Confessions of a Fear Junkie: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Confessions of a Fear Junkie: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Aug 11

It still sort of surprises me whenever I find out that any of my peers not only did not read the Scary Stories series in their youth, but never even heard of it. What the hell were you doing with your childhood? Sleeping well without having to fend off ghastly black-and-white illustrations that waited within the darkness of your dreams? Bah! No fun to be had in that… Among the many things...

Confessions of a Fear Junkie – Silent Hill

Confessions of a Fear Junkie – Silent Hill

Aug 24

At the risk of sounding a bit crude, allow me to propose that horror falls within (or roughly around) two general categories: “Oh Crap!” horror, and “What the hell?” horror. The former would be likened to more visceral or “primal” fears, the kind of horror that, when experienced in real life, makes you want to take off running immediately. The latter is more...

Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Golden Arm

Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Golden Arm

May 04

Confessions of a Fear Junkie – “The Golden Arm” This is, to my recollection, my earliest encounter with a ghost story, antedating my ongoing, abusive, unhealthy love affair with horror.  It’s not the clearest memory, I was only five-years-old, but it’s less opaque than other memories from that age. “Who’s got my Golden Arm?!” My kindergarten teacher’s name was Mrs. Nina...

Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Blair Witch Project

Confessions of a Fear Junkie: The Blair Witch Project

Mar 23

I understand why a lot of people hated The Blair Witch Project. When it was first released over a decade ago I didn’t understand the negativity, but it didn’t take long for me to figure it out. And no, I’m not blaming it on “Hype Backlash,” though that was probably a part of it. Truth is, it’s not a very good film. It was, upon initial viewing, a...