Posted Sep 2, 08 09:34 AM
Moments
Set aside -- in their entirety -- creepy movies and shows, books and comics. Let's talk moments.
You know. Moments.
Scenes. Seconds. Shots. Images. Pages. Panels. Sentences. Lines of dialogue.
Moments.
You didn't see 'em coming. These are the moments that won't leave you. These are the moments that jolted you alive with life-affirming fear -- and made you realize you liked it.
Oh, you know you know them. Goosebump Polaroid’s developed on your brain. Tomb encryptions carved on your psyche, autographed in adrenaline. They're any self-respecting phobia's cornerstone. Memories may haze the what-was-it-about or the who-was-in-it, but we never, ever, ever, ever quite escape those...
Moments.
Around the age of six, with no one to play with at a relatives-visit-relatives evening -- adults playing pinochle, siblings and peers carrying on with Barbie & Ken or RISK -- I spotted cousin Joey's TALES FROM THE CRYPT tucked away next to the torn-brown leather recliner. Something about a stolen and cursed ancient beetle scarab (ever notice the best jewelry is always cursed?). A thief retreating to the sewers. The police discover his body... seemingly crushed by a harmless lil' ol' beetle. And Crypt Keeper chuckles a moral.
When I was a coke bottle glasses-wearing ten, I still hadn't screened Hitchcock's Psycho. But -- oh, baby -- I saw that shower scene. Our basement bathroom didn't have a tub. Just a shower. And the curtain was the thick white plastic variety, the kind that folded up accordion-style. Even with the door locked, three times per washing I was opening that curtain to check for any knife-wielding assailant in drag that I just might have missed.
About that time, my sister, Theresa, and I caught the network premiere of little Johnny Carpenter's Halloween. When Jamie Lee, while walking home, triple-takes M. Myers behind the hedge and then -- poof -- he's gone, a new custom was ushered in: racing up the steps after someone turned off the downstairs lights.
Moments.
Chilled to the Core will continue to feature an in-depth look-see into those economy-sized nightmares, those defining bits of "hey, I got horror DNA!" 'Cuz sometimes, we all have to go slow-mo and smell the roses. Especially the ones all decked out in thorns with their blooms ripped off.
Seriously, do hit me back at Mike@ChillerTV.com and share a moment that continues to rattle your inner fraidy-kat. Your submission might be proudly included in a future topic. Or after reading it, I may call the police.
Chillingly,
Mike
Posted by Mike Kalvoda at 09:34 AM