By: Darien Campo Freelancer
And so began October – the spookiest month of the year.
There’s no other time that so openly celebrates the most macabre parts of our culture. Houses are adorned with goofy skeletons and ghosts. When else can you proudly display such symbols of our own mortality?
October is a month to be proud of our deepest fears, and for me that means celebrating in the only fashion I find appropriate: watching a different horror movie every single day for 31 days straight. Nothing gets me in the October mood better than spooky cinema – and you should try it too.
For me, October is a time for all the things that scare me senseless. I love being scared; watching a movie in uncontrollable fear has the same excitement for me as cackling at a hilarious comedy.
Scary movies tap into a deeper, more primal version of ourselves. As we mature into adults, we lose the ability to fear irrationally for the most part. What shadows in the closet were once malicious beasts are now hanging jackets, and what moans in the night were once a terrifying ghoul are now the normal sounds of a settling house.
But with a good horror film, all the years of learned skepticism and rationality are thrown out the window. There’s no time for careful thought when Michael Meyers appears out of nowhere in “Halloween” (1978). It’s impossible to examine a situation rationally over the croaking groans of “The Babadook” (2014).
Horror movies are fun, and all of the best ones know that. That’s why films like “Evil Dead II” (1987) can make you scream one minute and laugh uncontrollably the next. That’s why even children can have fun watching a movie about death, like in “The Corpse Bride” (2005).
These movies force us to face things we’d rather sweep under the rug. From the irrational ghosts, monsters, and darkness, to the more realistic killers, insanity, and our own unavoidable demise.
It’s easy to forget just how much fun it is to be scared, and October is the perfect time to start remembering. A horror movie a day is a fantastic way to honor the things that we fear most, and there are so many films to choose from. Don’t worry that you’re a little late in starting – just grab some friends and some popcorn, turn out the lights, and scare yourselves silly!
