Oh The Horror!

Muah ha ha ha ha ha!

Yes, that’s supposed to be an evil laugh, in case you were wondering. But it’s another Super Fabulous Frog Blog and in less than week, it will be Halloween! That’s right! It’s that time when children dress up and go door to door asking for tricks and treats, and adults go to parties where many women try to dress as sexy versions of whatever pop culture icon is popular at the time. Nothing wrong with that! It also seems to be a time to break out the old horror movies and get scared! Or perhaps you like going to some attraction like a haunted house or Knott’s Scary Farm and have someone dressed as a monster jump out at you and you end up peeing your pants!

Not me! Well, I’m all for kids doing the trick or treating and such. Those were good times I remember having when I was a kid. But as for the part about being scared and watching movies and such, that’s not for me. I’m a sissy when it comes to that kind of stuff. That’s right, I said it! I’m a sissy! I don’t like being scared. Life is scary enough, I certainly don’t need anything to add to my anxiety!

Now, I’ll have to admit, I have seen a few horror movies in my time. Many of them I have seen, I was made to watch, or was dragged along into see them. Those would include Hellraiser (1, 2, and 3), The Omen, The Shining, Blair Witch Project, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness, Carrie, Misery, Nightmare on Elm Street, Sex and the City. That’s just to name a few. Now, I’ll admit, I did end up liking some of them, especially Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness (Hail to the king, baby!) And I’m all excited for the Ash Vs Evil Dead show coming soon! It’s not the gore that gets me, it’s the suspense. And movies do a very good job of building it up and having me on edge.

Now, when it comes to zombie movies, however, I do like those. The zombie culture has definitely exploded! So much so, that I have to actually call it a zombie culture! Thank you George Romero for starting us off with Night of the Living Dead! I can’t say why zombies have become so popular. Maybe it’s the fact that anyone can become a zombie. Maybe because we can kill someone we know who is now a zombie and not get into trouble for it. Or maybe it’s a fascinating study into the human condition when we see the world go to Hell because of zombies and then what do the survivors do? Who can really say? I mean, books have been written on the subject! But all I can say is, we love our zombies, me included!

Just a side note about zombies and the apocalypse: it’s going to happen. Remember bath salts? That drug that messes up people enough to where they have to eat other people’s flesh? What about Krokidil? You inject this and it starts to give you gangrene and rotting your flesh. You know some idiot is going to combine these two drugs and WHAM! Instant zombie!

Anyway, back to the horror genre.

So horror movies are out for me. Now, what about television? I know there are a few horror based television shows. I can honestly say, I have never been scared of those. I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because it’s television and they can’t show too much? Or I know that the show is only an hour and I know I don’t have to endure sensory overload for long. For some reason, I was never scared at a television show. I loved Penny Dreadful. But some shows, I never really caught my attention for long, like American Horror Story. I’m not saying it’s bad, just didn’t do anything for me.

I know some people like to read horror novels. And I have read my share of them, from Dean R. Koontz to Stephen King. I love Edgar Allen Poe and H.P. Lovecraft. I also really like Brian Lumley and Joe R. Lansdale. These are just to name a few. All of these authors write very scary stories. I can admit to that when I was reading them. Or at least, I can recognize that they are scary. But I never jumped at a sound or anything like that when I was reading them. Or had trouble sleeping after I had finished a chapter. I can’t say why, but horror novels never scared me. I enjoyed the heck out of them, but was never scared.

There are even horror comic books. Some are classics now! Who hasn’t heard of Creepshow or Tales from the Crypt? These comics were extremely popular at one time. Heck, still are! And now, horror comics are still being made! We’ve got 30 Days of Night and The Walking Dead! Really great stories with great ideas behind them. I know I read these and think they are awesome, but just not scary for me. The only time I’ve been creeped out by a horror comic is when I tried my hand at writing my own. Yeah, there were some creepy and scary parts in there. Maybe because I was coming up with them in my own head and could picture it, maybe it creeped me out more that reading someone else’s stuff.

That being said, I do enjoy scaring others! That’s right! I’m one of those assholes! I can dish it out, but I can’t take it! I have been in my fair share of haunted houses scaring those who would dare enter. For those that know me, and now many of you do, I enjoy playing role playing games. My favorite genre is the horror game. I love coming up with scary adventures for my players. I also love to write horror stories. One day, I hope to bring them to you all!

Now, I’m not saying that you should go out there and find something to scare you. But if you are someone who enjoys the adrenaline rush of being scared, go have fun. Either go be scared or scare the pants off of someone! At least safely! No one wants to be the ass that gets someone hurt. But Halloween has definitely become the time of ghosts and goblins, witches and warlocks, jack-o-lanterns and candy. The horror genre is here to stay. Go out there and enjoy it in whatever way you can!

Until next time, be good to each other!

Happy Halloween!