Scariest. Movie. Ever.

[Hamatron]

When I was four I was happily coloring in my coloring book while my parents watched Alien, foolishly thinking that I was blissfully unaware of what was going on on the TV. Well, the thing busted out of the guy's stomach, and apparently as this was happening I sat straight up, then slowly turned around to look at my parents with an utter look of disgusted horror. That movie couple with an accidental viewing of The Exorcist led me to have a huge fear of stomach aches and vomiting, which was quickly remedied during college-- where you encounter random drunken puking at least once a week freshmen year.

Current scary movies? I am still having 28 Days nightmares. The first hour of that film is brutal. The Others is amazing too-- the use of light, space, and infinite darkness in that film is just terrifying and brilliant.

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There was one I saw as a kid. My older brother let me watch it late at night with him. Baaaaaaadddd move! lol

I think it was called "Don't be Afraid of the Dark" (maybe not though) and it had little pointy headed gnome size men who came out of the fireplace and then dragged people in the house back into the fireplace, never to be seen again. Ever since I live in fear of being near wood fireplaces Seriously. lol

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Oh man that Kim Darby made for TV movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark scared the hell out of me too. The little men came out of the ashbin of the fireplace if I remember correctly. They hide behind curtains and pelt things and I think they drag her and she gets rope burns. At the end she gets hogtied by the little guys and dragged into the fireplace never too be seen again.

We lived in a house that a fireplace on all floors including one in the freakin basement! and that was where the ashbin was. I could never go in the basement alone after that.

That era was great for scary ass made-for-TV movies. I remember one where this family moved into an old house where this weirdo living in a secret room in the attic and he would spy on the teenage girl.

And another one where I think it was Johnny Whitaker moved into a country house that was possed by the devil or something and red eyes would peer out of the window. Creepy!
ETA: Yep it was Johnny Whitaker and the movie was "Something Evil" and it was a made-for-TV directed by of all people Steven Spielberg!!!

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The Triology of Terror still gets to me -- the infamous last segment with the African fetish doll, of course. Two friends and I watched it on t.v. together at my house and, as teenagers we were prepared to laugh through the whole thing because it was an "old" movie -- So how scary could it be, right? Well, we literally screamed through the whole thing, clutching one another, etc. My mother said later she was in another room, gritting her teeth and praying for the movie to be over because she couldn't take all the girlish shrieking going on. She said we sounded like seagulls being tortured.

I agree about Jeepers Creepers. I let my teenaged nephew pick it out and while he watched it calmly, I was shivering and shaking. For such a cheesy slasher movie it had some truly scary moment. And I'll never get over that last scene where you just heard the screaming. And screaming. And screaming.

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pachouli said:

Oh man that Kim Darby made for TV movie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark scared the hell out of me too. The little men came out of the ashbin of the fireplace if I remember correctly. They hide behind curtains and pelt things and I think they drag her and she gets rope burns. At the end she gets hogtied by the little guys and dragged into the fireplace never too be seen again.

We lived in a house that a fireplace on all floors including one in the freakin basement! and that was where the ashbin was. I could never go in the basement alone after that.

That era was great for scary ass made-for-TV movies. I remember one where this family moved into an old house where this weirdo living in a secret room in the attic and he would spy on the teenage girl.

And another one where I think it was Johnny Whitaker moved into a country house that was possed by the devil or something and red eyes would peer out of the window. Creepy!
ETA: Yep it was Johnny Whitaker and the movie was "Something Evil" and it was a made-for-TV directed by of all people Steven Spielberg!!!

Holy crap!!! That link brought it all back. 1973 - yep I was in grade 2 so that's young. See how freaky those little men look??? Seeing the makeup job now in 2005 I have to say that was might impressive for it's day! Btw, I feel for you living in a house with fireplaces everywhere. LOL The night I saw the movie with older brother, we were in the rec room, with the lights off, laying side by side on the floor and fireplace was right behind me!! He kept scaring me and I nearly had heart failure.

I remember the one with the guy in the attic I think. But there was one too with a guy named Ronald who lived under the stairs or in the walls or something? The house was full of teenage girls and he used to abduct them...I think. THAT was scary too.

You're right, the 1970's were AWESOME for scary movies. Including my namesake, Carrie, which was released the year I graduated from public school. The jokes were terrible. To this day, I always hesitate when asked for my name, fearing the reaction. LOL

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caribou said:

[I remember the one with the guy in the attic I think. But there was one too with a guy named Ronald who lived under the stairs or in the walls or something? The house was full of teenage girls and he used to abduct them...I think THAT was scary too.

Same Movie! I remembered when you said his name, it was "Bad Ronald". I remember a scene where he hides behind this dressmakers dummy and it is moving toward this girl and I bet I left a peestain on the rug.

This Gargoyles movie scared the hell out of me too. I didn't watch it originally but later when it was on late at night and I was the only one up - probably while I was babysitting my younger brother and sister while my parents were out. Our house was in Gary, Indiana of all places and really old and creepy!

Caribou, for a walk down memory lane try this list. One that stood out that I remember was "Haunts of the very rich" where these rich people go to this exclusive tropical resort, only to find out they are really in, you guessed it, Hell! Oh man those made-for-TVs really messed me up and gave me complexes that exist to this day.

[Shalamar]

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark was the first scary movie I ever saw - I must've been nine years old. The thing that freaked me out the most was that Sally knew something was wrong with that house, but her nearest and dearest wouldn't believe her. That resonated a lot with the kid that I was then.

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Holy jeez, BAD RONALD!!! lolol You're freaking me out alllll over again with these links. But thanks! Some really funny memories along with the scary ones. I am going to check out that list AND send it to my now 47 year old brother LOL To this day he speaks like those little fireplace people...turns off the lights and does that voice, makes his eyes real big, gets right in front of me and whispers "Carrriiieeeee" Damn brothers. His kids have no idea what this is about, despite us trying to explain it. I can't wait to share the link with them so they can see this darn movie is real. I'm sure they think I'm nuts and their father too! We're in our 40's now for heaven's sake!! lol

Shalamar, that never even occurred to me on a concious level but thinking back over my life, I wouldnt' be surprised if that resonated with me too. LOL

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glitterbug said:

I really freaked out at House on Haunted Hill (remake). It was just the way the "inmates" kind of juddered along, it's such a creepy movement.!

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Ditto on the jitto camera work.

The first time I encountered it was during the last season of Tales from the Crypt when production moved to the UK and the feel of the series changed. The episode was Report from the Grave. It was about this young guy who hooked up dead people (including dead gf) to a machine so he could read their thoughts. I could barely watch it because when the bad guy/demon came on he was licking blood off a knife and moving in that way.

I had heard that the director of that episode pioneered that type of movement, and sure enough he directed the House on Haunted Hill remake too.

[forever1267]

There was a film in the 70's called Burnt Offerings, in which Oliver Reed, Karen Black, Aunt Bette Davis, and son move into an isolated mansion for the summer, and strange things begin to happen. Freaked me out, and still creepy to me. That limo driver! Brrr....

A friend of ours got an advance copy of The Blair Witch Project about a month before the film came out in theaters. So we watched it at home, in the dark, on a stormy night, and the combination of alcohol and blurry, "realistic" documentary video terrified me so much I didn't sleep for 2 days. With the "stories" that it was sorta fake but based on real events, but the tape is true but reenacted, but the real thing happened, it really touched a nerve in me about camping. (And I've camped at Gettysburg. That place really is haunted.)

The Others was absolutely terrifying. "This house is ours! This house is ours!"

If you think the movie version of The Shining is scary... read the book. You'll never look at topiary animals the same way again.