HALLOWEEN SPECIAL: What scares YOU?

OK, preamble; there are SO many horror films and stories out there these days. And most of the films are jump scares, the cheapest 'scare' tactic there is.

Books can be better. They can terrify you by reaching into the darkest corners of your inner self. Done well, they touch upon some fear we have that we may not even know about, something we never even really thought about. The books that I've read that do this, are the scariest and most blood chilling there is.

Stephen King is the master of modern horror for me. If I had to look into the past, I'd say it was Edgar Allen Poe.

And the most terrifying book I've read, was King's PET SEMATARY.



The basic premise of this story is: "If you could bring back something (or someone) you loved, even if they might never be same, would you?"
This 'decision' is what made me, as a reader, uncomfortable.

The 'big event' of the story is largely predictable, but I'll avoid major spoilers.
The pet cat (Churchill) is killed in a motor accident and 'returns' to life through the magic of the Sematary. But, as expected, it is a weird shell of what it was.
The story continues without any other major events until late on, but the EXPECTATION is nerve shattering.
When the expected happens, the fear turns to dread and discomfort as you question what you'd do in a similar situation.

The end is horrifying. Pure and simple.

In my own short story collection (The Witch of Lichley Lane, available on amazon now for only 99p/c) there is a story named 'Till Death' which also concerns making awful decisions following the death of a loved one - this time in the case of the elderly Actons.

Of course, what scares one person might do nothing for another.

So, in the spirit of Halloween, what scares you the most in film, TV or books?

Nowt...I fear neither beast nor daemon nor spirit

my living fellow man however...some of them scare me shitless........

Lord Foul wrote:Nowt...I fear neither beast nor daemon nor spirit

my living fellow man however...some of them scare me shitless........

They can be scarier tbf, on a different level

Eilzel wrote:OK, preamble; there are SO many horror films and stories out there these days. And most of the films are jump scares, the cheapest 'scare' tactic there is.

Books can be better. They can terrify you by reaching into the darkest corners of your inner self. Done well, they touch upon some fear we have that we may not even know about, something we never even really thought about. The books that I've read that do this, are the scariest and most blood chilling there is.

Stephen King is the master of modern horror for me. If I had to look into the past, I'd say it was Edgar Allen Poe.

And the most terrifying book I've read, was King's PET SEMATARY.



The basic premise of this story is: "If you could bring back something (or someone) you loved, even if they might never be same, would you?"
This 'decision' is what made me, as a reader, uncomfortable.

The 'big event' of the story is largely predictable, but I'll avoid major spoilers.
The pet cat (Churchill) is killed in a motor accident and 'returns' to life through the magic of the Sematary. But, as expected, it is a weird shell of what it was.
The story continues without any other major events until late on, but the EXPECTATION is nerve shattering.
When the expected happens, the fear turns to dread and discomfort as you question what you'd do in a similar situation.

The end is horrifying. Pure and simple.

In my own short story collection (The Witch of Lichley Lane, available on amazon now for only 99p/c) there is a story named 'Till Death' which also concerns making awful decisions following the death of a loved one - this time in the case of the elderly Actons.

Of course, what scares one person might do nothing for another.

So, in the spirit of Halloween, what scares you the most in film, TV or books?

You have to ask yourself why Pet Sematary got you by the balls. For most people the horror of losing a child and then go dig them up and reanimate them is enough to drive you insane. King's a master of the urban horror, taking everyday situations and twisting them. When a writer can do that, it's a winner for me. You should read Adam Neville...he's a brilliant horror writer. His novel, No One Gets Out Alive, and the House of Small Shadows, gave me the heebie Jeebies, and I don't scare easily.

Are you on Wattpad? You should be. It's very good for networking.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Eilzel wrote:OK, preamble; there are SO many horror films and stories out there these days. And most of the films are jump scares, the cheapest 'scare' tactic there is.

Books can be better. They can terrify you by reaching into the darkest corners of your inner self. Done well, they touch upon some fear we have that we may not even know about, something we never even really thought about. The books that I've read that do this, are the scariest and most blood chilling there is.

Stephen King is the master of modern horror for me. If I had to look into the past, I'd say it was Edgar Allen Poe.

And the most terrifying book I've read, was King's PET SEMATARY.



