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| This is Annabelle in the movie, "The Conjuring." It's a doll possessed by a demon in the story. A guy keeps it in his house along with a hundred other artifacts also containing demons. Why not? Right? There's no bad that can come of doing that. It's just storage. |
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| My friend Melissa thinks this movie is the most appropriate selection for family "social gatherings." I've seen this movie so many times, I really have no interest in EVER seeing it again. Seriously. |
Truthfully, I've never cared much for scary movies. I'm one of those people that screams and jumps in the movie theater, I cover my eyes with my shirt, and Melissa tells me that this is one of the reason she likes going to scary movies with me. I don't understand the attraction honestly.
So every time I go home to visit my parents, I always get together with Melissa. This happened last week, and as I looked at the movie listings I thought "Oh the Conjuring has been out for a little while so I bet Melissa has seen it, and I won't have to sit through it and we can go to Wolverine." Well it turns out that she hadn't seen it so yeah...I ended up at The Conjuring, and it scared me so bad that I had nightmares afterward. It's filled with creepy dolls, loud noises, and skillful editing that just draw you in. For the record, my mom collected dolls and she has hundreds of them around the house. She has some in fish tanks (that she converted to display cases) and in cupboards, and under the stairs. You can't go anywhere in my parent's house without seeing some emotionless and oddly disturbing doll staring you down.
I half expected some of their heads to start to turn in the middle of the night and say, "COME PLAY WITH ME." Umm yeah. No thanks. I'll pass.
Anyway, as I lay there thinking about The Conjuring I can't help but ask, what exactly is the allure in being afraid? If it were entirely up to me, the business would go bankrupt. I don't like being afraid nor do I condone paying good money to get someone or something to scare you. But fear is BIG business. So as a kind of social experiment, I'd like to ask you a few questions:
1) Do you pay for fear?
2) Do you like watching scary movies and if so, why?
3) What kinds of phobias do you have? Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark? And if you can answer this question, please tell me what happened that made you fear this very thing.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
5) Does the one minute short at the end of this post scare you?
That's all. Have a great Tuesday.
The only scary movie I've ever liked was the original Halloween.
ReplyDeleteNope, don't like the scary movies. And yet I've seen most of the classics like The Exorcist and Friday 13th, Halloween, etc. I won't go see any of the new ones, though. Nothing gets held back anymore. It's creepy overload, and I don't need those kinds of disturbing images in my head.
ReplyDeleteMostly, though, the movie that terrified me the most was Jaws. Still does.
I'm so not watching that short! Scary movies were fun when I was a teen, but not now.
ReplyDeleteThe Exorcist is a classic. Shame it's been ripped off so many time the original doesn't have the same punch anymore.
ReplyDeleteI've always dug horror films. Nothing like a good scare from the unknown. (Not into torture porn though.) I remember seeing Phantasm when it came out and that was really unnerving.
Phobias! SPIDERS! Yep- I can't deal with them. And I get freaked out by anything that has to do with hauntings or the devil. Those are the scary movies I stay away from. And I was totally freaked out when I watched IT as a kid. That was scary.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into the whole scary thing. Never have been. Mostly, they just didn't scare me, and the hack and slash of a lot of them is just not something I like.
ReplyDeleteThese days, most of the things that scare me have to do with things that could happen to my kids.
However, the Man with No Eyes is an image that just freaks me out, which is why I made him my villain.
The horror movie industry would also go bankrupt with me. I don't/won't pay to go watch a scary movie. But what's funny is that as a teen, I gobbled up scary books. I don't mind violence, but I do not do scary. If it's scarier than Supernatural, I'll pass. (:
ReplyDeleteAs for phobias, I don't think I really have one...lots of fears...but clinical phobias I'm not sure....maybe being lost at sea...
That five min short didn't appeal to me. Too dark. The ocean floor isn't a place I want to explore.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of scary movies, my mother used to love them and I had to watch them with her (so she'd have company, no one else would). I think that's when I decided I didn't care for them.
I find monkeys, clowns and some dolls a little creepy. Don't care for them. I wanted a camera instead as a child and that hasn't changed.
I grew up listening to my fisherman grandfather tell stories about close encounters with sharks. "Jaws" traumatized me and for years I wouldn't swim in the ocean. Now I've come to terms with my fears and even do what I can to protect sharks from the senseless killing that is depleting our oceans of a valuable asset.
ReplyDeleteNo, I refuse to pay for something that comes naturally! :) I'm afraid of everything! Just kidding, but spiders, snakes, clowns, creepy dolls, and yes even the dark!
ReplyDeleteI do not like scary movies, causes nightmares and I have them without any help!
I have night lights all over my house, bedrooms, bathrooms, hallways. Not in the dark unless my eyes are closed!
Halloween, the original. He was human, well almost. Still I have a fighting chance. Ghosts, I can't stand - I'm too suggestive, too empathic, and so easily scared!
Did not enjoy the short, but I don't like water either. That first Friday the 13th when he jumped out of the water had me jumping 6 feet too!
I don't even like the trailers they show for these movies - unseeable enemies worse than the seeable zombie!
