CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › The Horror Appreciation Thread
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

The Horror Appreciation Thread

post #1 of 9
6/1/02 at 9:43am
Thread Starter 
I once started a VIDEO GAMES APPRECIATION thread and it was "Game Over" after a few posts. I then started a MOTHER APPRECIATION thread which was also "prematurely aborted." Now I'm starting a HORROR APPRECIATION thread (in honor of the newly-revamped CC) and I hope that it's not DOA or that it won't get the axe.

Anyway, I'm talking about how you got interested in horror. How it has influenced you or how it has shaped who you are today.

When I was a kid, the movies that I will typically rent are horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and cartoons. But what I tend to watch and read about are mostly horror-related stuff. I was always fascinated with the realm of horror stories.

Anyway, when I was 9 years old, I was given a diary. The moment I got that diary, I transformed it into a comic book. And in it, I created 2 horror stories. You can check it here:

<a href="http://www.innergrail.com/diary/index.htm" target="_blank">http://www.innergrail.com/diary/index.htm</a>

This diary is somewhat of a prized possession of mine because I've had it for almost 20 years! It's starting to yellow and scanning it seemed like a good idea, plus I think that you guys will be entertained by my numerous grammar mistakes (and just plain bad English) and my abuse of horror cliches.

Check how I used to think "asshole" was spelled:

<img src="http://www.innergrail.com/diary/images/eng003.jpg" alt="" />

Anyway, let's use this thread to discuss how horror (books, movies, etc.) has influenced you throughout the years, especially your childhood.
Reply
post #2 of 9
6/1/02 at 10:43am
I haven't got time to post a full response to this right now, but rest assured I will be back. Just wanted to reassure you, given your woeful history with the other threads!
Reply
post #3 of 9
6/1/02 at 12:38pm
Horror has been an important part of my life as far back as i can remember.

my mom used to yell at me when i was 5 or so for drawing pictures of vampires attacking naked girls in side the books around the house.
then in kindergarten,we all had to tell a story and the teacher would write it down for us to keep.mine was called "slaughterhouse" and the teacher edited out the death scenes.i shit you not.
all through elementary school i checked out every horror book from the library and watched more or less every horror movie that came on TV.from the age of 4 we regularly watched a Betamax copy of Halloween,as we didnt have a VHS-VCR yet.
i cant really say why i was initally drawn to horror.just kind of came naturally.i dont know how it has affected me as a person because its always been a part of who i am.
as ive gotten older,ive come to respect and adore horror movies/books/etc. even more.ive written a couple of screenplays and i am always making music in the horror-soundtrack vein.i dont really know what else to say so im just gonna quote Lon Chaney:
there is nothing laughable about a clown in the moonlight.
Reply
post #4 of 9
6/1/02 at 1:57pm
When I was a kid I led a very strange, nomadic, outcast-type life. I watched a lot of TV but my favorite thing to do was to stay up for the creature features that didn't come on until late at night. I think the 1931 Dracula was my first favorite movie. From those early days on I gravitated towards horror. It wasn't until my later, pre-teen years that I developed the self-awareness to understand that horror movies were a preference of mine, and that not everyone enjoyed them the way I did. My dad took my sisters and me to see The Exorcist when I was eight, which gave me nightmares for weeks, but I was still drawn to it and first read the Blatty novel in the fifth grade.

In my later years I rationalized that horror movies were the strongest form of escape for someone like me, who had had a fairly traumatic early life. Anymore, I don't know if that's really the case or not, but I still love horror.
Reply
post #5 of 9
6/1/02 at 2:01pm
See Johnny Butane, i'm psychic wink
Reply
post #6 of 9
6/1/02 at 2:47pm
This is a great idea for a thread. Since as farf back as I can remember I have loved horror. The earliest memories I have are actually of Universal Studios Hollywood. Mom family used to go there about once a year and I remember just loving the classic monsters that wondered the lot. They had people dressed as Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man who would go around and take pictures with you and stuff. I remember watching those movies as a kid and just loving them. On the weekends in the afternoon on channel five in Southern California Elvira had a show on called The Movie Macabra, where she would show these great horror movies. I just loved spending my weekends watching these films.

I think that the movies that had the greatest impact on me were the ones I did'nt actually see. Like the Exorcist and Friday the 13th. I did'nt actually go to the theatres to see horror movies until like seventh grade. All the older neighborhood kids would go see these movies and I'd see previews and here people talking about them. I'd put together all that I had heard about these movies and come up with the most scariest movies I had ever not seen. It's funny but when I finally got around to seeing these movies they were not anywhere near as scarey as my interpretation of all the stuff I had heard. I could go on forever about this subject , but I gots to go.

