While horror movie watching is a year-round event, this is that time of year when all of us can flourish, embracing the weird.
So, come one, come all, beasties unite! It’s Haunt-Tober time!
On the submission form for the giveaway (that is sadly coming to a close) I asked the question “What made you fall in love with horror?”
It’s a personal question, and I loved each and every response! I wanted to share with everyone what some of those were and also invite you all to our discord. Here’s the invitation. Join the horror community, it’s really such a wonderful one!
From specific movies, creators, familial connections and general experiences, here’s this year’s Haunt-Tober’s answers for:
What made you fall in love with horror?
What I appreciate about horror is the lengths that it can take you in such different ways. There are films with gore, no gore, all in the dark, in the light, and so many other avenues that it can take you. The mind is such an imaginative and creative place, and i feel like horror is the perfect example of that at its best.
I enjoy horror because while it is scary, most films have a moral attached to them call that call to mind issues larger than the monsters themselves. The creatures or scary themes in the film are usually symbolic of more realistic aspects of people’s lives that terrify them. For instance, many Stephen King adaptations like Children of the Corn or The Shining call to mind issues like mob mentality and complex family dynamics. I love how horror scores are so iconic because when inserted into the right eerie environment, they can drive the fearful and tense mood of the scene. For instance, The Exorcist theme on its own is a unique rock piece, but when used in the context of a possessed girl, it gives audiences chills.
I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie, so I have always loved horror because it gives an eerie, thrilling experience. One of the first movies that drew me in was Child’s Play.
I think growing up with things that scared me. I used to hate things like Goosebumps and Spider-Man 3 that made me terrified to sleep in my own bed. But with that fear came obsession. I started to enjoy the feeling of being scared, and especially the craft of it. I also appreciate that women are often central characters of horror films who are often more fleshed out than in other films. This is what drew me to become a horror filmmaker.
To put it simply, good old fashion Scooby Doo! I adored the 60s cartoon as a kid and it just went from there.
Coraline was actually the first movie I ever saw when I was younger that scared the lights out of me. When I got a bit older, I realized horror as a genre was incredibly fascinating and getting to read, watch and hear different stories made me want to become a writer! For me, the balance of fear and moving plot is the recipe for success (no hate to anyone that loves jump scares, I just love the story portion too!).
Seeing all sorts of horror films growing up was a major factor into me loving this genre. Since 2017, I love to watch horror films during October! I had seen some prior but that year was when I started taking this seriously. Since then, it’s been a tradition
One of my earliest memories of watching a horror movie was when my older cousins showed me The Babadook when I was a kid. I couldn’t tell you very much of what happens in the final act of the film because I was so scared that I covered my eyes for pretty much the entire climax. Later that night I remember having nightmares and asking if I could sleep in the same bed as my cousin because I was afraid the Babadook would “get me.”
Over time I have learned to respect and admire these kinds of visceral effects horror movies can give me. When I was much older, around 16, I was starting to take film more seriously and write about it for fun on an old Instagram account. One of my earliest “”reviews”” was for Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, and I knew after watching it for the first time that it was the best movie I had ever seen. At that point, no movie had made me think more about how it was put together and how it achieves its oppressively frightening atmosphere like The Shining did. Not only did this film make me love horror, it essentially rewired how I view cinema as an art form and what it is capable of.”
When I was in second grade, I was incessantly reading horror under my desk. All of the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, a book on horror stories from around the world (some that have stuck with me to this day), anything I could get my hands on and inevitably get in trouble for. In third grade, I switched schools and when I went to the library I discovered novelizations of Universal monster movies, particularly Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Since then, I never looked back, always reading horror stories or comics, watching films new and old, playing games where we pretended to be vampires. Of course, the Goosebumps and Fear Street books were ravenously devoured, as well as everything Haunted Mansion at Disneyland. From there, I became interested in the real-world macabre, learning about serial killers and wanting to study sociology and behavioral science, even briefly becoming a funeral arranger. Now, I tend to keep my horror to fiction, but am currently fascinated with the history of Paris’ infamous Grand Guignol theater.
Always been fascinated with scaring people, the chills that it would give me watching movies, the creepiness etc. Still trying to find that one thing that tops it all.
I grew up really loving post-apocalyptic books and movies, so by way of the zombie genre kind of found my way to post apocalyptic horror then horror from there. Also horror is the best genre to watch with your friends, so many good memories watching good (and bad, which is arguably better) horror movies together.
