Which classic monster frightens you the most? Which one would you most not want to run into in a dark, dank basement?
Every October we immerse ourselves in movies that scare the bejesus out of us. Why do we do that?
When I was a little girl, my most frightening monster was…the werewolf. I’d watched I Was A Teenage Werewolf starring a young Michael Landon, and from that point on, I was aware of the transformative potential of a full moon. Vampires don’t frighten me, nor does Frankenstein or zombies, but hairy faced werewolves? Yeek!
For me, a good scary movie is less about the monster and more about the suspense. Movies like Alfred Hitchcock‘s The Birds or Stephen King‘s Christine, excellent. The Jason, Michael Meyers, Chucky movies don’t do it for me. I don’t like gory movies with gratuitous violence or movies where people venture into dark attics and then trip and fall running away.
Young Frankenstein? Now that’s a great Halloween movie!
Every culture has constructed monsters and the myths to go with them. I wonder what that says psychologically about human beings. I mean, it’s not like we don’t already have enough things to concern us on a daily basis! Just driving to work in the morning can be a horror show. What makes us conjure up even more frightening scenarios to the point where we don’t like to hang our feet over the bed in case there’s something under there to grab our foot!
Like a classic monster?
