It's October and I've already got my Netflix (sorry, Quickster) queues filled up with horror movies and I'm looking for a good horror book to read. I've always loved Halloween as well and the fact that you can embrace the darker parts of our human nature. So in honor of October and Halloween, I wanted to see what scares people. Any specific books, movies, video games, or actual phobias that people have and are willing to share?
Spiders and extreme heights are the two normal phobias I have. :P
Aside from that, most of my other phobias are extremely personal and based on bad experiences I've had. :P I have had an irrational fear of older, male strangers (even though I'm sure most of them are very nice) ever since a hotel employee held me down and licked my face in Jordan. :-\ It doesn't sound so terrible, but I was 15 and scared to death. :P
That's awful Deloria! And no, not remotely silly. Anyone would be terrified. :/
My particular fears are spiders and death in general (the concept overall). If I think of others, I'll post more.
Of note, though intellectually I know horror movies are fake, far-fetched, and so forth, I cannot watch them at night without having trouble sleeping. If it's day time, and I can make fun of it, etc, I'll be fine. And yet nonetheless, I have a weird fascination with horror.
That's one of the reasons I hate horror movies. XD When I was younger, I realised that there was no need to put myself through them if they terrified me and made me have trouble sleeping. :P I haven't really watched them since. :P I do like psychological thrillers though. I just don't like the idea of a masked murderer creeping up on people with a sharp object. XD
Quote from: KatieHal on October 09, 2011, 08:37:29 PM
That's awful Deloria! And no, not remotely silly. Anyone would be terrified. :/
It was pretty terrible. I went to my parents' room in tears and insisted on sleeping on the couch there because I had charged ice cream to my room and so he knew where I was staying. My mother made it so many times worse by sneaking up on me in the morning and grabbing me and gasping in my ear. Repeatedly. She thought she was hilarious.
I just saw Paranormal Activity, and I have to say, the movie was very over-hyped. There was nothing scary about it. Just a lot of weird sounds. I'm gonna see the sequel to see if it's any better, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
I have a bad case of vertigo, but I've slowly been getting over it by the tasks that I have to do at work. As long as I know I'm secure, I won't really freak out even at 15 feet in the air. But I have no problem flying on airplanes. So I would say I'm scared of heights to a very small degree. I would have to be falling nonsuspended from a great height. But even then, I'd be more scared of hurting myself, or dying.
I'm scared of death, but it's mostly because of the 'unknown'. I'm scared of not knowing what would happen afterwards. I've seen family members die peacefully, and have known people who died in vicious car accidents. As soon as death happens though, I assume what happens afterwards would be anybody's guess. But I'm afraid of the aftermath more than anything.
Gingers. *shudder*
Quote from: Lambonius on October 09, 2011, 09:27:52 PM
Gingers. *shudder*
Is it because we have more sex appeal? :P
Oh, Lamb, no wonder we "get along" the way we do! :smack:
Quote from: KatieHal on October 09, 2011, 09:52:03 PM
Oh, Lamb, no wonder we "get along" the way we do! :smack:
Out of curiosity Katie, in that emoticon, which one is Lambonius and which one is you?
Fear 2 was a scary video game. Overall, I don't like scary stuff. I hate to be scared. My biggest fear is being eaten alive by a shark. I freak out anytime I'm in the ocean. If the water if up to my hips, I feel a sense of primal fear.
I used to get suprised a lot playing the first doom game. Oh! almost forgot. The scariest video game I ever played is Silent Hill 2. Absolutely freaky. The 7th Guest was somewhat scary, but not horrible.
I'll try to think of more, but I want to be able to sleep tonight. I really hate scary things.
Quote from: KatieHal on October 09, 2011, 09:52:03 PM
Oh, Lamb, no wonder we "get along" the way we do! :smack:
Haha...I was just kidding. It was actually supposed to be a subtle South Park reference. Anyone who hasn't watched the ginger episode of South Park needs to go find it and see it now. It's hilarious.
