Just How did a bunch of reprobates like the hosts of The Scariest Things become horror junkies? For Episode 176, we gathered to discuss our experiences watching movies to determine why we got into scary films. Gateway horror movies a plenty!
When determining the movies that made us, it is all about context. Think back to your movie experiences. At what point did you know you were a horror fan? Did somebody convince you? Did you stumble into the genre? Have you been a horror movie fan since you were a child? Or did you grow up in an environment where horror movies were forbidden?
Falling in love with horror at a young age
Some horror fans have parents who love scary movies. I am envious of those people! Sleepovers spawned a lot of our youthful horror experiences. I dare you to watch The Exorcist! (Or Alien, or A Nightmare on Elm Street, or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre… take your pick.) It was a badge of honor to make it through to the finale. The veil of cowardice indeed came out. (Covering your eyes with your fingers… you know you did it!) There is something emotionally cathartic about screaming your lungs out and laughing in relief with your best friends that will anchor these emotions to your movies.
Gateway Horror films hook us in. You typically do not start with Terrifier as your introduction to horror as a ten-year-old. Those unfortunate children who get subjected to extreme horror like that often don’t recover to become fans later. I have met many scaredy cats who got overexposed to extreme horror at the wrong age. It would be best if you eased in. That’s not to say that young teenagers who want to push their boundaries at the sleepover should go for it! However, please do not subject real younglings who are vehemently afraid of horror movies to watch something that will traumatize them. That’s cruel. Note that several of the films in our list would be considered gateway horror or horror adjacent. Consider a gradual build instead.
Horror Movies That Made Us as Adults
Though horror imprinting usually happens when we are young, there are plenty of “adulting” horror opportunities to bond your emotions to a movie. A romantic horror movie date, maybe? Perhaps a specific movie proved to be cathartic and helped your psyche. Or, a movie blew you away with something that triggered strong emotions. It’s clear that finding the horror movie that makes us is an entirely personal experience. What impacts you as a middle-aged adult differs greatly from our ten-year-old selves. Crossing over the period where you have more life behind you than likely in front of you can change that perspective.
Wisdom replaces Curiosity. Experience will tell you things that you don’t need to be afraid of and some fears that you never considered as a child.
For horror podcasters, this exercise invigorated us. Mike noted that empathy played a large role in many of our selections. This empathy has remained important for me, as it established my #1 rule of caring for the protagonists (or in the case of King Kong, the monster.) These trips down memory lane tapped into why we do what we do. I am confident that we could have produced several more movies that made us, but I am excited to present the movies that shaped our perspectives. Please enjoy Episode 176: Horror Movies That Made Us.
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