When I was growing up my sister and I would stay at my aunts on the weekends and she was big into horror films. So she would put them on at night and we would sit in the living room and eat cookies and cream ice cream and watch them together. The first horror movie I remember was Salem’s lot. It forever scarred me from looking out any window at night, because I would be afraid to see the dead boy floating at my window scratching on it for me to let him in. Also, “It” was another one that scared me to the point that I woke up one night and I thought I saw him on my sisters bed. I still remember screaming my head off and yelling for my mom!
I fell in love with horror when I was about 5 years old the movie that hooked me was Poltergeist and my love for all things horror sprang from there. As a teenager I did a lot of reading and found Stephen King. A really awesome thing I like to tell people is that I grew up in Harmony Maine and I remember when Graveyard Shift by Stephen King was filmed here in town. In about 2018 I actually became employed at the mill where Graveyard Shift was filmed. I feel like after all these years of watching horror movies a lot does not surprise me anymore though lol. Halloween is absolutely hands down my favorite holiday I get so excited when all the spooky dark decor comes in the store (some of the items do stay up in my home all year) Another horror show that I really enjoy is American Horror Story anything that has to do with witches, hauntings and mysteries I get right into them
I am not a daring person so I like reading/watching others who are scared. I live vicariously through them.
In 8th grade my English Teacher wanted us to do a free write and try and write a short horror story. We did one or two of these and I fell in love with telling scary stories. I then started watching lots of horror films. I started with the cult classics like Halloween and Friday the 13th. Then throughout the years I watched more and more horror films. I loved the stories and then I started falling in love with the devices used to tell the stories. Makeup and special effects are some of the first things that will catch my eye when watching a horror film.
The horror stories I like the most are ones that touch on morality and the consequences of forgoing/renouncing principles. For me, these stories (and the horror stories I want to create) serve as cathartic cautionary tales on how not to handle situations in life. For me, the film “Ginger Snaps” epitomizes this by showcasing how one girl, Ginger Fitzgerald, uses lycanthropy as an unhealthy outlet to express her anger and rage with her peers, only to destroy herself, her peers, and her relationship with her sister, Brigitte.
My go-to genre is always comedy, and people often overlook the similarities between horror and comedy. Both genres involve subverting an audience’s expectations and trying to catch them off-guard. I’ve always been fascinated by things that scare me, but Hereditary was the movie that made me fall in love with horror. I had never seen grief explored through horror, and it inspired me to make my own horror short film.
I fell in love with the Scream movies, and soon thereafter a whole bunch of slashers and crazy 80s B-movies. It made me realize that horror is a genre that is able to explore the dark side of us that we can’t explore in real life — either our trauma or our dark impulses. I also love how much it stays true to itself as a genre; that there are people who are only famous within horror groups and certain tropes that only exist in horror movies. I love how simultaneously schlocky and deep it can be, and I feel like it’s peak genre cinema.
Growing up I always loved the Halloween decorations during October. While all the kids would flock to each house and quickly grab the best candy, I’d stand behind to oogle at the spooky ghosts and skeletons. Soon I became obsessed with Scooby Doo which also managed to the scaring the living daylight out of me. For awhile horror would truly terrorize me, but something kept pulling me back. Eventually, I conquered my fears and exposed myself to the classic horror films ranging from American Werewolf in London to The Lost Boys. My passion only got stronger and stronger the older I got.
Watching Candyman when I was way too young to see such a movie. Wrecked me for weeks.
Watching Bob Wilkins Creature Features on channel 2 (Oakland/San Francisco area) when I was 5 years old!
It kick-started my love of the genre!
It kick-started my love of the genre!I used to be absolutely terrified of the horror genre until I started reading Stephen King books which led me to fall in love with a lot of his movie adaptations IT, Gerald’s Game, and Carrie. Being obsessed with these movies really opened me up to horror as a whole and it is now my favorite genre!
I really liked Scooby doo as a kid and that just kept growing
Scary but fun!
As a kid it was a way for me and my mom to connect to each other.
The thing that made fall in love with horror was the inventiveness of the rules and the variety of what you can do in a horror film. For example, Gremlins for the first third is a Spielbergian coming of age story about a biy and his pet. Then, the rest of the movie turns into a monster fest with the titular characters, complete with one of them getting microwaved to death.
Best way to access buried emotions, and get a fun thrill doing it
I love campy horror the most because it’s just so fun during the fall, which is my favorite season. It started with Stranger Things when it first came out, and I loved the nostalgic feeling and the 80s setting so I started watching things like the Scream movies. My favorite more modern horror movie is Hereditary.
I’ve been in love with horror since the best era of horror occurred 1980’s. I grew up watching them all thanks to my awesome late mother for turning me into the biggest horror fan ever.