For me, actual phobias include spiders and bugs in general as well as needles and piercing skin in general. I'm fine with blood, I'm fine with guts. I just can't stand seeing skin get cut. And that phobia is why, even though I love watching horror films, I just don't do slasher movies. I watch supernatural horror but never the deranged killer type because I know there will be more cutting.
In general, living dolls and ventriloquist dummies really freak me out. There is something about them that is just wrong. I think it's the fact that when things are not as they should be, or are unnatural, I get unsettled. A perfect example would be The Shining. The perfect symmetry of the shots, the twins who dress the same and hold hands and talk in unison. Everything in that movie is unnatural or is shot that way. And because of that, it's the movie that scares me the most. In the American version of The Ring, it was the killer video that scared me more than anything else in the movie. It was just unnatural. But yeah, dolls and dummies are just...wrong.
As far as video games, the only one I've found unsettling was Clive Barker's Undying. It's a shooter that has its corny and derivative moments, but over all it really has an unsettling atmosphere. I loved playing that game.
Quote from: Fierce Deity on October 09, 2011, 10:30:16 PM
Quote from: KatieHal on October 09, 2011, 09:52:03 PM
Oh, Lamb, no wonder we "get along" the way we do! :smack:
Out of curiosity Katie, in that emoticon, which one is Lambonius and which one is you?
Oh, I'm definitely the green one. :)
I'm also kind of afraid of the dark. Not as much as when I was a kid, but just having your vision cut off like that, it's unnerving to say the least!
Belonephobia-fear of needles (and sharp pointy objects in general)
I used to be scared of the dark a lot more too.
I hate horror films and gore... after the initial shock, I can be very pragmatic/practical about such things when encountering them in the real world.
Quote from: Deloria on October 09, 2011, 08:53:50 PM
My mother made it so many times worse by sneaking up on me in the morning and grabbing me and gasping in my ear. Repeatedly. She thought she was hilarious.
Your mother is something else... ::)
Why would anybody intentionally vacation in the Middle East?
Really fascinating ruins.
Quote from: Deloria on October 10, 2011, 10:33:54 AM
Really fascinating ruins.
This. And fears? Every since Arachnophoboia, definitely big spiders. And not really fear of them in general, I just get freaked out a bit when I stumble across a big one unexpectedly.
And heights.
I'm afraid of the dilution of artistic quality in output do to the proliferation of the internet and political correctness.
Bt
Quote from: Blackthorne on October 10, 2011, 02:10:17 PM
I'm afraid of the dilution of artistic quality in output do to the proliferation of the internet and political correctness.
Bt
This x 2.
To be fair, the internet allows almost anyone to have the tools required to make a creative work, if they have the passion to do so. Sure, this means we get a lot of crappy stuff from people with no training, but it opens up the field for so many people who can't afford the "proper" tools or "proper" training to bring their ideas to fruition. Giving everyone the ability to make art can't be a bad thing.
I have nothing to say for political correctness. :P
Political correctness is good in small doses. :P
I don't want to turn this into a big political discussion but I will admit that Herman Cain scares me a bit. People like him because he's not a career politician, but I'm not so sure the President of the United States should ever be anybody's first job in politics.
Also - piranhas.
Alright, I'll fess up....
....I'm terrified of Deloria! :o :P
Oh, we all are a little... after all, she can have us drawn and quartered. :yes: ... but fear is what makes an effective mon... *someone whispers something in his ear* oh... it isn't?... I thought... *wanders off* :P
Ever since I was a little girl I've had this deep-rooted fear of really deep water. I love to swim and I love to go to the ocean, but I've had nightmares about deep water for as long as I can remember. Sea monsters, too--usually I can only partially see the sea monster in my nightmares, but I know it's there. *Shudder*
You planning on evaluating me, Damar? ;)
Quote from: Delling on October 16, 2011, 03:46:37 PM
Oh, we all are a little... after all, she can have us drawn and quartered. :yes: ... but fear is what makes an effective mon... *someone whispers something in his ear* oh... it isn't?... I thought... *wanders off* :P
It's the pouncing/glomping/flinging, isn't it? :(
Mostly the flinging. A teeny bit of the glomping. :P
Quote from: Haids1987 on October 16, 2011, 11:08:15 PM
Ever since I was a little girl I've had this deep-rooted fear of really deep water. I love to swim and I love to go to the ocean, but I've had nightmares about deep water for as long as I can remember. Sea monsters, too--usually I can only partially see the sea monster in my nightmares, but I know it's there. *Shudder*
Is it Cthulhu? Because if it is, I think you have reason to be afraid! :P
Failure, the fact that it can't end because of too many secrets.
