Fright Night

So, what do you find scary? I didn't really see "scary movies" when I was growing up (unless Disney's "Watcher in the Woods" counts). I got my chills and thrills in much better ways. Growing up, I LOVED to hear someone tell a good ghost story. Many of our relatives told excellent spook tales, many of them supposedly true or at least, supposedly happened to someone in the family. There was the writing that appeared on the wall of a family house, the coke bottle that came floating through the living room, or the sound of footsteps that prompted my grandmother and my uncle to run out of the house, sure that someone was there besides them. What made these stories so great was that they were based in reality (we can always debate if they were "real"). It wasn't like someone came face to face with a ghost. It was always better and creepier that they didn't actually see the source of the mysterious happenings. So, for me, scary movies have to be based in reality and the minute you actually reveal the monster or ghost or whatever, the illusion is gone because you've crossed from the realm of "could it really happen?" to "that's so ridiculous!" Witness "The Exorcist." The scariest part of the movie is not the little girl going nuts in the final scene. It's much more frightening when a character walks into the kitchen. Everything seems normal. She turns her back. When she turns back around, absolute fear registers on her face. Then the camera pans and we see what she saw. All the cabinet doors and drawers are open. Creepy!! So, if you have high standards like me when it comes to scary tales and scary movies, let me recommend "The Others." It's a most excellent and creepy movie for this time of year. Brad and I are watching that tonight (we own it!) because we couldn't find anything at the video store that wouldn't include the final dramatic scenes, the big reveal, which ultimately is a big let down for ghost story connoisseurs like me.