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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Having a Great Crime - Wish You Were Here, A Sandi Webster Mystery is a mystery to die for, so to speak.
I grew up listening to the stories my grandparents told about Romania. Grandpa talked about a woman in white who mysteriously appeared.
ReplyDeleteGrandma 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!
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!
DeleteWhich 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.
ReplyDeleteGood 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!
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteYou 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!
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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!
DeleteYour 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!
ReplyDeleteThank 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!
DeleteEverything 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.
ReplyDeleteNothing 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!
DeleteI 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.
ReplyDeleteI 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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