What Movie/Book Gave You Phobias?

[DiscoDan]

I don't know about you, but for me the easiest way to judge whether a book or movie is truly scary or not is if it gives you a new phobia. For instance, a lot of people become scared of clowns after watching/reading Stephen King's IT, and sharks/swimming after Jaws.

An example of a movie that should, but does not, give you a fear would be "Boogeyman" I was really hoping that movie would bring back my fears of the closet and things under the bed. It did not.

So what movie or book was it that made you scared of something?

[maestrowork]

You mean a movie that made you scared of something that you hadn't been in the past?

Exorcist. Made me scared of pea soup.


(j/k-- let me think on it a bit)

[katiemac]

How about that one with Britney Spears? Crossroads? Yeah, that'll do it.


Oh, a serious answer. It's been a long time since a movie has scared me. I think when I was about 7 or 8 I saw Jurassic Park, and the TRex was pretty frightening, right around the part where it ate the goat. Didn't like that very much.

[Savannah Blue]

The book that scared me the most ever, Stephan King's Cujo. The first time I tried to read it my son was the same age as the little boy is the story and our next door neighbor had just brought home a full grown St. Benard that had been abandoned at her job. It embarrassed me because books and movies, as a rule, don't scare me. Just too close to reality for me I guess. Years later, after the dog passed on from old age and my son was grown, I finally read the book and enjoyed it.

[MacAllister]

ugh--the whole boogeyman in the closet/under the bed thing TOTALLY freaks me out.

[three seven]

I saw Jaws when I was about 6. It didn't just make me scared of sharks, but creepy lurky things in general. Our sofa and my bed had legs and from then on I couldn't put my feet on the floor when I sat down, and I had to jump onto my bed from as far away as possible. I was scared of swimming well into my teens.

[DiscoDan]

How about that one with Britney Spears? Crossroads? Yeah, that'll do it.

Hey, I love Britney Spears!! :P


<Back on topic> For me it was a MacGyver episode I think in which they were somewhere that had overpopulated with ants, and they were eating towards the city or something.. I've been absolutely freaked out by ants ever since.

[Denis Castellan]

I can't remember of any book or movie that gave me a new phobia, but some little things give me a shiver when I see them and even when I think about them afterwards.

The scene in "Pet Sematary" where the kid cuts the old man's ankle from under the bed... that always makes me rub my own ankle.

The scene in "Stir of Echoes" where you see the girl trying to find a grip on the wooden floor and one of her fingernails gets pulled off... that makes me grind my teeth.

[maestrowork]

Poltergeist. I was young then and it made me scared of dark places and mass tombs. Before then I'd actually walk past cemetaries at night by myself...

I'm no longer afraid (I still walk through cemetaries at night by myself now). But I was afraid for a while after that movie came out.

[three seven]

The scene in "Pet Sematary" where the kid cuts the old man's ankle from under the bed... that always makes me rub my own ankle.

The scene in "Stir of Echoes" where you see the girl trying to find a grip on the wooden floor and one of her fingernails gets pulled off... that makes me grind my teeth.
http://www.geocities.com/thingumybobwotsit/eek.gif Yeah, those'd get me too. I can stomach most things (can happily sit through autopsies etc) but if you cut your finger in front of me I turn into a girl. http://www.geocities.com/thingumybobwotsit/baby.gif

[CindyBidar]

When the Blair Witch Project came out, I was living in a ground floor apartment in a heavily wooded area. My back patio doors opened right into the trees. Beautiful place during the day, but at night, in the fall, when the dog had to go out...creepy.



--cindy

[MacAllister]

:ROFL: When Blair Witch Project came out, I was housesitting for some friends who had a fairly isolated "cabin" (summer-house, really) that sat up a remote little gravel road, out in the woods.

I spent the next month locking doors and double checking them, with a galloping case of the heebie-jeebies...

[Fractured_Chaos]

As far as movies goes...

Seeing the first "Matrix" in theatres made me question my own reality for awhile....

"Minority Report" made me uncomfortable...

But watching the remastered version of "The Excorsist", while I was alone for an entire weekend, really did me in! :eek:

[three seven]

The Exorcist freaked me out for the sole reason that my eldest daughter was the spit for Regan at the time I watched it. Ugh.

