Sunday, October 01, 2006

Happy October 1st--Ten Scary Films



It's October 1st, the beginning of Halloween month. Yeah, yeah, I know--I haven't wrote anything here since I posted about my other blog for my pen name, Sapphire Phelan. But real life and writing got in the way. Everyone knows how that is.

Anyway, today I'm going to post what I feel are ten scary films for me, to give you to ponder about and decide to rent, to get you in the mood for Halloween and even for Horror Day October 13th. Yep, there's a Horror Day, a day for you to celebrate the genre of horror. On Fri., Oct. 13, 2006, lovers of all things dark will be uniting to help spread their word about their favorite genre. Started as an idea among a few members of the Horror Writers Association, it quickly expanded to include not just horror fiction but movies, haunted house attractions, videogames, art, comic books, and every area of life. You can find out more about it at Horror Day .

The films I will list had some impact on me, whether scaring me silly, or because they were just damn good, to other definable ways . I admit that there are more than ten films for me, but I feel these ten will be a start for you. You can go from there and begin to check out others in the genre for yourself. Decide for yourself. Make your own list for years to come.

Here they are:

1. The Haunting ( 1963)--the book, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson is a good ghost story to read.This is the only book tom scare me in the daytime, in a room full of people.

2. Alien

3. American Werewolf in London

4. The Howling

5. Dog Soldiers

6. Cat People (both the 1940s and 1980s versions)

7. Dracula (Bela Lugosi)

8. Creature from the Black Lagoon

9. Lady in White

10. Halloween

Well, I hope this starts you on your own exploration of good scary films to watch in preparation for Halloween. And remember, when the leaves swirl their colorful dance on the wind's cooler breath, when the shine of the flesh on the pumpkin seems just a bit more brighter, its Jack-O-Lantern face glittering with supposed malice, and the howl of the dog in the night outside the comfort of your warm walls sounds different, more wolfish, it's only Halloween celebrating by lending its costume to October.

Happy October 1st.

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