Quote from: snabbott on October 17, 2011, 07:59:39 AM
Quote from: Haids1987 on October 16, 2011, 11:08:15 PM
Ever since I was a little girl I've had this deep-rooted fear of really deep water. I love to swim and I love to go to the ocean, but I've had nightmares about deep water for as long as I can remember. Sea monsters, too--usually I can only partially see the sea monster in my nightmares, but I know it's there. *Shudder*
Is it Cthulhu? Because if it is, I think you have reason to be afraid! :P
No, she really doesn't. (http://www.hello-cthulhu.com/)
I've played in two one-shot sessions for Call of Cthulhu the RPG. Definitely scary stuff! (They both rank among my favorite one-shots ever, and the better of the two was one where we all died, included my last act being to kill myself to save the world from really really awful stuff!)
I've actually never read any Lovecraft. I keep meaning to change that, but never do.
Quote from: Haids1987 on October 16, 2011, 11:08:15 PM
You planning on evaluating me, Damar? ;)
Well of course. But to be fair, I can't help it. My inner Freud is something I have trouble turning off. "So...a fear of zee deep vaters, yah? You fear a return to zee womb, to zee helplessness of beink a child." Ok, I'll stop now.
Quote from: Damar on October 17, 2011, 03:13:52 PM"So...a fear of zee deep vaters, yah? You fear a return to zee womb, to zee helplessness of beink a child."
Is that really what it's supposed to mean? Analyze away! I'll give more detail if you want! :yes:
That's what Freud would probably say. But Freud was wrong about a lot. Honestly, you probably don't like deep water because you can't see what's below it, even though you know there's something under there (which is likely benign). It's a little creepy.
Phobias don't have to make sense. Sometimes they're learned behaviors, other times they're not. I know I got my fear of needles after getting stabbed by one half a dozen times when a doctor was trying to drain my tonsils in the 6th grade (he wasn't able to do so, so they did surgery. I suffered for nothing.) So I have good reason to think of needles as one of the most evil things on the planet. Bugs, on the other hand, no reason to hate them. Except that they're disgusting. All those legs. Always scurrying. Always.
I'm surprised no one's brought up clowns yet. That's usually a big one for some reason. Don't you kids want a balloon? They all float. And when you're down here...you'll...FLOAT...TOO!
I actually saw a video one time of this guy who was robbing a convenience store and instead of a gun or a bat or whatever he was threatening the clerk with a syringe full of blood. I admit in that situation I'd probably be a lot more scared than I would even of a perp with a gun or knife or anything like that.
Quote from: Damar on October 17, 2011, 08:36:39 PM
I'm surprised no one's brought up clowns yet. That's usually a big one for some reason. Don't you kids want a balloon? They all float. And when you're down here...you'll...FLOAT...TOO!
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_OfOrI9LzPXA/S-IYXgLZBCI/AAAAAAAABFs/XMZ6HVuRZAw/s1600/stephenkingsitdesktopwallpaper001.jpg)
That was the first book I ever read that scared me. :help:
Hmm let's see..
Getting old, death, loneliness, absolute numbing silence, losing my loved ones, heights, super speeds (when I know they are dangerous, like racing cars, I love rollercoasters), big dogs that I'm not sure if they bite, and anything that bites, really, getting into a fist fight, guns, doing something "illegal" like running someone over, the IRS, drugs and its possible consequences, sexually transmitted diseases, flying and thinking the plane will crash, the end of the world, and the list goes on...