Great thread.
Reply
post #7 of 9
6/1/02 at 4:42pm
My earliest memory was me jumping up and down on our couch in Pensacola, FL, yelling, "Monster, Monster!" I was 2 or 3 and was watching a giant monster attack a boat. It was so exciting for me. My dad would bring home the Aurora monster model kits and would build and paint them as I watched with a childlike enthusiasm. We then moved to Louisville,KY in 1964, where I was to go insane.(At least that's what I thought my school counselors believed) As far back as kindergarten, I would draw monsters. (My sister framed some of those for me and I still have them) I was really into ghosts and monsters. (My family has lots of true ghost tales. See some of my other posts. wink )When I got to elementary school, I had a group of friends that were really into that stuff as well. We would go on ghost hunts and collected the Monster and Prehistoric Scenes kits. I had a friend named Hank Wright, who's cousin was Tom Wright, the painter on Night Gallery. I remember seeing some of the paintings that he had given Hank. Wow, that was so cool! I would go into the library and check out true monster books like "The Maybe Monsters" and Hans Holzer's Haunted Houses". I remember when the "Night Stalker" movie came on, I became so afraid of vampires, that I kept a cross made of a straw and a pixy stick under my pillow for months. Anyway, my family and I would watch horror shows on Saturdays and eat homemade pizzas and drink rootbeer. That is my favorite childhood memory to date. But things were to change, I kept getting caught drawing monsters and writing horror stories and then getting sent to the councelor's office. They thought that there must be something wrong with me and talked to my parents. This was during the Vietnam war now and I was a little too violent themed for the times, I guess. I got banned from building monster models. (Me banned from making monsters. That's kind of funny when you think of it! )Anyway, to make a long story short, I never lost the passion, no matter what. When we moved and I became a teen, it grew from there. Maybe I'll finish the rest of the story another time. wink
Reply
post #8 of 9
6/1/02 at 6:10pm
Let's see....uhm....eh, I'll get back to you on that. I'm trying to think.
Reply
post #9 of 9
6/1/02 at 9:26pm
Thread Starter 
This is great reading and I can't help feel that despite our age differences, different backgrounds, and so forth, we seem to have a common bond when it comes to appreciating horror: fascination and catharsis.

"Fascination" is probably our one greatest common denominator when it comes to loving horror. Why are we fascinated? What exactly do we "relish" or "enjoy" in seeing horrific images on celluloid? Why do we spend time reading books whose sole intent is to terrify and disturb us? Why?

The answer therefore differs from each and every one of us. Others are fascinated in specific horror sub-genres while others have a passing fancy for the horror genre as a whole. But our common bond is that we enjoy experiencing horror in various forms of entertainment mediums. Some become part of the industry (like good 'ol Bill "Splat" Johnson) or some remain to be devoted fans (such as myself).

But I offer my theory that the reason we are "fascinated" by horror films/books is that they are solely cathartic in nature. True, such a thing can be said to all genres of films and stories, but horror films touch upon the rawest and most brutal of all emotions: Fear.

Horror in its definition can pretty much be summed up by that one word. It's the fear of the unknown, the fear of death, the fear of losing loved ones. Horror movies are a visual manifestation of sorts that can help us through our lives. Sometimes it's difficult to face the harsh realities of the "real world" that it's somewhat comforting and even soothing to get lost for a few hours in a world of the undead, werewolves, and boogeymen. These are our fears come to life. Like dream interpretation, here we have tangible images of horrific creatures and scenarios that we can relate to. In some ways, Vlad the Impaler is your unfair boss, Freddy Krueger is that mean bully in sixth grade, and Jason Vorhees is that father who never paid attention to you.

In short, I love horror because it is very cathartic to me. Like everyone else, I have personal problems (and demons) to deal with every single waking moment. Sometimes it's hard to deal with it because such problems can be described properly. Horror movies, on the other hand, is my best friend to assist me in making sense of our crazy world. I learn that there is evil, and I learn that we can always defeat evil, and at the least, avoid it.

Thank you horror and especially a big shout out to the demented kids who create them for my entertainment. Not to mention people like Johnny Butane, girlcreeture, and Ryan Rotten who help feed my healthy addiction. Thanks a lot, you freaks.
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Creature Corner Main
CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › The Horror Appreciation Thread