The basic premise of this story is: "If you could bring back something (or someone) you loved, even if they might never be same, would you?"
This 'decision' is what made me, as a reader, uncomfortable.

The 'big event' of the story is largely predictable, but I'll avoid major spoilers.
The pet cat (Churchill) is killed in a motor accident and 'returns' to life through the magic of the Sematary. But, as expected, it is a weird shell of what it was.
The story continues without any other major events until late on, but the EXPECTATION is nerve shattering.
When the expected happens, the fear turns to dread and discomfort as you question what you'd do in a similar situation.

The end is horrifying. Pure and simple.

In my own short story collection (The Witch of Lichley Lane, available on amazon now for only 99p/c) there is a story named 'Till Death' which also concerns making awful decisions following the death of a loved one - this time in the case of the elderly Actons.

Of course, what scares one person might do nothing for another.

So, in the spirit of Halloween, what scares you the most in film, TV or books?

You have to ask yourself why Pet Sematary got you by the balls.    For most people the horror of losing a child and then go dig them up and reanimate them is enough to drive you insane.   King's a master of the urban horror, taking everyday situations and twisting them.   When a writer can do that, it's a winner for me.    You should read Adam Neville...he's a brilliant horror writer.  His novel, No One Gets Out Alive, and the House of Small Shadows, gave me the heebie Jeebies, and I don't scare easily.

Are you on Wattpad?   You should be.   It's very good for networking.

Yeah, for me it's the "I know bringing back my dead child might be really awful and twisted - but they were my child. And I want the back". It's a really, really awful thing to have to think about, which is why the story is such a killer.

I'll look into Neville, if House of Small Shadows is a Haunted House story I should love it

I'm on a Fantasy Writing Forum which is great for feedback and contests, as well as three FB groups. I've read a bit on Wattpad and it's very hit and miss. When I'm not so busy I might give it another look though

Eilzel wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

You have to ask yourself why Pet Sematary got you by the balls.    For most people the horror of losing a child and then go dig them up and reanimate them is enough to drive you insane.   King's a master of the urban horror, taking everyday situations and twisting them.   When a writer can do that, it's a winner for me.    You should read Adam Neville...he's a brilliant horror writer.  His novel, No One Gets Out Alive, and the House of Small Shadows, gave me the heebie Jeebies, and I don't scare easily.

Are you on Wattpad?   You should be.   It's very good for networking.

Yeah, for me it's the "I know bringing back my dead child might be really awful and twisted - but they were my child. And I want the back". It's a really, really awful thing to have to think about, which is why the story is such a killer.

I'll look into Neville, if House of Small Shadows is a Haunted House story I should love it

I'm on a Fantasy Writing Forum which is great for feedback and contests, as well as three FB groups. I've read a bit on Wattpad and it's very hit and miss. When I'm not so busy I might give it another look though

Absolute Write is another good forum.

I love Wattpad. Yeah it's hit and miss but I've read some good stuff on there, and it has something like 48 million readers. I tried my hand at fanfic and so far have 6K reads in just a few weeks. Madness! I also like it because I offer help to more inexperienced writers. I tried Scribophile but don't like the format. Too many shit writers trying to pull your work apart.

I don't put all my stuff on there though, for obvious reasons. But they are talking about offering a service where readers either pay or tip you for reading your work. We'll see.

I like films that scare me because they could happen, psychological horrors.

The one outrageous truly gory film I loved was an early one of Clive Barker...the original HELLRAISER...far fetched but very atmospheric...and very scarey  imo.

'The others' and 'The sixth sense' both made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the end.

Syl wrote:I like films that scare me because they could happen, psychological horrors.

The one outrageous truly gory film I loved was an early one of Clive Barker...the original HELLRAISER...far fetched but very atmospheric...and very scarey  imo.

'The others' and 'The sixth sense' both made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the end.

It takes a lot to freak me out...but one incident did when I went along to the old Winter Gardens in Morecambe. We spent the night there, and were standing on the stage, in the dark. Suddenly I heard these footsteps coming towards me from the wings. Like shuffling. It got so close I could hear the squeak of leather. Bearing in mind I was standing on my own on that part of the stage. Then someone turned the lights on and there was no one there. I was like....shit!

Syl wrote:I like films that scare me because they could happen, psychological horrors.

