This is what Halloween is about

(movie spoilers inside...)

I really had a very difficult childhood, filled with all sorts of things out to get me. Between the possibility of little babies coming into the world as monsters and slaughtering my small town, to my dolls coming to life, or my friends disappearing and then coming back to get me, it just wasn’t always a safe haven...

Having older brothers that watched horror movies made these fears come to life. When everyone went to sleep, they'd often stay up late to watch late night TV/cable movies. The way the couch was set up, I was able to sneak behind the couch and peek out the side. I always thought I was so cool, until I would start watching what they were watching. Then I couldn't sleep.

My first memories of being scared was a movie called, "It's Alive." It's about a woman that gives birth to a monster baby. The baby manages to slash up an entire town, before the daddy has to put it down. In fact, if I recall, the little town is Los Angeles (who knew, right??). Beyond the old school 70's camera angle, the camera often put us at the perspective of said Monster Baby, who would eye its prey and then we'd see blood spray. And of course, its cry was more like a "AAgggggggrrrrrkkkkkllll".

Then, of course, there was "Trilogy of Terror." Now, I rented this a few years back to see what my fuss had been about. The truth be told, of course it wasn't too scary. It was actually four mini-movies tucked into one, all starring Karen Black in different roles. But, there was one of the mini's that gave me the willies, called, "Amelia." Essentially, this woman receives a doll that COMES to LIFE!! It even CHASES her with a butcher knife, thrashing its knife under doorways, slicing and dicing her ankles and wielding it through the air, all while making a "Aye Aye Aye" wail. That's all it took to convince me that my dolls would surely come to life if they fell out of a closet wrong. And I knew for sure if I did not care for them properly, my collection of dollies would fuse together, create a village of haters and chase me with a butcher knife.

Of course, trying to put those fears to rest did not work so well after seeing, "Poltergeist." If you have never seen it, rent it. If you have, you must agree, even if you've watched it 1,000 times like I have, there are some of the best scary/horror moments in creepy movie history. Not to give away too much, but this family called the Freelings get terrorized by a "Poltergeist," which means a "rumbling spirit. " Worst scene, the little boy and his clown. I can still hear him chanting, "One one-thousand, two one-thousand" as the sound of thunder clapped loudly, letting him and the audience know the impending storm was coming with a vengeance and watching him stare with terror at his once, friendly doll-clown. As the storm progresses, Mr. Clown tends to looks a little more maniacal. When Robbie (the kid) hides under his covers, we hear a thump and watch little Robbie in terror as he sees his once sitting clown has now disappeared. Brave little Robbie starts looking around the room, under the bed, only to get pummeled by his clown. Robbie and scary clown wrestle... (Robbie wins in the end, by the way).

Quite possibly the worst moment was in the clip in the movie, "Salem's Lot." The movie is actually LAME (I rented it a few years back to see if it really WAS scary). But there is a scene that will forever haunt me. Said little boy loses best friend in horrific way. Said little boy is asleep and hears a "tap,tap" on his bedroom window, middle of the night, loads of fog. Said little boy wipe's the sleep out of his eyes, only to see his best friend is in the window, floating, motioning for him to come over to the window. Oh, and best friend looks deranged. Said little boy goes to window, as little boys do in movies and opens it. Said little boy gets attacked by possessed best friend.

These are just a few of the scary movie moments that are forever engrained and cemented into my head…and some of the most memorable parts of my childhood!!