Liz Wants to Know Your Darkest Movie Fears
Since tomorrow is Halloween, we Squawkers are in the mood for spookiness. And what better way to spook yourself silly than by watching scary movies? So today, we’re all going to blog on a movie that scared the bejabbers out of us at some point in our lives.
For me, it was “The Haunting.” The original 1963 version with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom and Russ Tamblyn, not the phoney-baloney remake that blew chunks. I first saw it when I was twelve, when my sixth grade English teacher showed it in class--in two parts. The first half one day, the second half the next. Even with a break in the action like that, this movie scared me to death. To this day, it remains the only movie that thoroughly creeps me out, no matter how many times I see it. It’s just so wonderfully atmospheric and, well, creepy.
Based on a novel (I think--it may have been a short story) by Shirley Jackson, it’s the story of a haunted house with a history of violence and madness which is being investigated by psychic researchers (and, it goes without saying, one skeptic). As the action unfolds, the house itself virtually becomes a character in the film, and its guests, one by one, become its victims in some way or another. What’s so wild is that there is NOTHING in this movie that’s gory or explicit or violent. In fact, the scariest scene is one that focuses solely on a wall of the house. The terror comes from what the viewer generates in her own imagination. It’s a rare movie that can do that.
Ooo, I’m getting goose bumps just writing about it.
Hopefully the other Squawkers will jump in down below my blog and talk about their favorite scary movies. And you guys, too. What’s the scariest movie you ever saw? Why did it scare you so much?
And, hey, what would Halloween be without tricks and treats? We Squawkers have both for you! For treats, we have two bags full of candy and Squawk Radio goodies to give away. For tricks, we have two advanced reading copies of Xtina’s December release THE PRINCE KIDNAPS A BRIDE. We’ll be choosing the winners randomly from our membership list, so if you haven’t joined, now’s the time. After tomorrow, in order to post, you’ll need to be a member anyway. So now’s the perfect time to sign up. We’ll choose our winners from whoever’s on the list as of the witching hour tomorrow, PST. (That’s midnight Pacific Time Tuesday, dontcha know.)