My Love of Horror Began with Mom's Friday Night Fright Fests

by George
(Boston, MA)

Now normally, parents probably don't have a part in the route of a horror-fanatic. Usually, I would say it's the opposite for most families - the parents can tend to discourage those films that may cause nightmares. Not with my mine.

First off, let me explain that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my Mother, or my family for that matter. I have and always have had one of the best bonds with both my sisters, mother, and father in my short 25 years on earth.

In any case, I remember watching my first horror movie at the ripe old age of 7. It was Sleepaway Camp... Yes the Sleepaway Camp where a girl takes a curling Iron to the Vag and also the first time I was introduced to what a hermaphrodite looks like naked. And how was it that I was able to view this fine fable of gore? My Mom rented it for me!

Every other weekend my cousin and other pals would have sleepovers and my Mom, being a fanatic of horror movies as well, would allow us to watch whatever we wanted, on the condition that their parents new about it and allowed it. Of course, there was never any REAL gore or explicit sex scenes allowed. But Jason knocking poor Julius' head off, which rolled down the side of a building into a dumpster??? Perfectly fine!

To this day, I prefer to watch a cheesy horror movie over any good drama or comedy before going to bed. I don't know what it is. Sometimes the cheesier the movie, the more I enjoy it. See, the reason I have come to believe that I like Horror movies so much is because of the entertainment value.

I still watch any good movie that I hear about. Hell my favorite two movies ever are Braveheart and Shawshank Redemption. But when it comes time for me to get comfortable on the couch and get some real emotions of fear, excitement, and even comedy going (Peter Jackson's Dead Alive, or Sam Raimi's Evil Dead are perfect examples...), I always find myself going back to horror.

In any case, thanks to my Mom, I am a giant fan of horror and always will be. We still go to the movies every now and then to check out anything that looks like a decent horror flick, even though they just aren't made like they used to be. In my opinion, horror writers or producers should stick with what Rob Zombie, Robert Rodriguez, and Eli Roth have going on...

For those of you who read this far, I decided to add in this random note. I was Googling a short film that I remember watching as a kid the other day and after a few thousand searches, I was able to find it. Maybe some of you will remember it on TV.

It's called The Dummy, and it is a short-film that played on USA's Saturday Nightmares program in the late 80's and early 90's. Just YouTube "The Dummy Saturday Nightmares" and it should be the first video. If you saw it as a kid, I guarantee you'll immediately remember it.

Enjoy!

~George