I'm a scaredy cat, as you can see. I just hide it well ;)
I do love scary movies, but recently, I've cut down on the gore. Same with games, I couldn't really stomach Dead Space too well.
Quote from: Damar on October 17, 2011, 08:36:39 PM
Phobias don't have to make sense. Sometimes they're learned behaviors, other times they're not. I know I got my fear of needles after getting stabbed by one half a dozen times when a doctor was trying to drain my tonsils in the 6th grade (he wasn't able to do so, so they did surgery. I suffered for nothing.)
Overexposure takes care of that. :P I used to hate needles. Fast forward three years, two major surgeries, lots of minor procedures and five different hospital stays, in all of which they needed to jab me at least six times to get blood and you get used to it. :P
Oh, right, according to Cez, I also fear change!
Quote from: Cez on October 18, 2011, 06:52:09 AM
I do love scary movies, but recently, I've cut down on the gore. Same with games, I couldn't really stomach Dead Space too well.
Also, I find this kind of amusing, hehehe.
I do love horror movies. Once a month a friend and I have horror movie night where we watch (b-rated) horror movies and make fun of them ("don't go upstairs, you idiot!"). However, I noticed that I am not scared of something you can touch, and I feel kinda "unnormal" to have this fear since it is kinda... "unnecessary" ...
I am afraid of changes, and sometimes the uncertainity of future in general. I hate it when my life cannot be planned, and I hate it when my plans don't work out. It's probably more a neurotic thing than a real fear, though...
Oh, and sometimes, when I walk home in the nights I am afraid of being attacked by teenagers. Probably it's because I had one bad experience a few years back ... xD
Quote from: Buddy1991 on October 20, 2011, 05:56:44 AM
Oh, and sometimes, when I walk home in the nights I am afraid of being attacked by teenagers. Probably it's because I had one bad experience a few years back ... xD
I *hate* teenagers. XD I was bullied a lot growing up. :P
Friday night/Saturday morning. I know my machine's just gonna die minutes before.
I've remembered another phobia!
I hate wasp nests. They completely creep me out. :S
Oh, we have those all over the place in summer in Georgia... or at least we used to... I don't remember noticing them so much during my undergrad years. *ponders*
Spiders. *shudder*
Actually it's more of a creepy fascination. When I'm not expecting to see one, I jump out of my socks. But then I want to get in close and inspect them. I had a blast walking through the swamps of South Carolina this past summer and seeing the Golden Orb spiders that were as big as my hand. Pretty damn cool. But then when I had to walk under the ones that were hanging overhead from their webs...yikes.
I have an irrational fear of dropping my cell phone in the toilet.
Quote from: 929572 on October 27, 2011, 11:37:06 AM
I have an irrational fear of dropping my cell phone in the toilet.
I know someone who did that - with an iPhone. She was having a bad day. :P
Hiveminds.
Quote from: inm8#2 on October 27, 2011, 07:20:39 PM
Hiveminds.
Agreed.
(http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100402025708/villains/images/3/36/Picard-borg.png)
I also have a fear of getting a sudden attack of diarrhea in the middle of a traffic jam. This may or may not have anything to do with my trip to Mexico a couple years back.
I used to have an irrational fear of balloons popping and flying away, I dunno why, but I never got a balloon again after one flew away from me as a youngin. :-[
Spiders are ok as long as they are a distance away from me, if they are eye level or close to me I'll back away, and if they're crawling on me I'll freak out.
I dislike gore and blood with a passion, we have never been friends, and that is why I'm not taking a pre-med track lol. As I'm taking microbio right now I fear a good handful of the diseases we've been reading about.
But overall I fear not knowing what's going to happen in the future, the eventual deaths of loved ones (I got lucky as a kid, no one in my immediate family passed until I was a junior in high school), failure, not being able to meet expectations, not falling in love, etc.
