third year cammie caldwell

It’s Halloween again, my macabre friends. I love the many elements that make up Halloween, like ingredients amalgamating inside a cauldron. Yet, while costumes, haunted houses, and those delicious sugar cookies with the pumpkins on top (yes, you know the ones I’m talking about) are all spooky and fun, nothing gives me goosebumps, the pure adrenaline and dread, like a horror movie.

I saw my first horror movie when I was around nine years old and have been gruesomely obsessed ever since. You could’ve classified me as a jumpy child. I was sometimes plagued at night by the shadows and faceless ghouls invented by my over-imaginative brain. Yet, other times I was fearless and slept soundly, knowing that I was the toughest thing in the room. So, it could have been an impulse of my usually wavering courage or simple childhood curiosity that made me unafraid and longing to watch my first scary movie all those years ago. Pestering gave way to begging, until finally my dad, another avid movie lover, gave in and turned on The Grudge. From the very first jump scare that landed me into my father’s safe arms, I was hooked.

I couldn’t possibly tell you how many scary movies I have watched since then. Whether it’s watching countless horror marathons with my dad or simply turning the lights off in my room and watching a blood-curdling film alone, I live for the rush they bring me. A horror movie is a wonderful enigma. It’s delightful and repulsive, thrilling and mysterious. It draws you in for two hours while you peak behind the gaps of your fingers as your hand covers your face. And once the movie is through with you, it leaves you with a sense of eeriness but also an aching for more.

So, allow me to share some of the many horror movies that have left their mark on my psyche and freakishness in their wake.

Sinister (2012). It’ll make you feel dark and vulnerable, pinning the idea of family against an all-powerful evil.

Hereditary (2018). The most psychologically unnerving movie I’ve ever seen. While being creepy beyond belief and leaving me utterly petrified, it was beautifully filmed.

The Shining (1980). Innocence and madness meet in a bloody middle and I am completely obsessed. It’s a classic starring Jack Nicholson. Need I say more?

Scream (1996). If you love a bit of comedy, I highly recommend this movie. A teen slasher flick that makes you jump and laugh while not crossing the line of cheesy.

The Grudge (2004). Of course, the one where it all began. It follows the classic horror movie script, but it’ll scare the you-know-what out of you a few times, and you’ll sleep wondering if you just might not be alone.

Take it from a Halloween lover – the best way to enjoy this season is to switch off the lights, turn on a scary movie, and get ready for the fright of your life.

Fright Night