The one outrageous truly gory film I loved was an early one of Clive Barker...the original HELLRAISER...far fetched but very atmospheric...and very scarey  imo.

'The others' and 'The sixth sense' both made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the end.

Hellraiser is pretty bizarre but I remember being pretty shocked by Pinhead as a young teen lol

^HF, sounds chilling. Interestingly, in spite of loving fantasy and horror, I have zero fear of anything supernatural IRL, and pretty much decide on an explanation to anything that happens.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:I like films that scare me because they could happen, psychological horrors.

The one outrageous truly gory film I loved was an early one of Clive Barker...the original HELLRAISER...far fetched but very atmospheric...and very scarey  imo.

'The others' and 'The sixth sense' both made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up at the end.

It takes a lot to freak me out...but one incident did when I went along to the old Winter Gardens in Morecambe.  We spent the night there, and were standing on the stage, in the dark.   Suddenly I heard these footsteps coming towards me from the wings.  Like shuffling.  It got so close I could hear the squeak of leather.   Bearing in mind I was standing on my own on that part of the stage.  Then someone turned the lights on and there was no one there.    I was like....shit!  

Yep, I believe some eerie things can happen that cant be logically explained.....and I believe imagination can also play a part, especially if you are freaked out to begin with.
In other words...I have an open mind, but personally I would love to see an actual ghost.

The film that always scared me is The Exorcist. It scared me in 1974 and I still can't watch it to this day.

Spooks, ghosties, etc don't scare me as I believe in the spirit world.

Les, I read Pet Cemetry and it was horrible!

magica wrote:The film that always scared me is The Exorcist. It scared me in 1974 and I still can't watch it to this day.

Spooks, ghosties, etc don't scare me as I believe in the spirit world.

We saw the exorcist at the cinema the first week it was released,
. I remember when we left there were groups from some church handing out leaflets and asking people if they were disturbed and in need of help.

Psalm 23:4: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For I am the badest mutha-fucker in the valley,
Come get some, y'all wannabes...

When I was a kid in Ocean City, New Jersey, I saw The Wizard of Oz.  That witch with the green face scared the crap outta me.

eddie wrote:Les, I read Pet Cemetry and it was horrible!

On a whole other level.

^Well, Quill, whatever it takes, I guess

I'm not a big fan of horror films because I'm always like "fucking hit him dickhead, throw something at him... Jesus fucking Christ you guys are idiots" anyway you get the picture.

I find my biggest fears are more practical (snakes mainly) and more for my dogs than myself.

Although I think some might find my 'regular' a bit frightening
Not only is there the practical (3 of the top 10 most venomous snakes, fuck tonnes of spiders, other wildlife and 30 km from medical treatment)
I also live across the road from the cemetery, which has the previous owners of my house in it (the couple that built it, around 1917, and the man from the next couple) I've gone and visited them , paid my respects etc 

I actually bought the house (in part, it was the final 'fuck it, lets do this') because of a ghostly/ethereal voice that greeted me when i first walked in (empty, overgrown and in some disrepair) it said 'You're home' it was a female voice like a wife/mother that was happy/relieved that I'd come through the door. It's sort of more for the reincarnation thread.... but I think I might be the reincarnation of the original owner (died about 30 years before I was born)  I do Feel at home here and everything has turned out better than what could have been realistically hoped for; the paper work buying the house, no hassles and the bank immediately valued it at 30K more than I paid I've made friends really easily and the towns 'old boys' treat me like I'm a 'local' more so than some people that have been here a few years longer than me. Even my Career which I expected to Plateau, I ended up getting head hunted and now earning like 30% more than I was in Sydney...combine with the lower cost of living rural and comparatively tiny mortgage I'm Vastly better off than If I hadn't listened to the ghost voice

You know what I think Horror is thinly veiled Ghost/Spirit 'prejudice' 
They have been really nice to me 


I also think... I'm not really on the 'spectrum' the horror genre is targeting 

veya_victaous wrote:I'm not a big fan of horror films because I'm always like "fucking hit him dickhead, throw something at him... Jesus fucking Christ you guys are idiots" anyway you get the picture.

I find my biggest fears are more practical (snakes mainly) and more for my dogs than myself.