I absolutely love scary movies! But I have no trouble at all with distinguishing between fiction and reality. I always knows that no one is really being hurt.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete1) Do you pay for fear?
I pay for horror movies and haunted attractions during Halloween, but I wouldn't call that paying for "fear." More like paying to be startled.
2) Do you like watching scary movies and if so, why?
Yes. Always. I'm a horror writer and am fascinated with fear; what the mind can create to substantiate a fear...etc.
3) What kinds of phobias do you have? Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark? And if you can answer this question, please tell me what happened that made you fear this very thing.
Hmmm, I have an aversion to clowns and all things in costumes. I wouldn't say it's a "phobia" because it's not crippling. Probably stems from a couple of long winded childhood stories involving clowns and costumed creatures. Also, IT.
I am not afraid of dolls, but there are some creepy looking ones out there.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
oooh, tough one. THE GRUDGE, THE RING, THE BROKEN, THE STRANGERS...to name a few off the top of my head. If we're talking the horror genre in general, this list changes dramatically.
5) Does the one minute short at the end of this post scare you?
It did not scare me. However, underwater creeps me out, so just the pictures of the underwater stuff scared me more than the ending of the short.
I guess, I'd add that to things that scare me...unknown depths. I almost drowned as a child so I have to know how deep something is or be able to see the bottom when I'm swimming, which makes swimming in lakes and oceans a little unnerving.>_<
Ted and Alex have a third horror fan in me. I love scary movies not only for something that can make me jump or cringe but also the comedic factor. What comedic factor you ask? Come on, how many times have you seen someone go somewhere they shouldn't. When done right it's scary when it's stupid it's either funny or annoying. And to those in your comments who say fear is natural and shouldn't be paid for...yeah, so is laughter and I bet a lot of those readers would be willing to shell out cash to see a comedic movie.
ReplyDeleteOh and that short wasn't scary. Need to do a lot more to get this girl frightened. Though I admit The human centipede is GROSS, couldn't sit through it. Other family members did though.
I don't like scary movies either. I don't have phobias, but I do fear rats and heights, though not obsessively :)
ReplyDeleteMy dearest Patrick Wilson stars in CONJURING, yes?
I used to watch scary movies a lot, mostly because my sister liked them, and I became desensitized. I stopped watching them when they became not-scary, but gross (like Saw). Now, I can't watch them at all. Even the commercials for The Conjuring scared me. After the first time I saw one, I closed my eyes if they came on. Now that I know it has possessed dolls, I'll never see it. I used to have nightmares about possessed fancy dolls. *shudders*
ReplyDelete1) Do you pay for fear?
ReplyDeleteNope. Unless you count my horse riding lessons. Fear of heights plus being on an animal that might or might not like me is not the best combination on earth.
2) Do you like watching scary movies and if so, why?
Nope. Most don't scare me and I therefore feel subjected to sub-par plots...
3) What kinds of phobias do you have? Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark? And if you can answer this question, please tell me what happened that made you fear this very thing.
Deep water, because I almost drowned when I was younger.
Heights. No idea why.
I find porcelain dolls somewhat creepy. Clowns freak me out if their make-up is smudged. I blame Christopher Nolan for that.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
Don't have one.
5) Does the one minute short at the end of this post scare you?
Didn't watch it, since it's almost bed time for me. Just in case it is scary. (I get night terrors.)
I LOVE horror movies (bad ones, even) and bring my friend D because he has the same reaction as you do. It's often quite entertaining. Only two have ever managed to actually creep me out; the original 1961 version of "The Haunting" and last year's "Insidious" (directed by the same director as "The Conjuring"). It takes an awful lot to scare me.
ReplyDeleteCrap, my work PC blocks the short, so i can't watch it. But i'll tackle your other questions!
ReplyDelete1) Do you pay for fear?
Sure. Especially around Halloween. It's a bit of a rush, getting your adrenaline pumping. I also love a handful of really scary books. The Amityville Horror novelization is utterly terrifying, even knowing it's a hoax.
2) Do you like watching scary movies and if so, why?
Yes. I have to be in the mood, though. I'm not a fan of slasher flics (for the most part. The original Texas Chainsaw is scary as Eff) because i don't really find people all that scary, since the worst thing they can do is just kill you.
3) What kinds of phobias do you have? Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark? And if you can answer this question, please tell me what happened that made you fear this very thing.
No real phobias. Well, ghosts sort of. But then whenever anything weird has actually happened around me, i've mostly reacted with a calm and skeptical mind. Though i don't know if that would hold up if i were confronted with something in my face scary (especially like if i were sleeping. Jesus, that is not for me). I think ghosts creep me out (and aliens for that matter) because it's really a fear of the unknown, and not being able to do anything or react appropriately. It's probably a feeling helpless sort of thing, too. I'm not scared of dolls, though there are some creepy ones (and if they were doing something creepy, then yeah). I can be afraid of the dark if i let my imagination get to me. No real set off for that, though. Just the usual instinctual "things in the dark can eat me" that we all have.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
Poltergeist is hands down my most favorite scary movie. We used to watch it growing up and it's terrifying. I also absolutely love that movie because i don't think they make them like that anymore. I love the atmosphere and how the characters react to everything. It's very real. Even hearing the music on the Family Guy Poltergeist episode is enough to freak me the eff out. Ghosts, man.
