloween.


Looking for a certain frisson that the season often finds.

[sonny]

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/10/29/ypevavyz.jpg

From Scary Stories tonTell in the Dark. (Shudder)

[Redsfaithful]

Poltergeist being rated PG is just about my favorite thing ever.

[westofyou]

What scares you?

That this is considered popular

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1321932/thumbs/o-MILEY-CYRUS-570.jpg?3

[kaldaniels]

Carnies.

[Rojo]

*Acid-washed horror movies from the late sixties and early seventies. My favorite was Dan Curtis' "Burnt Offerings" with Karen Black, Oliver Reed, Bette Davis, and Burgess Meredith.

Creepy indeed. And how could it not be with the creepiest acting corps ever assembled? How did Christopher Walken not get a call?

Scarier still was Race with the Devil with Peter Fonda, Warren Oates and Loretta Swit.

Also, I remember a TV movie from childhood that wasn't scary but very creepy. And I don't know the name of it. A teenage kid kills another kid and his mom hides him from the law by creating a room for him behind a false wall. The kid's an artist and draws all day but goes crazy from the solitude.

Does this ring any bells for anyone?

[19braves77]

There is one website were the members post photos that have been obtained from police people to help solve murders. One thread is like over a 100 pages long of nothing but photos taking by this one man that acted like a photographer across California and Europe. People post the pics asking for help in identifying the kids pictured or locations. Some of them are bound and look like they know they aren't leaving the woods. Its scary stuff.

[cumberlandreds]

The scary thing that gets me is the unknown. What is lurking in the dark or behind that door or in the cellar? You know something is there but what is it? The unknown is the best scare tatic any movie,TV producer or writer can ever use, IMO.

[Spazzrico]

After reading 1984.....Rats.

And I'll agree on the Poltergeist comments. The film had a lasting impact on me.

This scene not only ruined clowns, but the thought of putting my feet down next to my bed at night for fear of what lay beneath:
http://www.geekenfreude.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/poltergeistclown.jpg

And this one made me not be able to sleep if there was a tree outside my window, no shade...or worse a shade that showed a silhouette of a tree. Or the worst, a thunderstorm with a tree outside tapping its branches on the pane with the wind. So much lost sleep.......:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nil6ECa7Bg/TqraeseCXNI/AAAAAAAAA8w/8mzJXYmErPw/s400/zzzz+the+tree+in+Poltergeist+11405338_gal.jpg

[Spazzrico]

[QUOTE=cumberlandreds;2998136] What is lurking in the dark or behind that door or in the cellar? [QUOTE]

Remember having to run up basement stairs after you turned off a light, because as soon as the light is off out come the creatures to get you. And worst is if it was a staircase with no backs open to some void behind. Then you were sure to be dragged down to Hell by your ankles.

[CoachBombay]

I wish they still made scary movies...And stopped remaking older movies. Too many times I end up saying "really?"

[marcshoe]

That thing that lives in my closet.

[marcshoe]

The whispered voices that I may or may not hear.

[marcshoe]

The figure I see out of the corner of my eye, the one that vanishes almost as soon as I turn around.

Almost.

[marcshoe]

Remember having to run up basement stairs after you turned off a light, because as soon as the light is off out come the creatures to get you. And worst is if it was a staircase with no backs open to some void behind. Then you were sure to be dragged down to Hell by your ankles.

Feeling compelled to look back after you turn off that light. Fighting that feeling time and time again, until one day the compulsion becomes too strong, and you turn and look back into the darkness.


And you see what waits there.

[marcshoe]

The dark.

No, not the dead-of-night all around me, but rather the darkness inside.

[Joseph]

Clowns.

For real. Just like a little kid. Well not that bad, but still they make me do a double take.

[marcshoe]

The terror that wakes me in the small hours of the night, forcing me to face my own mortality.

The terror that causes me to wake, screaming.

[marcshoe]

LITTLE ORPHANT ANNIE

by: James Whitcomb Riley (1849-1916)

INSCRIBED WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION

To all the little children: -- The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones -- Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely bad ones.

LITTLE Orphant Annie's come to our house to stay,
An' wash the cups an' saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away,
An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep,
An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep;
An' all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun
A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about,
An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn't say his prayers,--
An' when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an' his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An' when they turn't the kivvers down, he wuzn't there at all!
An' they seeked him in the rafter-room, an' cubby-hole, an' press,
An' seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an' ever'-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an' roundabout:--
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' one time a little girl 'ud allus laugh an' grin,
An' make fun of ever' one, an' all her blood-an'-kin;
An' wunst, when they was "company," an' ole folks wuz there,
She mocked 'em an' shocked 'em, an' said she didn't care!
An' thist as she kicked her heels, an' turn't to run an' hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin' by her side,
An' they snatched her through the ceilin' 'fore she knowed what she's about!
An' the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

An' little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An' the lamp-wick sputters, an' the wind goes woo-oo!
An' you hear the crickets quit, an' the moon is gray,
An' the lightnin'-bugs in dew is all squenched away,--
You better mind yer parunts, an' yer teachurs fond an' dear,
An' churish them 'at loves you, an' dry the orphant's tear,
An' he'p the pore an' needy ones 'at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns 'll git you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!

"Little Orphant Annie" is reprinted from Complete Works. James Whitcomb Riley. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1916.

[Dom Heffner]

that X-Files "Home" episode...that was just...I'll never unsee it, that's for sure.

[Dom Heffner]

The terror that wakes me in the small hours of the night, forcing me to face my own mortality.

The terror that causes me to wake, screaming.

This hit close to home....i don't scream, though lately the rest has been me.

[marcshoe]

The One who lives in the woods and who should not be seen.