My horrible Thursday Thirteen

In honor of Halloween I'm going to do my 13 favorite scary movies. I'm going to try to do them in the order that I watched them in my life, but I may get a few out of order.

1. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things .I don't actually know how old I was when I saw this movie, but I do know that I wasn't supposed to be watching it. I know that because I was hiding behind my cousin's couch while she and my mom watched it. Since I found the a review on BadMovies.org, I probably wouldn't think very highly of it today, but I remember that it was horrifying as a child. I mean the title alone...sheesh!

2. Let's Scare Jessica to Death. Again, I was young when I watched this movie and as an adult I don't really remember anything about it except that it used to scare the C-R-A-P out of me. Going back and reading the review does bring back some memories -- mostly of a very creepy lake.

3. Friday the 13th (Part I or II -- after that, too cheesy) When I was in the 4th grade, I met my best friend Kendal. We had so much in common -- one of those things being scary movies. Just about every weekend we were together we would rent one of the Friday the 13th movies. I can remember one night my mom finally gave up on us and went to bed with a "BE QUIET" warning. No sooner had she given her command than Jason appeared on the screen -- not doing anything, mind you, just standing there -- and we let out a bloodcurdling scream! Ah, good times. Good times.

4. Halloween -- This is my all-time-favorite yet most-hated scary movie. I almost cannot watch it at all and certainly not by myself. This was another favorite of mine and Kendals. In college I once watched this alone in my apartment but had my boyfriend on the phone the whole time -- LONG DISTANCE!

I have a tremendous phobia of people who just stand there and don't say anything (see: Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers!). Mr. Daddy loves to exploit this fear by turning off the light of whatever room we're in and then just standing there. Not saying anything. Not moving. I try to keep my cool and I usually manage for a few seconds but then I start running for whatever light is closest and screaming like a little girl.

5. Nightmare on Elm Street (Part I). In the summer before 6th grade, Kendal went to go live with her dad in the northwest corner of our state. We kept in touch and visited fairly regularly. Our birthdays were exactly a week apart and she invited me up for her birthday. Nightmare on Elm Street had JUST come out on video and a whole group of 7th grade girls gathered around to watch. Did I mention that Kendal's dad lived out in the middle of NOWHERE? Next to a very creepy lake? And that there was a purported monster who lived on the lake called the Cootiewah. Let's just say we didn't get a lot of sleep that night.

6. The Exorcist. When small girls start speaking in the voice of the devil, well, that generally scares the pee out of me (not to mention what she does with the crucifix! Yikes!). Also, by this point in my life I am starting to be more scared by things that seem like they could actually happen than I am raging homicidal maniacs with mother/sister issues.

7. Night of the Living Dead. This movie has been remade several times, but the original is the best. The fact that it's shot in black and white gives it a very gritty, realistic feel. It was the first movie (that I know of) to feature the shambling, flesh hungry zombies.

8. Silence of the Lambs. Okay, this is not a traditional scary movie in the same way that the others are, but still. If you can watch Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and not be scared and revolted and fascinated all at the same time, then you are a better woman/man than I am.

9. Scream. The scary movie that made scary movies cool again (along with reviving Drew Barrymore's career) (OH! AND uniting Courtney Cox and David Arquette!). I loved how it played on the "rules" of scary movies and yet was still scary.

10. Rosemary's Baby. If I had to guess, I would say that this is my mother's favorite horror movie. And for many, many years I resisted watching it. Guess when I finally watched it? Go on, guess. When I was pregnant. With Bubba. And already paranoid about every damn thing that could happen. Sometimes now I wonder if I DID give birth to the devil's child -- that seems like it could be the only explanation for certain behaviors -- but I never ate raw liver when I was pregnant, so I think I'm safe.

11. The Others. This movies stars Nicole Kidman and was one of the best spooky, give-you-goose bumps movies I've ever seen. Although Mr. Daddy fell asleep in the theater, he still says he enjoyed it (he says the dark atmosphere and the fog in the movie overwhelmed him and put him to sleep). There is something really creepy that happens in the movie but I won't spoil it in case you haven't seen it.

12. 28 Days Later. The main character of this movies wakes from a coma to find that he is one of the last people left alive in London. The rest of the city is populated with zombies that have been infected with a rage virus. BUT, these zombies don't just stumble along. They RUN. Fast. It gives me the willies just thinking about it. There's a scene in a tunnel that is one of the most nerve jangling things I've ever watched (through my fingers!). On the upside, there's Cillian Murphy to look at. And that's never bad.

And finally,

13. Shaun of the Dead. Made by the same people who recently brought you Hot Fuzz. Although technically a comedy (and it is hilarious), this homage to traditional zombie movies does have it's own scary moments. Since I'm no longer really a fan of scary, gory movies, this one is right down my alley.

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