I also really enjoyed both the Blair Witch and Parnormal Activity, because they both stepped out of the box of the genre and i saw them in theaters, which is such a pervasive way to watch horror movies because you're enveloped by them.
5) Does the one minute short at the end of this post scare you?
sadface.
Okay i watched the vid. Yes, that crap scares me. The tension was really good.
ReplyDeleteBUT!! Here's a thing (and i totally should have put this under phobias) I am scared of deep water and things that are in deep water. So big fish or animals, or things that are down there (ships, planes, anything). I have to consciously fight against this fear whenever i go swimming at a lake (or an ocean or something). I know the fish won't hurt me, but jesus, it freaks me out knowing they're under me. ESPECIALLY if i've gone fishing in the lake and have caught large fish. That makes it worse
I haven't watched Fringe because it started out too creepy for me. I'm a woos.
ReplyDelete1) usually not. I do like some thrill/suspense, but don't like gore and blood or zombies. NO Zombies.
2) I guess thrillers are a different level of scare. I like some of those. I've liked some scarey movies, but can't say why those and not others.
3) Spiders and zombies. And I fear a serial killer or axe murderer coming into the house. Oh yeah, so I won't watch anything with serial killers either.
4) Psycho, Exorcist, Halloween I.
5) I didn't watch. It probably would. I'm a woos.
I can't do scary movies. Unless it's Scary Movie, LOL.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to see the action with my hand in front of my face anyway.
I'm afraid of teenagers... those folks seem like a different species to me. I tend not to watch scary movies... supernatural sorts of things aren't very scary to me... but loud noises are. And scary movies seem to really rely on loud noises for their scares. It annoys me.
ReplyDeleteI don't mind scary movies at all, but I wouldn't say they are my most preferred type of movie to go and see. There are a lot of genres I'd choose before I would the latest Scream or whatever.
ReplyDeleteTHIS movie sounds really creepy, but then I think dolls are just plain creepy whether they're possessed or not. haha
1) Do you pay for fear?
ReplyDeleteOccasionally (in the form of movies or books), but I usually regret it as it gives me nightmares.
2) Do you like watching scary movies and if so, why?
I used to love scary movies as a teenager but they unsettle me to much these days.
3) What kinds of phobias do you have? Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark? And if you can answer this question, please tell me what happened that made you fear this very thing.
I am not afraid of the dark but I am sometimes afraid of what may be hidden in the dark, particularly when it's the middle of the night and I'm home alone.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
Scream, The Ring, What Lies Beneath
5) Does the one minute short at the end of this post scare you?
Yes, but I found the anticipation scarier than the actual "scare".
Okay, here goes...
ReplyDelete1)Do you pay for fear?
Very seldom. What I never see are the violent porn horror movies--those are just sickening.
2)Do you like watching scary movies?
Only a few. The original horror flicks (Frankenstein, The Mummy, circa 1930s) scared the crap out of me when I was a little kid watching TV, but it was a good scary. Now I watch them because their beautifully made films.
3)What kind of phobias do you have? Do you find Do you find dolls creepy? Are you afraid of the dark?
When I was a child I wouldn't get into any large body of water, such as mountain streams, that I suspected had a killer octopus lurking in its depths. As a child and as an adult, ghosts (only imagined ones so far) scare the crap out of me, yet I'm also fascinated by the paranormal. And yes, dolls are creepy. No I'm not afraid of the dark and sometimes I love it, unless I get the feeling that a ghost is nearby.
4) What are your favorite scary movies of all time?
I saw The Exorcist when it first came out, and it really was brilliant for building suspense around something the audience never sees. When I was a kid the best Halloween scare was seeing The Haunting on TV with the lights out, again because you never see what's haunting the people in the house.
5) Does the one minute short scare you?
Sorry, but my computer needs updating so I couldn't make it work. I'll try again when I'm at work tomorrow.
Spiders, clowns, and demonic possessions scare the crap out of me. But I must admit, I do love scary movies. Too bad my wife doesn't...so I always have to watch them alone. I'm very interested in The Conjuring and the new Evil Dead. I used to make a haunted forest attraction in my backyard when I was a kid living back in Virginia. I guess I've always liked that stuff for some reason. The short was pretty freaky.
ReplyDeleteDon't do scary movies. Don't like them. Apparently, I've seen The Exorcist, but I was too young to remember it, so it doesn't count.
ReplyDeletePhobias? Heights. Ladders. And yes, I do find dolls creepy.
As for the video, I'll have to watch it later. I'm at work now...
1. Yes, I do pay for fear. I love roller coasters, haunted houses etc.
ReplyDelete2. I love scary movies.
3. I'm terrified of spiders and find most dolls a little creepy, but kind o fascinating at the same time. Not sure where the spider phobia came from.
4. Children of the Corn has always been one of my favorites.
5. I can't watch the clip because I'm on my cell :(
Did you mange to see Wolverine yet?