I’ve always loved horror! I saw The Ring at age seven and a movie had never affected me so much. I was scared for aged! I thought it was incredible that media could have that effect, and I quickly fell in love with all things horror.
The feeling of being scared.
Watching horror movies from the age of 5 (Sometimes between fingers).
My Father was big horror fan so growing I played with Jason, Freddy Krueger, and Michael Myers action figures.
While part of me enjoys being scared and looking for something to top that fear, horror movies are like warm blankets. Nothing beats settling into a warm house at night while images of abject terror fill your television screen.
Growing up in a haunted house in New England I always gravitated to horror! Reading spooky stories always made me feel better.
I think for me, my connection to the horror genre was its celebration of those who didn’t fit in within our society. My favorite horror films are mostly from the 30s as it celebrated outcasts. We fear Frankenstein’s monster just as much as my sympathize with him. Count Dracula is both extremely charming and very creepy. These films showed audiences the complexities of life, while also scaring them at the same time. What we can take away from them is a crucial but important fact: darkness exists everywhere, but so does light. Horror is a way for us to address that darkness that exists around us and even within all of us, for better and worse. FRAKENSTEIN/DRACULA
I grew up with horror, my mom is the biggest fan. So I was born with it in my guts. Fear is such a strong emotion. One of the hardest to ignore and overcome, Having a good scare reminds you you are alive.
My dad would take us to movies when he was in town and not working, so we would go and enjoy all types of films but we dug the horror movies the best.
The beauty and thrill of being scared especially with films that used lighting, sound, etc to ratchet up tension and didn’t reveal too much. Knowing that what mine can conjure up is far scarier than what can be put on screen!
Watching Scream with my family.
The old folklore and myths connected to my families Eastern-European history.
Horror is one of THE BEST moviegoing experiences. Add to that it’s one of the best shared experiences. One can have in a darkened room, filled with strangers, the visceral thrill of it all in an audience, screaming together, jumping together, and covering their eyes together, and when it’s all said and done, you’re able to get up and go home unlike many of the characters in the movie and a good horror movie will stay with you for me it’s horror, movies, such as Halloween, The Exorcist, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Alien just to name a few! They’re movies that evolve as I evolve aka get older! Thats why I LOVE horror movies! Demetri Panos
Creating an actual sense of horror is so hard, and people don’t appreciate it enough! There’s so much craft to it, and when done well, is amazing cinema.
My favorite kind of horror is psychological/ cultish horror. Those films really give me thrills!
I remember the first time I saw a horror film with an audience — all prior viewings consisted of a laptop, a dark room, and no company. It was a screening of Texas Chain Saw Massacre on my university campus. The sound and image were terrible, but the film was thrilling. Many had already seen the movie, though there still many hushes, audible gasps, and more than one chuckle at the expense of the delightfully ignorant protagonists. More than any other genre, horror has the ability to unite an audience because it creates a shared experience; the viewers must endure the story together. That night when the lights came on and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, we all sat there with meek smiles because we survived as a group. As contradictory as the idea seems, horror builds communities.
I think horror can explore societal and psychological issues in a very visceral and unique way.
When I was a wee lad, I was terrified of horror. If other kids were dressed up as GhostFace for Trick-or-Treating, I refused to go out. Even if it were a horror commercial, I’d be on the verge of tears. That all changed when I was 12 years old and decided to watch Jeepers Creepers because it was on the TV in some random Florida hotel. (even though the director is a dirtbag) Something about the movie struck a chord with me, and suddenly, I wasn’t afraid of horror movies anymore. All through my teens, I watched movie after movie, franchise after franchise, and really began to appreciate horror as an art form. I started branching out to international horror, I went to visit horror landmarks, and it just became a staple of my life. I’m so happy to talk about horror at any time, and I’m always down for a good scare
Watching Evil Dead 2 at a friend’s house on VHS as a teenager.
Getting a rec list from this random person named Kristy.
The natural rush of being jumped!
It’s terrifying lol.
My aunt used to watch tons of horror movies when i was a kid. So i would watch all the vhs tapes she recorded with my cousins.
Stephen King.
My brother. He took me to movie theaters in Bangor where horror movies often played in the 50s. I was 10 or 11and when the movie was over we would walk to our nearby home. Sometimes he would run ahead of me and when he was far enough away he would stop and turn around, where I would be running as fast as my short legs could go and he would call out, in a scary voice, “”Run faster! It’s going to get you!!”” Tho I was scared to death, the next time a horror movie would be showing, I couldn’t say ‘no’ to his invitation!! I think he was too scared to go alone!!!