[Fractured_Chaos]

Yikes, three seven! I can imagine so!

I think the reason if did me in was due to the new stuff (or maybe it was something I hadn't noticed before...years ago).

The subliminal flashes of the demon on the range-hood as the mother walks through the kitchen, and again on the inside of Regan's door, just before the mother opened it gave me the heebies.

Plus, the scene that was added in where Regan "spider-walked" down the stairs? *shudder*

Of course, at one point, I paused the movie to run to the little girl's room, and when I got out, I realized just where I paused it. On a close-up of Regan's distorted face, with her eyes lit up.

Creeeeeeeeepy! :Jaw:

[Mark Anderson]

I wonder how many folks are forgetting the masterpiece that aired in the mid-70's, Trilogy of Terror starring Karen Black. The last story was 'Amelia', about the little doll that terrorizes her and chases her screaming around the apartment. A combination of that, the Puppet Master series and Magic have made me very uncomfortable around dolls. Particularly the ones that some folks build shrines to, little areas where their dolls sit around with their hyper-real faces and jittering eyes quietly plotting how to murder you in your sleep...

[MacAllister]

Mark...:rolleyes: oh YEAH! Heh--I never liked dolls much anyway.

It's interesting to me that we spend more time talking about horror films than we do written fiction. Is the medium just more effective and expressive for the genre, do you think?

[Mark Anderson]

It's interesting to me that we spend more time talking about horror films than we do written fiction. Is the medium just more effective and expressive for the genre, do you think?

You know, that's interesting. When I think of what is scary, books always come to mind. But the only thing I could think of that resulted in me actually developing a bit of a phobia was a movie.

Perhaps it's a result of being able to put down a book if it becomes too intense, or having time to reflect and compartmentalize what you've read between readings. Movies are more of a visceral infodump, at least in a non-VCR situation.

Another thought: Since becoming serious about writing, I've started to enjoy books a lot less. I find myself constantly falling out of the fiction to reflect on a nicely written passage, or cringe over a Swifty, or think of how I would have written that bit differently. If you are busy thinking of the mechanics of the fiction it is harder to be deeply affected, because you are no longer a consumer but a student.

[maestrowork]

I'm a movie nut, so my perspective is skewed. I think they're different media, but certainly movies can do things books can't. I think with books, you use own imagination and you dig deep in your own psyche to find that scary place. But with books, you also have the chance to put down the book, stop reading it, and take a breather. If it's too scary for you, you might even not go back to it...

With movies, in a way you're held captive. It's a very visual media so it scares you in a pretty real way. Instead of imagining what the alien monster looks like, you actually see it, and it can reach that visceral level really fast. Of course, the best horror is still a psychological one (that's what makes the original Alien so powerful and scary)... what you don't see... for example, Seven (though a suspense) is very disturbing and scary, but much of the horror is not shown at all. It's all in our imagination.

[maestrowork]

I just thought of another "movie" -- BIRDS. That made me so scared of birds afterwards. I'm still scared of birds, I think.

[three seven]

Haha, I just remembered something else as well. You remember Bob in Twin Peaks? He used to scare the **** out of me. No idea why.

[triceretops]

The Amittyville Horror (sp?). As far as a read, I was totally nailed by that red-eyed little demon/pig Jodie, who left little hoof marks in the snow, and used to stare through windows and rock himself in the little chair. I was consumed by that little bastid.

I just saw Jeepers Creepers for the first time the other night. Then we ordered the sequel. Wew, boy...I hate or fear anything that has to do with a gargoyle-like creature, and wish I could write a great gargoyle story.

Tri

[maestrowork]

How about the Ring? I'm scared of watch video tapes now -- good thing I don't anymore. I watch strictly DVDs now...

[Puddle Jumper]

When I was a kid, Poltergeist made me afraid that my closet was going to open up and suck me in. I had to make sure every night that the closet doors were closed and even then, I would frequenly look at them to make sure they hadn't opened. Also when I was a kid, Cat's Eye made me afraid that some demonic little creature was going to come through a hole in the wall and kill me in my sleep. As I said, I was a little kid when I had those fears, elementary age (my parents never knew I snuck in to watch those movies on tv). I outgrew those fears a long time ago. :)

[katiemac]

I just thought of another "movie" -- BIRDS. That made me so scared of birds afterwards. I'm still scared of birds, I think.


I saw that movie years ago... I must have been around 10 or so, and it was absolutely hilarious.

[Dev]

Well, not really phobias, as such, but reading The Shining and The Stand both gave me these scary-sad feelings of being totally alone, remote from everything...maybe that had something to do with my "on the outside looking in" mentality in High School.

After watching the first Hellraiser movie, I was walking into my bedroom and the hanging weight from the ceiling fan chain trailed across my face, and that made me jump thinking about the hanging chains and hooks in that movie.

--Dev

[BradyH1861]

Ya'll are gonna think I'm crazy...wait, you already do. Anyway, that Mel Gibson movie, Signs. The part where they are in the house and they hear the alien footsteps on the roof. That scared the snot out of me. And I dont get scared that often. Anyway, the boss (wife) had rented it on DVD (from Hollywood Video...not Blockbuster...see my post in that thread). So we watched it at home. That night, I was leaving glasses of water everywhere to use on the aliens should they come calling. And for the first time in my life, I slept with a loaded pistol on my nightstand. Normally it is in a locked case in the top of my closet.

Other than that, I haven't really had a scary movie experience. Normally I find "horror" movies to be pretty funny.

Brady H.

[Ivonia]

Both the Ring and the Grudge scared me. There are still times when I'm going to my room at night from the bathroom where I think that Samara or that ghost lady is right behind me and I get really scared as I rush back to my room.

IT made me afraid of clowns for a long time, until I gradually got desensitized to it, although it took a few years. A little boy got pulled under a sewer drain by the clown in it right? I haven't seen in it in a while, and I dont' really want to watch it again anytime soon.

Could we add games to this subject too? There's a ton of scary games out there, and they can give you just as much creepiness as a book/movie (perhaps more, because you get to control a character, and they could end up dying if you screw up). The current scariest one for me is Silent Hill 4: The Room, although Resident Evil and Eternal Darkness also rank up there (I heard that Fatal Frame and Clocktower are also good scary games, but I haven't tried them yet, probably because the idea of taking pictures of scary ghosts and running from a big guy with huge hedge clippers kind of creeps me out).

All the Silent Hill games are scary, but if you're new to the series, you might as well try 2 or 4 first (1 is harder to find cause it's for the original Playstation, and 3 is like a sequel to 1. Silent Hill 2 and 4, although they revolve around the town of Silent Hill (hence the game's name), they're sort of a "standalone" and don't really require much backstory to enjoy/be scared. However, if you're determined, find them and play them in order, you'll be really creeped out by them).

Possible spoilers in case anyone wants to try this game:

The reason why Silent Hill 4 is so scary is because your character is stuck in a room (it's mysteriously locked from the inside), and can only leave via a special tunnel (it's kind of creepy too, because it literally looks like someone just drilled a huge hole into your apartment building). When you're in the other areas, there are other people early on you can interact with, but they get killed (game plot).

As the game goes on, it gets progressively darker (like it's turning from day to night), and in the 2nd half of the game, the people you saw earlier that got killed turn into ghosts that chase you down relentlessly (you can't kill them either, however, you can "subdue" them with a special sword where they won't bother you again cause they're stuck to the ground so long as you leave the sword in them). I remember leading a girl through the subway station, only to lose her later and suddenly finding her killed. When I came back later, she had turned into a ghost similiar to Samara in the Ring (she could glide across the floor, which was really creepy/annoying).

But that's not the only scary part. In your apartment building, not only is it nighttime outside, but sometimes scary things happen, almost like ghosts are haunting your apartment. Random things occur, such as the clock ticking very fast. Or a scary ghost can be seen halfway through the wall, as if it's trying to enter your apartment. Or you see a silohuette of the child and hear a child crying (this one is particularly scary, as you'll see). If you get too close to a "haunting", the game makes a very scary sound effect and your controller begins to vibrates. If you stay too close to the haunting you start taking damage (what makes the crying child one so scary is that whenever you re-enter your room, you "wake up" in bed. The thing is, your bed is right next to the closet the ghost child is in, and when you first "get up", you're close enough to the closet that the game does the "warning" for you. Because you can't control your character right away, you hear the scary noise and controller vibration for about a second before you can move away, during which you'll probably freak out like I did. And if that ghost coming out of the wall is in the same room, you're kind of screwed until you get out of the room. And again, if you get sort of disoriented, finding the door can be very hard, which just adds to the creepiness of the game. I'm only mentioning this because it happened to me before, and I had to mute the tv because I couldn't stand the scary noises any longer until I was able to exit the room).

I guess the scariest one for me was when there's a haunting in front of my door, and when I look through the peephole, a figure that looks like your character is standing outside the door, as if waiting to enter your room. The thing is, that character is all bloodied up. I saw some creepy things happening through the peephole from time to time, but seeing that ghost version of me staring back probably took the cake for me (oh yeah, if you decide to play, don't take the little doll a man offers you later. Otherwise keep it on you, or it'll haunt your item chest with a scary wall of crying dolls).

Sure, you can "cleanse" your room with holy candles (which will burn very, very fast when it's "cleansing" a ghost away) and medallions (which is a plot device, and how "clean" your room is will help determine what kind of ending you'll get. I should've deliberately let the room get infested to get the "bad" ending, just to see what happens, but I had to return the game), but it can really get scary when you're playing by yourself, at night, with the lights turned off, and suddenly you wake up in your apartment to find either a ghost staring at you through your wall, or a child crying in your closet, only you can't see the child.

Sorry for the long post, but this thread was good, and I wanted to have something worthwhile to contribute. Very scary game, and also has a ton of ideas in it too (the ghosts reminded me of the Grudge, and to lessen the scariness, although it was kind of stupid on my part, I joked to my little brother about sticking the ghosts with one of those swords from the Silent Hill game hehe).

[MacAllister]

heh--don't apologize for your post, Ivonia. :) Glad to have you here. Care to tell us a little about yourself? What you like to read, write, etc.?

I don't really have any experience with games, to tell you the truth--I hadn't thought of them as a horror medium, complete with plot devices and atmosphere. That was actually a really cool post!

[Ivonia]

Hi,

Well, I have been posting here, but mostly lurking, since I'm mostly quietly observing the posts and threads here, learning things here and there. I'm usually most active in the Novel Writing and Sci-Fi/Fantasy forums, since those are the most interesting for me.

However, I do like reading/watching/playing horror stories from time to time, which is why I added my post. I don't want to sound lazy, but I tend to look at things more visually, hence why I usually get my best scares from games, because like movies, you can actually see the scary ghost/monster in front of you.

And unlike a movie, you can either fight back (not always an option), or run away (usual option, esp if there's a lot chasing you). You can also get killed if you don't be careful (kind of like those glorified extras in books and movies hehe, cept you can start over). Of course, when you get scared, sometimes you end up doing stupid things too hehe (such as firing blindly into a dark hallway, or being unable to fight/get out of the room).

Plus, with relatively scary music playing in the background, it just heightens my tensions more, since it makes me wonder if a monster from the game isn't right behind me, waiting to strike me when I'm about to get something in the game hehe.

I'm hoping that I can write a couple of good horror stories someday, although my focus is mostly on sci-fi/fantasy in terms of writing. As you can probably tell by my post, ghosts are the scariest monsters for me, mainly because vampires are being overworked now that it's hard to make them scary again (esp. after watching the Blade movies).

[Spookster]

This is probably gonna sound lame, but... (You guys could use a good laugh right?) Now, not much scares me. Really. It takes a movie above and beyond to make me jump off the seat or need a light in the background. But, the one that gave me a phobia was actually "Urban Legends". For about 6 months after I watched that movie, I had to check the backseat of my car before entering. In all honesty, I still do on occasion. I have this fear of some psychopath waiting on the floorboard to lash my throat open.

This coming from the scissor queen...

[katiemac]

But, the one that gave me a phobia was actually "Urban Legends".

To me, that's a much more resonable phobia than being afraid of clowns (I am), monsters, etc, and chain-saw wielding serial killers.

I didn't get the fear of checking my back seat from the film Urban Legends, but I love reading them. There's been a few of those, like the ax murderer in the back seat, that just kind of make you wonder when you're walking through the parking lot alone at night and right before you get in your car. There's another one of those urban legends that bugs me, and [Spook! Look away!] and that's when the killer is hiding underneath the car, and grabs the ankles of the victim as they're opening the door.

[Spookster]

Thanks for the warning KM. Beings as I live down south, I have a tendancy to approach my vehicle catiously anyway. You never know when a gator's lurking about. That's not an urban ledgand. Last summer (during mating season) there were nearly daily reports of gators under cars and on porches on the news. "Lake Placid" was creepy to me just for the gator factor. Not that the movie was realistic in the least bit. Just the thought of a gator infested lake. Gives me the willies.

[DiscoDan]

I never saw Urban Legends, but I keep hearing good things about it. Actually, there's several "Must-See" horror movies I haven't watched, such as The Shining and The Exorcist! I know I know.. what kind of horror fan am I? Actually, I'm hoping to not watch them until I can read the books. It's always harder for me to get into the book after I've watched the movie.. but then again, I just finished The Shining last week so there's no excuse now. I need to get a netflix account and have them send over everything I need.

[Spookster]

I recently watched two new movies with definate horror factors. If you liked Signs you'll probably like Forgotten. It's a combo sci-fi/suspense/horror (the jump factor). The other was Saw. It was more suspense/horror (think Seven or Bone Collector). I loved 'em. It seems that finally the horror genre is getting back on track.

[Fractured_Chaos]

To me, that's a much more resonable phobia than being afraid of clowns (I am),

Clowns are just plain CREEPY! :eek:

[maestrowork]

A few old Japanese horror flicks about dolls... to these days I still can't look at dolls (you know the ones with the moving eyelids...) without having goosebumps and anxiety attacks. You can't pay me enough to see "Chucky." If I have a daughter I'll have her play with toy cars and legos and maybe a teddy bear or two. No dolls.

[BlueTexas]

I blame Pet Semetery sparking my lack of desire to have children. Creeped me out!

IT scared me the most. I read it when I was a young teen, living in Derry, NH, on Pennywise Lane, and my school bus stop required that I step over a sewer grate to board the bus. I still get the chills when I recall the scene from the movie, with the fortune cookies. ICK!

[BlueTexas]

I Actually, there's several "Must-See" horror movies I haven't watched, such as The Shining and The Exorcist! I know I know.. what kind of horror fan am I?

To this day, whenever I see a movie with Jack Nicholson, I see his character from the Shining grinning maniacally at me. Freaking creepy character--if I ever go stark raving mad, that's who I want emulate! Fantastic book, great movie.

[jdkiggins]

Last night I scanned through the On Demand movies and watched the movie Darkness Falls. It didn't really make me scared of the dark or of the tooth fairey, but it was a pretty good flick.

Joanne

[jdkiggins]

Given this a little more thought. I saw Psycho when I was eight. It scared the heck out me back then. All I could remember of the movie was the shower scene and the skeleton at the end. It was years before I could remember the name of this "oh so scarey" movie.

I watched it again about a week ago and laughed at how impressionable I had been as a child.

Joanne

[MacAllister]

I remember watching the first Nightmare on Elm Street (before Wes Craven began to parody himself) and the twist at the end, where you aren't sure if the characters are dreaming or awake? That just scared the hell outta me. :)

[katiemac]

Clowns are just plain CREEPY!

You said it!


Ugh, Ray, did you HAVE to bring up the DOLLS? ::shudders::
We have this ridiculously old porcelain doll and she is postively the creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life. Her eyes don't move, but it's one of those things where it doesn't matter where you are in the room, she's looking at you. (Through the slits of her eyelids, no less.) We keep in her the guest room, and on the occassion where I had to sleep in there when I was younger, you could wake up in the middle of the night, look over at her, and she would appear to be floating toward you. From then on, we always locked her in the closet.

I still hate it to this day.

[Fractured_Chaos]

A few old Japanese horror flicks about dolls... to these days I still can't look at dolls (you know the ones with the moving eyelids...) without having goosebumps and anxiety attacks. You can't pay me enough to see "Chucky." If I have a daughter I'll have her play with toy cars and legos and maybe a teddy bear or two. No dolls.

You mean like this? (http://www.anticlown.com/archives/2005/01/demon_kidz.php)

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your POV), the actual site where these dolls were highlighted no longer exists. But those were -really- creepy dolls!
:Jaw:

[biotales]

In a word...............
PHYSCO.....
hope I spelt that right........

[maestrowork]

I should collect a few and send them as thank-you gifts to reviewers...