Meet the Gruesomes

by Marie
(Michigan)

Where should I start? Basically my severe horror addiction can be blamed on my siblings and my parents.

I came from the kind of liberal background that allowed me to stay up late as a little kid, eat all the crap I wanted, and watch horror movies until my eyes were popping out of my head. I remember my costume in kindergarten. I had one of those plastic costumes with the distinct smell - come on, you guys are horror addicts, you know the comforting smell of cheap plastic at Halloween time. Anyway, I wanted to be the Alien. So I went to school in my little Alien costume, proud as could be. None of the other kids knew what the heck I was. Apparently, they were not allowed to watch movies like Alien. One teacher told me that movies like Alien were "gross".

When I got home and told my family, they laughed. I spent a lot of afternoons with my older brother going to the movies and seeing stuff like Creepshow. I'm a product of Count Scary. My sister used to read me V.C. Andrews novels with a flashlight tucked under her chin.

What can I say. I'm proud to be from a family with such ghoulish instincts. And yes, Halloween remains my favorite holiday.