Lamb, your post is freaking me out just by reading it. I HATE spiders. *shudder*
Though I didn't get freaked out by Aragog in Chamber of Secrets (the movie version). He was too big to be realistic to me. His "children" on the other hand...gah!
Quote from: KatieHal on October 29, 2011, 07:05:24 AM
Lamb, your post is freaking me out just by reading it. I HATE spiders. *shudder*
Though I didn't get freaked out by Aragog in Chamber of Secrets (the movie version). He was too big to be realistic to me. His "children" on the other hand...gah!
Haha, yeah, that scene was...great! Also loved Shelob, though she was a little too grotesque and animated to really feel realistically spidery.
Water and injections.
Painfully awkward social events. :S I hate feeling out of place.
Shelob is by far the nastiest giant spider I have ever seen in any movie. Makes me wonder how they're going to portray the talky, humorous, not-exactly-bright spiders in Mirkwood when the Hobbit films come out.
*Heights
*Losing someone I love
*Death (I don't know about scared though... it's more of a weird fascination with it)
* Needles held by someone else due to having my finger torn up by a camp counselor trying to dig out a splinter (also camp counselors)
* Makeup because of all of the chemicals and bat poo in it, and by association, clowns
* Crowds. People just freak me out
* Losing my mind, which is why I've never tried to get drunk and hope I never get dementia
* Terrible drivers. 'Nuff said.
* Blood-sucking creatures except for bats, which are cute, and leeches, because of their importance to medicine
* Drowning, because I can't swim
I'm sure you know this, but...you are aware there's makeup that's not crazy chemicalized and stuff, too right?
I'm afraid of pain, which is really unfortunate. XD It's gotten worse over the past few years. :P I turn into a wreck as soon as I start hurting. :(
It's amazing what people are afraid of. I used to think I was a wimp, but I'm freakin' Hercules compared to some of you.
Bt
Quote from: KatieHal on October 31, 2011, 07:45:56 AM
I'm sure you know this, but...you are aware there's makeup that's not crazy chemicalized and stuff, too right?
Actually, I had no idea.
Two words: Purple dinosaur :o :P
Right now... that parents bought Twilight for their children... :X
Worse?
The parents who bought Twilight for themselves. (Twi-moms are creepy!!)
I agree. But only because stupidity is sometimes scary. :P
My friend is trying to get me to actually read all the books. 20 pages was enough. The driest, most boring, non-imaginative 20 pages of my life. And just some of the events.... I just don't understand how people can justify it. Sneaking into her room to read her thoughts at night and taking the motor out of her car to stop her from visiting a guy friend (even though said friend has the power to maim and kill).... it's creepy and borderline abusive.
Anyone has the power to maim and kill. ::)
The fact that I can't get a job even as a cleaner, but Uwe Boll gets to make this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faASWINSgJY).
Quote from: writerlove on November 09, 2011, 06:49:34 PM
My friend is trying to get me to actually read all the books. 20 pages was enough. The driest, most boring, non-imaginative 20 pages of my life. And just some of the events.... I just don't understand how people can justify it. Sneaking into her room to [fail to] read her thoughts at night and taking the motor out of her car to stop her from visiting a guy friend [...redacted...].... it's creepy and borderline abusive.
That's more accurate now I think. :P (Personally, not letting her see Jacob from my viewpoint and only going from the clip was more an act of simple super-powered petulance than well-intentioned protectiveness.
One of the great ironies of the story is that Edward CANNOT read her thoughts: all of Twilight snarkdom has picked up on this point with the obvious realization--this is because she doesn't have any. :P
As always, for a fun recap experience of the books and how awful they are, I recommend Mark Reads Twilight: http://markreads.net/reviews/category/twilight/
And then check out Mark Reads Harry Potter afterwards to see him recover from Twilight and be happy again! http://markreads.net/reviews/category/harry-potter/
I suggest http://katanisk.livejournal.com/56314.html Much more snarky than Mark. :P