Monday, October 31, 2016

A Night of Fear and Laughter






Halloween means it’s time to think about scary stuff. Vampires, zombies, super heroes, angels and princesses may all show up at your door. Sometimes fear can actually be fun, if you’re reading a book or watching a movie. In real life? Not so much.

I remember years ago when my mother was watching a scary movie on TV. I happened to be watching the same movie. She phoned me and wouldn’t hang up until the movie was over. All she had to do was change the channel, but she couldn’t do it.

When I first started writing I created a book titled Mysteries of Holt House. I tried to think of what readers might like and came up with a spooky old house (which was transformed into a boarding house), located in the middle of nowhere, and I added secret passages and unexplained events and circumstances. It’s light reading and has a little humor in it. Because of that, I was surprised at some of the comments I received. It turned out there were scenes in the fictional house and in the secret passages that frightened people. Who knew? I had no idea that the book would cause a few people to lock their doors, check the windows, and sit on the edge of their seat. I guess it’s all in the perception, because I don’t think it’s that scary.

Anyone who was around when Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho was first released remembers the paralyzing fear that the shower scene caused. To this day there are women who take a bath instead of a shower because of the movie.


All kinds of things scare people. For some it’s a snake, and for others it might be a spider. Things that go bump in the night will make people sit up and take notice because they represent the unknown. I know a woman who won’t read even simple mysteries because they make her so nervous. The subject doesn’t matter, but the unknown does.

In some of my posts I write about dogs. They make great characters – or do they? Remember Stephen King’s Cujo? Dogs make great villains, too. They aren’t all named Lassie and they aren’t all heroes. I’ve had more than one canine set my teeth on edge, and dogs are my pet of choice.

Ugliness, monsters, clowns, the unknown, surprise, graphic violence; these are all things that can frighten a reader. However, the list is a lot longer than these few things. Some fear heights, and an author can set a scene where you feel like you’re right there on top of a thirty story building with someone. Mountain driving, bridges, freeways and deep water are frightening to some. What doesn’t give one reader the heebie jeebies will cause another to lose sleep. How about flying? Plenty of people are terrified of airplanes and flying.

My point is that like riding on a roller coast, fear can be both terrifying and fun at the same time.

This is the day for spooky ghosts and wicked witches. It’s also the day for angels and princesses and picnic tables. Yes, I know someone who once placed a red and white checked table cloth over a cardboard box, attached condiment containers, paper plates and cups, and stuck his head up through the middle of the table – through a serving plate. This is a day to be creative with costumes, and it’s a day when many purposely set out to be frightened.

What scares you?

Until next time, BOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

CLICK HERE to visit Marja McGraw's website
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14 comments:

  1. I grew up listening to the stories my grandparents told about Romania. Grandpa talked about a woman in white who mysteriously appeared.
    Grandma was born in Transylvania, where some of the residents in outlying areas still believe in (and fear) vampires. It took me years to get over that irrational fear. I can remember watching "Salem's Lot" on TV back in the eighties with a cover pulled up to my chin and a cross in my hand.
    Happy Halloween!

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    1. Oh, a grandmother born in Transylvania? A disappearing woman in white? You were raised to love Halloween. Great comment, Pat! Thank you for stopping in!

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  2. Which goes to prove, it doesn't have to be ugly or unusual to spur fright. If I remember correctly, victims were actually attracted to Dracula in the Bram Stoker novel and some of the movies it inspired.

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    1. Good point, John. I knew a woman who was afraid of rain. What might happen if she met Dracula in the middle of a rain storm? And she was attracted to him. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  3. I love to watch old scary movies. The Uninvited, with Ray Milland, is one if my favorites. The Haunting, with Julie Harris, is another. This one didn't need monsters or special effects to scare you, the noises alone were enough to frighten the pants off you. I watched it when I was home alone, and had to turn it off. Great Post, Marja. Happy Halloween. Hope you get lots of trick-or-treaters.

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    1. You hit the nail right on the head, Evelyn. The movie my mother was watching was The Haunting. Loved The Uninvited, and as I recall, it had a touch of humor here and there to lighten things up. Not much, but a little. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  4. I remember listening to "Intersanctum" on the radio as a child. My brothers and I would sneak into the living room after our parents were asleep to listen to the squeaking door in the dark. The scariest program was of a murder victim's heart pounding throughout the killer's house from beneath the floor boards. It still gives me chills thinking about it.

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    1. I have to laugh at your comment, Jean, because my parents would turn on Intersanctum and the squeaking door would send me to my room where I'd pull the covers over my head and sing so I couldn't hear it. Scary stuff. Thank you so much for stopping in today!

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  5. Your ability to scare people when you were just trying to write a light, humorous mystery speaks to your wonderful writing talent!! I do not love Halloween because masks scare me, but there's a part of it that's fun, too. I wish you a scary-happy Halloween!

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    1. Thank you for the compliment, Amy. I'm not big on Halloween either, but I do enjoy seeing how cute the little ones look. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  6. Everything scares me, I'm a real sissy. Love your mother staying on the phone with you. I'm even scared of the dark. Sigh. Recorded some Alfred Hitchcock movies that were on yesterday, we'll see if I watch them again--even though I know what's going to happen! Great post as always.

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    1. Nothing wrong with being a sissy, Madeline. It probably keeps you safer. It's not the dark that scares me, but what might be lurking there. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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  7. I spoke about Stephen King's excellent book, "On Writing" today to my adult writing students. Not one of them, including me, will read his novels or see the film versions. Thanks for this post.

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    1. I understand, Eileen. The last book of his that I read was Pet Cemetery. After that I didn't want to read anymore, even if he is a great writer. Some things just make us nervous. Thank you so much for stopping in!

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