September 8th, 2009
What (Movie) Scares You Most?
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” referring to the mood of the country in 1933. Today we sometimes are fearful of life – without work, without money, without medicine, without love and care, without friends…. We cope with these fears (some days better than others) routinely and rationally.
But never fear—the Halloween season is upon us and we are encouraged to fear with complete abandon for a change!
Watching a classic or contemporary horror movie and scaring yourself silly (for 90 minutes or so) is like a safety valve. We screech, let off some “fear steam,” and feel better.
So the library wants to know what movies scare you most? What’s your #1 all time scariest, creepiest favorite movie and a close runner up if you have one?
For me the answer is: #1—“Carrie,” runner up—“Woman in Black.” Please post your responses!
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For me, the scariest movie would definitely be “The Changeling” from 1980 with George C. Scott. There’s a scene with a bathtub that made me and my brother afraid to take a bath for weeks and weeks… Great film.
Hi. I read a few of your other posts and wanted to know if you would be interested in exchanging blogroll links?
Hi Rick – thanks for your comment, but we’re not doing blogroll links at this time. Thanks for reading! Also, we’ve had many readers ask what a blogroll is (good question!), so here’s a brief definition: Blogrolls usually appear on the side of a webblog page and recommend other blog sites that might interest readers. These links are often blogs on related topics, links to blogs of friends or colleagues or other blogs that the writer recommends.
Hands down, “The Exorcist.” I had the unfortunate experience of watching this at age 13 at a sleepover…very bad decision. Haven’t had pea soup since and will never touch a ouija board! Another exceptionally scary flick that I love, Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula. Gary Oldman is just about perfect.
“Salem’s Lot” 1979. All I remember is the boy at the window asking to be let in. That movie caused a few restless nights for me as a youngster.
The library has 2 copies of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” available on DVD. I will be watching this soon! Gary Oldman is the best…
#1 Cape Fear with Robert DeNiro
#2 Silence of the Lambs
#3 Training Day
#4 Intensity — this was a tv movie based on the Dean Koontz book. I couldn’t sleep after reading the book and watching the movie was the same
#1) “It” an adaptation of a Steven King novel. To this day I still can’t look at a clown the same way!
#2) “Child’s Play”
#3) “The Birds” Quite possibly Hitchcock’s masterpiece
Poltergeist was almost too much for me to handle when I was little. Of course, it’s laughable now.
Clearly “The Exorcist” is one of the scariest of all time. The first major scene still gives me shivers.
And there’s nothing comforting about Jack Nicholson OR Shelley Duvall in The Shining.
What a great topic!! Everyone has had one movie that truly scared them and has stayed in the back of their mind. Sometimes when I see a large flock of starlings on the ground or flying overhead and they begin to caw….I flash back to “The Birds” by Alfred Hitchcock….what if they start to attack??
1. “Salem’s Lot” (the same exact scene with the boy at the window. I had “Reuben, let me in!”-nightmares for YEARS)
2. “It” (whenever I see clowns or those steaming grates I feel nauseous)
3. “Watcher in the Woods” (I think this was a Disney movie that wasn’t supposed to be that scary, but it scared the dickens out of me)
Speaking of horror films–the Perryville Branch Library will be showing the movie “From Within” on October 29th at 6:30. This is the movie that was filmed in Perryvill, Port Deposit, and Havre de Grace, so there should be a lot of familiar faces…!
The original “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” tops my list.
The vehicle for two at-that-time-future US Governors (Predator) isn’t bad, action/scary.
The only time I’ve ever been really scared was watching the remake of “The Ring” in theatres for the first time. It was just me and a friend in the theatre at the midnight showing. It was the perfect atmosphere for a scary movie.
Pretty much any movie that says “based on a true story/events” give me the creeps, such as The Blair Witch Project. When that movie came out in theaters I saw it with my brothers, and I happened to have a room in the basement of my house. My brother went down in my bedroom and stood in the corner. I was scared to death! Another one was An American Haunting.
Nightmare on Elm Street – what more needs to be said…….
Alfred Hitchcock produced many scarry movies including “The Birds” and “Psycho” (the original). Also a movie that still scares me even though I watch it over and over,” River Wild” starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon.
Since seeing the 1960 version of Psycho, I’ve not been a fan of horror movies, Psycho was enough.
Definitely It. I watched that movie at a friends house when only her sister was home and I was way too young to be watching such movies. We promised to cover our eyes during the scary parts, but we peeked of course and I’ve been terrified of clowns ever since. I also vaguely remember a scary movie about a snowman who went on a murderous rampage, that one gave me the chills as well.
“Misery”
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100157/
Does anyone get scared by the old classics any more–like the original Lon Chaney Phantom of the Opera or Bela Lugosi Dracula, or Boris Karloff’s Frankenstein? Compared to today’s horrors they just don’t frighten?
Definitely, the original Halloween. The image of Michael Myers wearing his ghostly white mask wielding a machete accompanied by that eerie music still gives me nightmares. Yet, every year at Halloween, I have to watch it over and over again. It just wouldn’t be Halloween without it.
for me, The Shining…Silence of the Lambs…and
another of the scariest movies for me is Rosemary’s Baby, for two reasons…
number one: you never did see that baby after it was born
number two: nobody in the movie could be trusted!
Movies don’t scare me at all. I get scared watching the news more.
I am definitely bookmarking this page and sharing it with my friends.