Give Us Your Thoughts On Horror.
Greetings from your fearless shipping manager. Lately, Ben and I have spent a lot of time talking with each other about how broad the field of horror is. He and I grew up on the movies, sure, but there was also an abundance of horror comics (EC reprints) and horror literature (King, Koontz, Barker etc.) to poison the fertile soil of our imaginations. Hell, last month I was at my local library browsing the audio books and came across some old Inner Sanctum radio broadcasts with a guest appearance by Boris Karloff . How cool is that? Since then, I’ve found a number of old horror radio broadcasts on YouTube and have spent many hours listening to them. Now that we’re into a new year with many changes looming upon the proverbial horizon of Fright-Rags, I thought it might be time to open a discussion on the field of horror pertaining to comics, literature, radio broadcasts, or whatever else tickles your fancy. What are your thoughts on the EC comics and/or the many knock-offs that followed? I would love to hear your stories and memories. When I was growing up, I had a record (yes, I’m that old) of a Peter and the Wolf reading. Now, the Peter and the Wolf reading was pretty frickin’ cool but on the flipside of that record was this crazy tale about a witch that came down the chimney of some guy’s house. I don’t even remember the title of the story but I do remember that it scared the hell out of me when I was young. And yet, despite my terror, I listened to it over and over and over again.
It’s similar to my first experience reading Stephen King when I was about ten years old. Hanging out at a friends house one summer day, I found this beat up copy of Stephen King’s Cujo in his room. Initially, the two of us had gone through the house looking for his dad’s collection of girlie mags but having failed to turn up anything more provocative than Elle magazine we retreated, forelorn and frustrated, back to his room. That was when I discovered the King paperback laying on the floor and proceeded to read. I don’t remember how far I got but I know the impact it had on me. Later on that evening, laying in bed with the covers pulled up to my eyeballs, my eyes remained locked on the closet door, waiting for the knob to rattle before slowly turning, revealing the creeping death that crouched inside. I was certain that something was lurking deep within the shadows of the closet, waiting to pounce on me and unzip my guts, strewing my innards around like so much useless confetti. Of course, there was nothing in the closet save for grandma’s winter coats and a bunch of wire coat hangers (Insert obligatory Mommy Dearest NO. . . WIRE. . . HANGERRRRS!!! joke here). Anyway, the next day found me back at my friends house picking up right where I left off with Cujo. And so began a lifelong love affair with the King of horror.
Alright, enough about me. What are your experiences with horror, both past and present? How old were you when the horror bug sunk its tiny little teeth into your veins? What type of horror (aside from the movies) do you enjoy? Ben and I both love what we do and I think he will agree when I say that interacting with other horror fans is the best part of this job. You guys have made Fright-Rags what it is today and for that we are incredibly grateful. Well, I’d better end this book, I’m out of Mountain Dew and withdrawal’s startin’ to kick in. Until next time. -Tim
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Mirthquake
on January 9th, 2010
I was about 3. On ABC there used to be a live action children’s show, it turns out created by famed Warner Brothers animator Chuck Jones, called “The Old Curiosity Shop”.
One day they showed a clip from one of the latter Hammer Frankenstein films of the creature coming to life. I screamed and ran behind the couch… but was completely hooked. My dad turned me on to the old Universal horror movies, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
chris
on January 9th, 2010
I think when I was eight or nine,I was over a friend’s house. We watched the first two a Nightmare on Elm St. movies on Beta(look it up,kids).I was insteantly hooked.I remember in my tween years sneaking into the theaters and seeing the latest NOES,Halloween, or F13 movies.I don’t know what attracts me to horror.I just can’t get enough of it/
Daniel Joseph Sardella
on January 10th, 2010
My mum fell asleep watching Alien in the theater whilst pregnant with me.
PhantomNinja
on January 11th, 2010
It seems to me that this horror bug is both of my parents fault! It started when they brought home the original Chainsaw Massacre and told me to go in the other room to play ( I thought it was a dirty movie or something ) but that was quickly dismissed when my sister had shown me the cover. I was instantly hooked. From then on it blossomed into a dark void in my brain. Cartoons,comics and literature all had to be dark and vile. Oh and these lovely movies have also desensitized me, for that I work at a Mortuary and do removals everyday, now thats (emotional) horror! Lastly I have found out about this brilliant writer, Brian Keene. Fantastic books and excellent storyplots. LOOK him up and you wont be disappointed.
tim
on January 11th, 2010
The bug bit me big time when I came across Island Of Dr. Moreau (Lancaster and York, not that piece of crap with Brando) playing on HBO when I was around 10 or 11. Still one of my favorite movies! After that, I would go to Wally’s Video, where my mom so conveniently worked, and scour the racks for all things horror! I have a ton of horror related comics and books, but the John Bolton illustrated Army Of Darkness series has to be my all time favorite! The Jason vs. Leatherface mini series with the Simon Bisley artwork comes in a close 2nd!
