Three of the Scariest Movies I Have Ever Seen

When I think of the word HORROR, I think of two things. I will either think of my all-time worst girlfriend or the three best horror films I have ever seen in my entire life. Relax! I promise not to tell you about the girlfriend, but we will talk about the movies.

A. 'Dracula' (1931)

The very first movie that scared me like you would not believe is Dracula. It was the 1931 version, the very first one that I have seen. Keep in mind that there were other Dracula movies, but this one stands out as the best one of them all. The main reason is not so much the acting, but the fact that it had to be filmed in black and white which was the only way to film it at the time. Don't forget that color technology did not exist until the late 50s. So, for a black and white film to scare a little boy who was watching it in 1960, it had to be really good.

Let's look at the black and white factor for a moment. As an English major, I studied the works of Edgar Allan Poe, my favorite writer. Like other Gothic writers, he had a fascination with death. I must admit that I also had a fascination with death thanks to him. The only problem is that before college, I did not know why. Once I studied Poe, I saw why. Poe used many things that symbolized the element of death mainly darkness and shadows. As I look back at the movie, there were no scenes that took place in daylight. Dracula had an extreme aversion to daylight, therefore he had to be back in his box before sunrise. So, he really flourished at night. As a result, Bram Stoker made extensive use of the darkness throughout the story.

Then, Stoker had Count Dracula as an emotionless individual. At times what seemed like a smile may not have been a smile. Bela Lugosi was the perfect actor to bring this gruesome characteristic feature out on screen. This is important because, in my early nightmares, I do not recall seeing monsters and such with grins on their faces and such. I do remember as a very young Catholic boy, I was an altar boy (that is what we were called because boys were the only ones who were allowed to serve back then) and I served many funerals. I remember the very first funeral I served. It was my very first time actually seeing a casket. All I knew was that there was somebody (Or should I say SOME BODY?) inside of it, but I did not know who they were or what they looked like. I had no emotional attachment at all while I was doing what I was called to do. In January 1969, a very close neighbor of mine died. My mom and I attended her funeral. That was the first time that I saw someone I knew inside of an open casket. even though I knew and loved my neighbor, her appearance frightened me. All I could think about was that image and eventually, I just pictured her standing next to Lugosi in my home at night and staring at me. On went the lamps.

It took years to overcome my fear of the dark, a fear that I would not reveal to others including my family, but I had the Dracula movie to thank for it. (Oh great! Now, I have an image of that horrible ex-girlfriend in my head again.)

B. 'House on Haunted Hill' (1959)

Here is another film that scared the bejeebers out of me as well. Unlike Dracula, this film did not concentrate on one scary individual. It introduced many individuals who were nameless, had little screen time and no conversations. This movie not only had the elements of darkness, but the setting in this HUGE house is what brought out the scariness in the film. Come on! It takes place in a HOUSE. I live in a HOUSE. Now, we already have the premise nearly set. So, now we get to see what makes it HAUNTED.

Three of my favorite actors (Vincent Price, Richard Long, and Elisha Cook) play a huge role in the film. Basically, it is a story about a millionaire (Price) and his wife who hold a very strange party. Seven people (Long, Cook, and five others) were invited to stay overnight in a HUGE house which was really a mansion. Afterall, the hosts were millionaires. They were not allowed to escape the residence after a certain time. Unfortunately for everyone in the residence, the groundskeepers left earlier than expected and nobody could leave until they returned....in the morning. Now, the fun begins.

Needless to say, like I mentioned about the previous movie, the darkness was extensively and amply utilized throughout. In fact, nowhere throughout the movie is there any daylight at all. You have figures like one of the caretakers, a deaf woman, who made appearances which still scare me. She crept up to one of the party people and then vanished into the shadows. To be honest, this was a very effective tool because it made you (Okay, it made ME) frightened of what (or who) could be hidden in those shadows. Surprisingly, though, there was very little ominous music. Perhaps, I never noticed it, but it was very effective in bringing out the horror element. As the host, Vincent Price was very effective at leading us through each element of horror.

As I think back to the setting, I looked back at the outside of the house itself. It was more of a funeral home. After all, the guests arrived in a funeral cortege minus the hearse. When I think back to the funerals of my parents and my sister, the rest of us were picked up at home by limousine and driven to the funeral home for the service. After the service was over, we got back into the limo for the sad ride to the cemetery. So, this scene of the arrival of the party was fitting.

I won't give away the ending. That is not my thing, but I will say that walking skeletons are a part of it. Oh my gosh! Why am I thinking about that ex-girlfriend again? This time, I am writing this article early in the morning and I am getting scared again. I hope that I don't see her. I'd rather hang out with the skeletons tonight.

C. 'Poltergeist' (1982)

Now, my triumvirate of horror films is complete. This film completes my horror film category because it has both nighttime and daylight scenes which scared me. It started out in the daylight where the elements are set. I need to tell you about the high school I attended. You are probably wondering why I brought up my high school. Well, as I go on talking about this movie, I will explain why my high school was important to mention.

Let's start with the title. I obviously speak English and I am not as fluent in Spanish as I'd like to be. However, The word "poltergeist" is a German word for "noisy ghost." We are not talking about spirits that play their radios loud at night, but they are quite accustomed to making their presence known at any time of the day. This proved to me that one does not need the cover of darkness to be scared. Even the mind can play tricks on you.

on You started out with a family of five who moved into a very modest, but nice California home. When you see it, it kind of reminds you of the house on TheBrady Bunch television show. It resembled the same configuration. Once fully moved into the place, the "fun" begins. Things move under their own will. Lights go on and off. Later at night, a tree moved and captured (briefly) one of the characters and eventually, the youngest character, a little girl, gets sucked into the TV. The majority is spent trying to recover the little girl and, of course, trying to find out WHY it happened. Let me fill you in.

Way back in 1970, September of 1970 to be more precise, I attended a very wonderful high school called Christ the King. It is located in a very scenic area of New York called Middle Village. In short, its neighbor is a cemetery. Behind the school is a cemetery. Across the street from it is......you guessed it....a cemetery. In my bizarre behavior, I spent some time walking THROUGH the cemetery in order to get to my various destinations. Was it creepy? You betcha it was. Most of my walks were not walks, but run-throughs (as fast as I can so that I would not be caught there). I am sure that most movie scenes of cemeteries were probably filmed in the one I was in. In Poltergeist, the premise revealed that the house the family lived in, as well as the other houses in their new neighborhood, were built on cemetery ground. In order to reduce the cost of building these modern homes, only the headstones were removed, but all of the bodies remained behind. Okay, I revealed part of the premise, but that is all I will say about the premise.

Unlike the first two movies I cited earlier, this one had three departures. First, as I mentioned earlier, there was some use of daylight. Second, it was filmed in color. Finally, there were no deaths involved. Obviously, the prior cemetery residents were obviously already dead. No other people died in the movie, unlike Dracula and House on Haunted Hill.

Conclusion

There are other nice movies out there in this genre. I must give honorable mention to the very first Nightmare on Elm Street movie which gave birth to its franchise. However, as much as I like the original, it and the rest of the franchise is much too gory to be included here. The movies I cited had small amounts of gore. Watching dead people pop out of the ground within their caskets and coffins was all the fright I needed, but all three of the earlier movies provided the foundation of horror that I needed in life.

I just had another horrible image. It doesn't seem to involve a vampire, a dark house, or deceased people popping out of the ground. I just had an unwanted image of my ex-girlfriend wearing foundation and popping up out of nowhere. OH, THE HORROR!!!!