What Movie/Book Gave You Phobias?

You mean a movie that made you scared of something that you hadn't been in the past?

Exorcist. Made me scared of pea soup.


(j/k-- let me think on it a bit)

Movies

How about that one with Britney Spears? Crossroads? Yeah, that'll do it.


Oh, a serious answer. It's been a long time since a movie has scared me. I think when I was about 7 or 8 I saw Jurassic Park, and the TRex was pretty frightening, right around the part where it ate the goat. Didn't like that very much.

I saw Jaws when I was about 6. It didn't just make me scared of sharks, but creepy lurky things in general. Our sofa and my bed had legs and from then on I couldn't put my feet on the floor when I sat down, and I had to jump onto my bed from as far away as possible. I was scared of swimming well into my teens.

I can't remember of any book or movie that gave me a new phobia, but some little things give me a shiver when I see them and even when I think about them afterwards.

The scene in "Pet Sematary" where the kid cuts the old man's ankle from under the bed... that always makes me rub my own ankle.

The scene in "Stir of Echoes" where you see the girl trying to find a grip on the wooden floor and one of her fingernails gets pulled off... that makes me grind my teeth.

Poltergeist. I was young then and it made me scared of dark places and mass tombs. Before then I'd actually walk past cemetaries at night by myself...

I'm no longer afraid (I still walk through cemetaries at night by myself now). But I was afraid for a while after that movie came out.

Denis Castellan said:

The scene in "Pet Sematary" where the kid cuts the old man's ankle from under the bed... that always makes me rub my own ankle.

The scene in "Stir of Echoes" where you see the girl trying to find a grip on the wooden floor and one of her fingernails gets pulled off... that makes me grind my teeth.

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Yeah, those'd get me too. I can stomach most things (can happily sit through autopsies etc) but if you cut your finger in front of me I turn into a girl.

New Phobias

When the Blair Witch Project came out, I was living in a ground floor apartment in a heavily wooded area. My back patio doors opened right into the trees. Beautiful place during the day, but at night, in the fall, when the dog had to go out...creepy.



--cindy

As far as movies goes...

Seeing the first "Matrix" in theatres made me question my own reality for awhile....

"Minority Report" made me uncomfortable...

But watching the remastered version of "The Excorsist", while I was alone for an entire weekend, really did me in!

The Exorcist freaked me out for the sole reason that my eldest daughter was the spit for Regan at the time I watched it. Ugh.

Yikes, three seven! I can imagine so!

I think the reason if did me in was due to the new stuff (or maybe it was something I hadn't noticed before...years ago).

The subliminal flashes of the demon on the range-hood as the mother walks through the kitchen, and again on the inside of Regan's door, just before the mother opened it gave me the heebies.

Plus, the scene that was added in where Regan "spider-walked" down the stairs? *shudder*

Of course, at one point, I paused the movie to run to the little girl's room, and when I got out, I realized just where I paused it. On a close-up of Regan's distorted face, with her eyes lit up.

Creeeeeeeeepy!

I wonder how many folks are forgetting the masterpiece that aired in the mid-70's, Trilogy of Terror starring Karen Black. The last story was 'Amelia', about the little doll that terrorizes her and chases her screaming around the apartment. A combination of that, the Puppet Master series and Magic have made me very uncomfortable around dolls. Particularly the ones that some folks build shrines to, little areas where their dolls sit around with their hyper-real faces and jittering eyes quietly plotting how to murder you in your sleep...

MacAllister said:

It's interesting to me that we spend more time talking about horror films than we do written fiction. Is the medium just more effective and expressive for the genre, do you think?

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You know, that's interesting. When I think of what is scary, books always come to mind. But the only thing I could think of that resulted in me actually developing a bit of a phobia was a movie.

Perhaps it's a result of being able to put down a book if it becomes too intense, or having time to reflect and compartmentalize what you've read between readings. Movies are more of a visceral infodump, at least in a non-VCR situation.

Another thought: Since becoming serious about writing, I've started to enjoy books a lot less. I find myself constantly falling out of the fiction to reflect on a nicely written passage, or cringe over a Swifty, or think of how I would have written that bit differently. If you are busy thinking of the mechanics of the fiction it is harder to be deeply affected, because you are no longer a consumer but a student.

I'm a movie nut, so my perspective is skewed. I think they're different media, but certainly movies can do things books can't. I think with books, you use own imagination and you dig deep in your own psyche to find that scary place. But with books, you also have the chance to put down the book, stop reading it, and take a breather. If it's too scary for you, you might even not go back to it...

With movies, in a way you're held captive. It's a very visual media so it scares you in a pretty real way. Instead of imagining what the alien monster looks like, you actually see it, and it can reach that visceral level really fast. Of course, the best horror is still a psychological one (that's what makes the original Alien so powerful and scary)... what you don't see... for example, Seven (though a suspense) is very disturbing and scary, but much of the horror is not shown at all. It's all in our imagination.

I just thought of another "movie" -- BIRDS. That made me so scared of birds afterwards. I'm still scared of birds, I think.

Haha, I just remembered something else as well. You remember Bob in Twin Peaks? He used to scare the **** out of me. No idea why.

The Amittyville Horror (sp?). As far as a read, I was totally nailed by that red-eyed little demon/pig Jodie, who left little hoof marks in the snow, and used to stare through windows and rock himself in the little chair. I was consumed by that little bastid.

I just saw Jeepers Creepers for the first time the other night. Then we ordered the sequel. Wew, boy...I hate or fear anything that has to do with a gargoyle-like creature, and wish I could write a great gargoyle story.

Tri

How about the Ring? I'm scared of watch video tapes now -- good thing I don't anymore. I watch strictly DVDs now...

When I was a kid, Poltergeist made me afraid that my closet was going to open up and suck me in. I had to make sure every night that the closet doors were closed and even then, I would frequenly look at them to make sure they hadn't opened. Also when I was a kid, Cat's Eye made me afraid that some demonic little creature was going to come through a hole in the wall and kill me in my sleep. As I said, I was a little kid when I had those fears, elementary age (my parents never knew I snuck in to watch those movies on tv). I outgrew those fears a long time ago.

I just thought of another "movie" -- BIRDS. That made me so scared of birds afterwards. I'm still scared of birds, I think.

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I saw that movie years ago... I must have been around 10 or so, and it was absolutely hilarious.