David, Scotland
on January 12th, 2010
I was about 8 or 9 years old when the UK TV Station ITV used to run a saturday night horror film season callled ‘Don’t Watch Alone’. i remember getting up late one night not being able to sleep and sitting with my dad on his chair watching the 1931 Frankemstein. I was gob-smacked, the moment Karloff turned round I was hooked on Horror films. Fiend without a Face scared the hell out of me as a kid, (the town hall sequence with the madman) I had to wait another 35 years before another film sequence took me by surprise…the ending of Saw..had to admit, all the years watching thousands of Horror films, I didn’t see it coming. Happy viewing. D
tim
on January 12th, 2010
Agree totally David. Fiend Without A Face is a complete gem! Easily one of the most fun movies around! My girls all stop and come sit down and watch, when I have it playing.
Eddie
on January 12th, 2010
I most likely was taught horror when i was 5 or 6 by going to church and sunday school. Does anyone realize how scary the stories in the Bible can be to a little kid. That Satan guy is everywhere.
David
on January 13th, 2010
Horror has been a part of my life since a very early age. I remember seeing movies like Dawn of the Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street and Fright Night as young as 2 years old.
Of course I got scared crapless as any human child would, but instead of running scared from the genre, I’d watch another tale of terror and another until it was time to deal with the nightmares.
Today, as an aspiring filmmaker, my specialty of course is horror.
If anyone has a problem with kids seeing horror films, I’d ask; “What are they gonna do? Grow up and make one of their own someday?”
Jason
on January 14th, 2010
When I was a very young boy, my Dad showed me Universal’s 1931 Frankenstein on Super 8 for my birthday (yes, I’m that old!). Even though that antiquated format only showed a truncated version of like 15 mins of the film, I was hooked for life. Seriously, today we even have a room in our house dubbed “The Monster Room” decked out in full monster décor (my wife calls it “Monster-Chic”). Resting nicely on display between a Freddy glove and two Phantasm spheres is a little glass vial of dirt that I recently acquired through some awesome website….
Anyway, those classic Universal horror films are still my favorites. While my youngest son was being born, my Dad was passing the time in the hospital waiting room watching Creature from the Black Lagoon on his Ipod. I have taken great pleasure in bringing things full circle by recently sharing some of these same films with my two young boys.
plastek
on January 15th, 2010
The original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was in the “Comedy” section of the local rental store. Mom thought I would enjoy it. I was only about 8, or 9 at that time, so it messed me up pretty good.
Later on a friend of my dad’s (who moved here from texas) would regularly hang out at my house, and had me convinced he knew Leatherface, it was not a cool situation.
I seriously feared for my life for several years.
Think that has something to do with why I’m obsessed..
BTW; Thanks for the cool swag.
Nikita Leigh
on January 15th, 2010
For the movies, it all started with the late night tv hosts. I’m too young for Ghoulardi, but luckily Cleveland stuck with it’s horror hosting over the years. I grew up watching Big Chuck & Lil John and The Ghoul. Then later on cable :Elvira, Joe Bob Briggs and Rhonda Shear. I remember watching The Gate and being scared, laughing at 976-Evil and seeing Tales From the Darkside at the drive-in, but don’t actually recall the first horror film I ever saw.
It was a Scholastic book fair that started my love affair with reading supernatural/horror titles; all those scary urban legends, tales of vampire teachers and aliens. To this day, I devour anything that even remotely appeals to me. Clive Barker has been a steadfast fav though.
I love macabre art in all mediums and try to create awesome horror pieces in stained glass.
Knut Nerheim Bergene
on January 20th, 2010
Well, the movie that had the most impact on me personally, was C.H.U.D. I saw this with my older brother when I was pretty young (I know for sure I was WAY below the allowed age). That scared the s@*t out of me, man! For years I avoided manholes, and I took the longer way around them. C.H.U.Ds were some sick ugly f*@kers that scared me for a looong looong time.
I love them dearly though. Had to get the shirt from FR of course.
Sam(The Horror Man)
on January 26th, 2010
As a person who is constantly looking for new horror goodies to sink my teeth into, I must look back at what I grew up on
I fondly remember being dragged into my uncles room and being shocked at seeing Pinhead get the pins hammerd into his skull.
I must have been 4 and damn it scared the poop outta me.
From then on I was always looking for new horror weather it be in music(The Misfits) or in comics(Tales from the crypt and E.C ).
So to this day I love horror.
oniloco
on January 28th, 2010
I can;t even distinguish any specific early memories- horror films have just always surrounded me and bled (pun intended) into my everyday life.
I do recall Evil Dead II scaring me senseless as an 8year old, but even then I knew something was so great and funny about the film that I’d have to revisit it as soon as I could face up to it again….
I’ve actually gone on to get a film degree, specialising in horror. My dissertation was on Phantasm, and in researching it I found that mine was the only known text ever written about it. Technically this makes me the sole Phantasm academic in the world today!