Although I think some might find my 'regular' a bit frightening
Not only is there the practical (3 of the top 10 most venomous snakes, fuck tonnes of spiders, other wildlife and 30 km from medical treatment)
I also live across the road from the cemetery, which has the previous owners of my house in it (the couple that built it, around 1917, and the man from the next couple) I've gone and visited them , paid my respects etc 

I actually bought the house (in part, it was the final 'fuck it, lets do this') because of a ghostly/ethereal voice that greeted me when i first walked in (empty, overgrown and in some disrepair) it said 'You're home' it was a female voice like a wife/mother that was happy/relieved that I'd come through the door. It's sort of more for the reincarnation thread.... but I think I might be the reincarnation of the original owner (died about 30 years before I was born)  I do Feel at home here and everything has turned out better than what could have been realistically hoped for; the paper work buying the house, no hassles and the bank immediately valued it at 30K more than I paid I've made friends really easily and the towns 'old boys' treat me like I'm a 'local' more so than some people that have been here a few years longer than me. Even my Career which I expected to Plateau, I ended up getting head hunted and now earning like 30% more than I was in Sydney...combine with the lower cost of living rural and comparatively tiny mortgage I'm Vastly better off than If I hadn't listened to the ghost voice

You know what I think Horror is thinly veiled Ghost/Spirit 'prejudice' 
They have been really nice to me 


I also think... I'm not really on the 'spectrum' the horror genre is targeting 

Very interesting story about your experience when and after buying the house veya! I have to admit, old houses are something that appeal to me. They always seem to have more character than the cookie cutter shoe box things that are often built these days (in parts of the UK at least).

Not that I'd consider one in Oz, though. Not if even one of the top 10 poisonous anythings was within 10km

Also, I think the 'spectrum' aimed at with horror novels vs today's horror movies is VERY different. Movies make me jump, but they don't 'really' scare me. They have little emotional depth to them, just idiots being killed off in creative ways... a good horror novel stays with you

Gonna hijack this thread slightly and post up two scenes from movies I saw as a kid that freaked the everloving holy FUCKBALLS out of me:


(skip to around 1:30)


(oddly enough, starts at about the same spot as the other)

*THE Ben Reilly* wrote:Gonna hijack this thread slightly and post up two scenes from movies I saw as a kid that freaked the everloving holy FUCKBALLS out of me:


(skip to around 1:30)


(oddly enough, starts at about the same spot as the other)

I remember the first time I watched that steak scene, I had to cover my face. But that's not scary just disgusting

I prefer to be scared stiff than knocked sick.
Too much gore just isnt frightening, I try to work out how they have managed to film someones eye falling out. or how the axe actually went right through the scull...and the magic is lost.

I find psychological dramas far more worrying than horror films.

Nightmare on Elm Street, the first one, scared the shit out of me though. The thought of being hunted and killed in your dreams....., holy hell no.

Syl wrote:I prefer to be scared stiff than knocked sick.
Too much gore just isnt frightening, I try to work out how they have managed to film someones eye falling out. or how the axe actually went right through the scull...and the magic is lost.

Remember that old black and white movie, The Haunting? You never saw anything but the sound design was so scary I had sleepless nights when I saw it as a kid. That 'thing' pounding the walls at night? Imagination runs riot.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:I prefer to be scared stiff than knocked sick.
Too much gore just isnt frightening, I try to work out how they have managed to film someones eye falling out. or how the axe actually went right through the scull...and the magic is lost.

Remember that old black and white movie, The Haunting?   You never saw anything but the sound design was so scary I had sleepless nights when I saw it as a kid.   That 'thing' pounding the walls at night?   Imagination runs riot.

I think some films we saw when we were younger stay with us because they were so atmospheric.
Others, Gaslight, and a little known one on a similar theme Midnight Lace....both were brilliant, made more so because they were realistic.

Syl wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

Remember that old black and white movie, The Haunting?   You never saw anything but the sound design was so scary I had sleepless nights when I saw it as a kid.   That 'thing' pounding the walls at night?   Imagination runs riot.

I think some films we saw when we were younger stay with us because they were so atmospheric.
Others, Gaslight, and a little known one on a similar theme Midnight Lace....both were brilliant, made more so because they were realistic.

They relied on the watchers imagination, rather than cgi.

What do I find scary......

The fact that halloween is cultural appropriation on a massive scale, yet all those lefty lovies (and many more of course but that doesnt excuse the lefty hipocrisy) wallow in it every year.....