My older brother influenced me.
Stephen King books
I think I always was in love with horror, my mother constantly renting the Disney “horror” films like watcher in the woods and various made for TV horrors. I also loved the macbre, Beetlejuice, Addams Family etc soft launches early on. Poltergeist was the first film that truly made me terrified – that and X-Files. But as scared as I was, I always came back for more diving deeper into the genre with each watch. I think the final and biggest push was Scream. I wasn’t allowed to see the film, but all my classmates some how did (it was fourth/ fifth grade). Listening to them describe the body slit from groan to navel, guts spilling out and hung from a tree – I was fascinated. My poor mother was forced to start watching so many horrors after this, telling me the fast forward was to hide the violence, when in truth it was because she was so scared herself.
To be scared and knowing it’s a movie. The thrill!
The campy/cheesiness of some of them the 90s!
The Devil AKA Satan or Lucifer, bringer of light
I used to be terrified of Ghostface and Pennywise from the original It TV series as a child but somehow always loved Halloween. It fueled my love and appreciation for horror movies and that’s why Scream is my favorite horror franchise.
Watching Dawn of the Dead(original) for the first time when I was a kid.
Since watching Alien in middle school, I’ve learned that Horror doesn’t have to be straight slasher gore that it’s advertised as on TV. I’ve gradually watched more and found my way to the Thing, The Babadook, and various other horror films.
The scares!
I’m slowly diving into the world of horror
but I love the suspense and monsters/creatures!
but I love the suspense and monsters/creatures!I didn’t like horror until extremely recently, for so long I held myself back from horror because I was scared to sit through that discomfort. However, I found Scream which mixed horror, comedy, and self-awareness of the genre. It’s the essential horror film for me and the perfect gateway to the genre.
The idea of telling a story about a worst and almost impossible case scenario is very intriguing to me.
The villains. Knowing that they were meant to represent something more than just a killer – often reflecting society back at itself – makes me appreciate how horror is more than a physically terrifying experience.
I’m always looking for strong emotions within cinema and art more broadly. Horror most often elicits the strongest reaction from me, whether it’s horror or humor:
I love how it can explore the limits of human madness and creativity.
Ever since I was young I always loved spooky things. Halloween was my favorite holiday, I had a little devil baby from Spirit Halloween that I took care of as an actual doll instead of a cute one, I always wanted to watch spooky movies. I loved everything that was creepy. I remember when I was really young I caught a glimpse of the 1989 Batman and became obsessed with not only the spooky Tim Burton aesthetic but also Jack Nicholson. While not a horror movie, Batman made child me obsessed with Jack Nicholson to the point where I was in preschool carrying around a Jack picture with me everywhere I went. When I was in elementary school, I was determined to watch The Shining because it was one of Jack’s most famous roles. My parents, a little apprehensive, agreed to watch it with me. Instead of being scared, I fell in love with the film and the genre of horror and have never looked back.
The Shining now remains my favorite film and I have been consuming horror content ever since. I loved that I was never scared of horror like my friends and family members were, I was only intrigued. I have come to love the way horror takes our social anxieties and represents them in strange ways like The Ring or creates innovative traps like Saw.
I am now a senior in college, majoring in film and gender studies and am currently writing a senior thesis on the role of sacrificial motherhood in horror films because there are not enough horror classes taught and I crave them! I love horror and talking about and watching it and love that I have found this website and community of fellow horror lovers. <3″
I love the creation of the SFX and VFX of horror. The creation of the characters and villains, whether it be virtual or special effects made me love getting into watch horror movies. Horror is a unique medium to create things that don’t exist, a major thing about visual effects that I love and what made me interested in VFX. Seeing all the new ways this is in horror movies made me fall in love with horror.
Not a big fan!
I fell in love with horror because of my dad. We used to sit and watch a horror movie every night once my mom went to bed — scaring ourselves to sleep. We speak in horror language, asking each other about what the other has seen recently or about spooky encounters we’ve had in the past. When my parents divorced, I found that my dad and I were able to connect through these films despite our distance. Doctor Strange is one that we keep going back to! It’s a comfort genre for me; one that I have passed on to my friends and watch in my dark living room when only my dad and I remain awake.
The scary jumps, gore, and the cinematics.
The thrill of the unexpected.
Stephen King movies growing up, such as Pet Sematary.
Halloween.
My mom is a huge horror fan specific Stephen King though so I have grown up on horror.
Thank you all for sharing!
Today’s winners:
