Earliest Horror Movie Memories

[Hern]

My earliest memory is probably watching the 2nd Hammer Dracula, Prince of Darkness, I think it was.

My Dad taped it off the TV and let me watch it, I was maybe 8 I think.

About the same time I watched Nosferatu the 1922 version at my Grandad's, this was a time when Channel 4 didn't have any Advert's during the early hours, and had a little timer in 1 corner instead of them.


The images that stick in the mind from Nosferatu is the scene where the Count's Shadow grabs the Heart of a girl. From Dracula, it's probably the Count's Face I think.

[ampleparking]

i grew up watching movies like this islnad earth, and other fifties bmovies, but my parents used to fight all the time over me watching scary movies
my dad introduced me to evil dead and evil dead since thne ive been hooked, in fact the first movie i saw in the theater by myself was army of darkness

[Scott W. Davis]

Revelation time: I was a little puss.

Strange as it may sound, you could hardly mention horror to me as a kid without me going into fits. Seriously, had such an over-active imagination (if there is such a thing) that I would damn near hallucinate at several things. For some reason, my mind is too taxed right now to remember what my absolute first horror film I ever saw was.

I can remember some of the images to freak me out as a youngster. SPOILERS AHOY -------- The teenage girl without a mouth in TWILIGHT ZONE THE MOVIE, Usher's daughter coming out of her tomb in FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, the lone survivor of Mrs. Vorhees' murder spree getting an icepick through the brain in the opening moments of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, etc.

And of course, the bench-mark of my youth was the horrible scarring that went with seeing Stanley Kubrick's take on THE SHINING, especially on the eyes of a kid of about eight or nine. Man, I didn't get a good night's sleep for weeks after that. Everywhere I turned - "REDRUM," Scatman Crothers getting his lungs cleared with an axe, naked ghoul in the shower, Nicholson sneering at me and especially two overlit little moppets in green suspenders - "Come play with us, Scottie." EEEK! :cry:

I think the big change came with ALIEN ( Yeah I know, all these are big popular American flicks, but my voice hadn't even changed yet, gimmie a break! ). Being a bit of a sci-fi nut as a youngster, I wanted to see this one, slimey monsters be damned! Well, I finally managed to borrow the film from the neighbors. Over the next month, I saw the film in it's entirety at least once a day, sometimes more. Each time, I was grew more intrigued by the horror aspects of the film and less by the space-age technology that surrounded it. A couple months later, the sequel was released to theatres and well, the rest is history.

[Guest]

Alien was also a turning point for me in Horror.

I watched a neighbours pirate vhs copy one morning, I was maybe 9 or 10, and it scared the shit out of me. Gave me nightmares for weeks.

[Hern]

Must remember to log in...

Must remember to log in...

Must remember to log in...

:angry:

[JohnShaft]

Earliest memory, damn now that's tough when you get past 30!

I know I was totally the odd one out at Junior School (7-11) in that I was heavily into horror and had a collection of huge horror movie books with some of the most bizarre and striking images I had ever seen. There was pictures dating from movies in the 30's through to the mid 70's, and some of them are still permanently ingrained in my memory. The still images fired my imagination on their own, guess I'm easily amused!
So a lot of my movie memories come not from the movies themselves but the pictues of the movies!
So I don't think I could honestly name the first horror movies I saw... I must have Alzheimers. :wacko:

[TvT]

The Shining for me...

Does Escape from Witch Mountain count?

[LivingDeadGirl]

My earliest horror memory has to be Hellbound: Hellraiser II. I was 9 and my friend Nick brought it over when he was sleeping over(I know I know 9 and co-ed sleepovers :D ). Anyways, he forced me to watch it and I was scared shitless. After being completely warped, I began a torrid love affair with horror films that lasted 'till I was 12.

I finally got back into horror films last year and I have been going pretty strong ever since.

[Ryan_LD]

One of the first experiences I had with horror was when I was about 7. My dad rented Dawn of the Dead on his new vhs system. I was amazed and ultimately hooked on horror and the un-dead. BTW, this is one hell of a site. One of the best outlays on the net. The skins idea is awesome.

Later, y'all!

[JohnShaft]

You got to see the Dawn of the Dead at 7? Wow, great experience. Myself I never got to see any of that shit at that age. Hell, videos didn't even exist here when I was 7! (show your age John!)
I remember the family sitting round to see a Zombie film (maybe for my birthday) when I was about 10/11. My Dad turned it off after some Zombie graphically bit a chunk out of somebodys arm. Never did get to see it. :(

And thanks for the kind, kind words about HE. Much more of that and my head won't fit through the door!
The skin idea is something I don't think I've seen at any other horror site. I guess you have to go a long, long way to find them at any type of site...

And a returning "great web site ahoy" shout out to you and all the guys at Living Dead (http://www.living-dead.com). A superb site with more going on than a sack full of feretts.

[dmihatmttl]

Crazy as it sounds, when I was all of *4 years old* my dad took me to see THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN.

Nope, I'm not kidding.

Some would argue that was bad parenting. I'm glad he did what he did, and now I hope to carry on this tradition with my son (*his* favorite at the moment -- NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 1990 . . . I won't tell you how old he is, I'm afraid I would be banned from the board heh, heh).

Recently I heard that THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN is going to be released on DVD. That's too cool. I hear it's a real piece of shit, but I can't wait to buy it and watch it again -- it's called "sentimental value," baby. ;)

When I was five, not long after the 'MELTING MAN experience, my parents took my sis and I along in the backseat to watch the original HALLOWEEN at the drive-in. I still remember that, strangely enough, and I'm 29 now. I remember being terrified, but at the same time refusing to tear my eyes from the screen. I was so infatuated with it all at the same time . . . .

Now HALLOWEEN is one of my favorite horror flicks ever. Go figure.



Anyway, that's my story. I guess I'll stick to it.





James N.

[dmihatmttl]

Oh, yeah, and I saw DAWN OF THE DEAD at a very young age as well. I guess I was probably 11 or 12, somewhere around in there. I remember my dad renting it, and the scene at the beginning, in the apartment, where the black dude takes a big bite out of his wife's shoulder . . . I'll never forget that. Even if I had not seen the movie recently, that has always stuck in my head.

Gave me such delicious nightmares. :)




J.N.

[shadow]

It was the late 70's......my first horror movie was The Hills Have Eyes...I must of been 8 or 9 at the time. From then on...I have always been a horror fan.

[JCFantasy]

Embarrasingly enough the earliest memory I have is of Michael Jackson's thriller video. My parents didn't wish for me to watch horror until a later age; I believe the sheer curiosity I had of the genre resulted, in fact, from an early viewing of this video, which I would watch repeatedly. It got the old blood a boiling and the trap was sprung. Interestingly enough, zombies are my least favorite sub-genre. ;)

Then onto the classic Jaws, Poltergiest, Critters, Flowers in the Attic, and that was all I was able to watch until a later age. :unsure:

[shadow]

Originally posted by JCFantasy@Jun 20 2003, 05:42 AM
Embarrasingly enough the earliest memory I have is of Michael Jackson's thriller video. My parents didn't wish for me to watch horror until a later age; I believe the sheer curiosity I had of the genre resulted, in fact, from an early viewing of this video, which I would watch repeatedly. It got the old blood a boiling and the trap was sprung. Interestingly enough, zombies are my least favorite sub-genre. ;)

Then onto the classic Jaws, Poltergiest, Critters, Flowers in the Attic, and that was all I was able to watch until a later age. :unsure:
It was a great video...gotta admit hearing Vincent Price voice in it..was a VERY special treat.

[Replica]

I think I was 9 when I saw Hitchcock's 'Psycho' on T.V... But 'Halloween' and especially 'The House By The Cemetery' were the two first films to really scare me half-dead... Nothing has quite been the same since then.

And seeing 'The Beyond' and Argento's 'Opera' for the first time didn't exactly make me hate the horror-genre either... :)

[Scott W. Davis]

Originally posted by Replica@Sep 12 2003, 01:16 PM


And seeing 'The Beyond' and Argento's 'Opera' for the first time didn't exactly make me hate the horror-genre either... :)

Ahhh, OPERA. First saw that when it was called TERROR AT THE OPERA in the U.S. I got in soooo much trouble for repeatedly using images from that on my cable access show. :rolleyes:

[iamnoone]

I remember being 8 or 9 and growing up watching the horror movie double feature every Saturday afternoon as a kid (Creature Double Feature, it was called around here) and loving every minute of it. So the first horror movies I was exposed to were the classics (Dracule, Frankenstein, Creature From the Black Lagoon), and of course, all the Godzilla movies. I remember wondering how they could possibly rebuild Tokyo every week, just in time for the big G to come back and stomp it all flat again the very next Saturday.

As far as real horror, the first movie that had me lying awake all night with the light on was The Sentinel. I snuck (sneaked? whatever) downstairs and watched it in the middle of the night with the sound turned way down (and a commercial every seven minutes). Scared the hell out of me; didn't sleep for days, but I loved every second of it. Still one of my favorites, despite the obvious drawbacks to the movie that I can spot these days.

Lastly, I was lucky enough to see The Exorcist on HBO at the ripe old age of 14 and it completely unnerved me. Got right under my skin and stayed there, and then I learned what sleepless really means. To this day, it's my favorite movie and still kicks me in all the right places whenever I watch it.

Great stuff.

Later.

[Replica]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Sep 17 2003, 07:02 PM
Ahhh, OPERA. First saw that when it was called TERROR AT THE OPERA in the U.S. I got in soooo much trouble for repeatedly using images from that on my cable access show. :rolleyes:
Yup... Tough times...? :D

I kind of "accidentally" rented it here in Sweden and it was cut so much it made no sense whatsoever... (Must have been around 1993 when they cut everything.)

But still... The atmosphere...! Phew!

[Scott W. Davis]

Originally posted by Replica+Sep 19 2003, 12:25 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Replica @ Sep 19 2003, 12:25 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Scott W. Davis@Sep 17 2003, 07:02 PM
Ahhh, OPERA. First saw that when it was called TERROR AT THE OPERA in the U.S. I got in soooo much trouble for repeatedly using images from that on my cable access show. :rolleyes:
Yup... Tough times...? :D

I kind of "accidentally" rented it here in Sweden and it was cut so much it made no sense whatsoever... (Must have been around 1993 when they cut everything.)

But still... The atmosphere...! Phew! [/b][/quote]

Believe me when I say... UH-HUH! Like literal life-and-death stuff. Needless to say it's one of those challenging experiences that shaped me into who I am today. Guess the joke is on them, huh? :devil:

[Replica]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Sep 19 2003, 08:17 PM
Believe me when I say... UH-HUH! Like literal life-and-death stuff. Needless to say it's one of those challenging experiences that shaped me into who I am today. Guess the joke is on them, huh? :devil:
Most definitely...

And Horror Express must be one of the best-looking and coolest horror movie-sites out there, as well.

Keep up the good work!

[Scott W. Davis]

Hear that, John? Thanks a lot! Means a lot to hear back some positive stuff from horror fans. Just keep visiting because we're always trying to be even better.

Oh, and uh, the check's in the mail. :D

[Guest]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Sep 20 2003, 10:24 AM
Just keep visiting because we're always trying to be even better.

Oh, and uh, the check's in the mail. :D
:D - Sure thing...

And extremely good news today - about the Halloween re-make.

Now, all new fans to the genre can get their earliest horror movie-memories from the original instead...

[DevilMan]

They're not much to look at now but when I was a youngster, I remember two scenes in particular that scared the hell outta me.

The first was from CAT PEOPLE (1982). It was the simpliest of scenes where they had the big cat on the vet table and they cut open his stomache and a human arm fell out. It just shocked me for some reason.

The second was probably the remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) where at the very end of the movie, the guy turned to his buddy and started to point at him and screamed. You knew he was one of the "pod people" and it was all over. That scared me for some reason too.

As I said, they're not much now but they are the ones I remember from waaay back.

-Steve

[Scott W. Davis]

Originally posted by DevilMan@Sep 21 2003, 03:50 PM

The first was from CAT PEOPLE (1982).

Mmmmmm, Nastassja... :wub:

Always had a bit of a crush on Nastassja Kinski. She's talented too, so it's not all looks. Although, she's definitely got that. Remember that old poster of her reclined with the snake wrapped around her. I've never wanted to be a snake so much in all my life. :dribble:

CAT PEOPLE, despite what Mr. Carr said in our interview is still a favorite of mine. I have the soundtrack and used to have the poster hanging in my room, ironically next to a poster of THE EXORCIST. There was also a poster for GWENDOLINE starring Tawny Kitean, but that film is another obsession altogether. :D

[jester21]

The first real memories I have are of Dark Shadows and The Shining. I don't remember a lot about the first time watching The Shining, I was really young. I can also recall watching Monstervision on TNT and seeing The Exorcist for the first time on TV.

[JohnShaft]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Sep 20 2003, 10:24 AM
Hear that, John? Thanks a lot! Means a lot to hear back some positive stuff from horror fans. Just keep visiting because we're always trying to be even better.

Oh, and uh, the check's in the mail. :D
Wow. I guess I, erm, completely missed this in my "Sabbatical". :blush:
Good to know we're doing something right mate. :woot:

[JohnShaft]

Originally posted by DevilMan@Sep 21 2003, 03:50 PM
The second was probably the remake of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1978) where at the very end of the movie, the guy turned to his buddy and started to point at him and screamed. You knew he was one of the "pod people" and it was all over. That scared me for some reason too.
Man I am SOOOO with you there Steve. (As you'll already know if you recall my 'Introduce Yourself' post).
The ending of the '78 'BODY SNATCHERS was probably MY defining moment in experiencing Horror Movies on a personal level, even though I'd been watching horror for a handful of years previous to it.

Donald Sutherland pulls a great face at the end (and he looks a little strange in the film anyway!). I had the cherry on the top with it though. His character has the same name as me. And the last words you hear are her repeating his name as he makes the sound. Ugh! :shock:
[Note: It's also strange in that, if you watch the movie and listen out for it, his name is used a whole LOT in the movie. It's almost like deliberately *overused*. I haven't counted (hah!) but seriously, next time you watch this movie, listen out for how often they use his name, Matthew, throughout.]

As I said, they're not much now but they are the ones I remember from waaay back.
I will say though that I still LOVE the Film. Partly from nostalgia, and partly from the fact I think it holds up REALLY well for a 25 year old movie.

[Keederdag]

Cant remember How old I was but my most vivid memory is of John Carpenters THE THING....It scared the cr@p out of me. I remeber hiding until it was over, while the fammily watched. :o

[chulamija]

Anyone remember Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark? I have some for sale on ebay and half.com. I have the least expensive prices. Mine are also new....not used. If you're interested my seller name is Chulamija

[Supercool]

I remember trying to watch NOTLD a million times, but while I was a kid I dont think I ever got past the part where they find the dead body in the house!

Also, I remember Nightmare on Elm Street freaking me out, I also remember trying to watch 3, but I couldnt, so I switched the TV off... but my parents were watching it downstairs!!! So I could still hear it, and even the sound freaked me out!

Critters used to freak me out a bit, it took me a while to get past the sex scene as a kid.

I could watch a lot of horror as a kid, but those 3 were the ones which did actually freak me out...


...I was also very scared of Mr T as a kid!!! :woot: I used to hide behind the couch whenever he came on TV!!! :cry:

[Scott W. Davis]

Originally posted by chulamija@Dec 17 2003, 03:20 AM
Anyone remember Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark? I have some for sale on ebay and half.com. I have the least expensive prices. Mine are also new....not used. If you're interested my seller name is Chulamija

I think we need a pimping section of the forums if this is going to happen. :rolleyes:

[DevilMan]

Originally posted by Scott W. Davis@Dec 19 2003, 12:49 AM
I think we need a pimping section of the forums if this is going to happen. :rolleyes:
Hey, that's actually not a bad idea. How's about's starting a swap / sell / trade section, SCOTT?

-Steve

[Scott W. Davis]

I was actually thinking of pitching something similar... I know I have to get rid of some of mine. :pirate:

[MystMoonstruck]

When you get to be my age (I should refrain from adding "you young whippernsappers!"), it's really difficult, practically impossible, to recall introduction to horror. My father was a film buff, and both of my parents found nothing wrong with horror films. Consider this: I was about 9 years old when "13 Ghosts" hit the theaters! Yep! I remember wearing the 3D glasses and wish that I hadn't lost them when we moved to the big city.

This was the drive-in generation, and we went to many films there because a family could attend cheaply, little ones could dress in our jammies and fall asleep in the back of the station wagon, and we could take our own munchies. Besides, we could see double features and even midnight marathons!

Traumatic cinematic experiences...
"The Blob" ~ We all BEGGED to be taken home from the drive-in! Even my mom was asking to leave, but Dad just laughed and said, "You all said you wanted to go to a movie." Eeeeevil! *snicker* Afterward, I was terrified even during the daylight, picturing how the Blob could slip under doors and through vents. I think it freaked us out so much because it wasn't a guy in a costume, and we didn't know about SFX then. So, it was a very scary creature, more horror film than sci fi in many ways. (Honestly, my dad was a great guy who passed on his warped sense of humor to his daughters. Don't think of him as a bad guy, please. I wouldn't be on this forum if he hadn't been him.)

"Twilight Zone" ~ The gremlin on the wing of the plane made my sister and I shriek every time we saw it~that moment when Shatner opens the window, and it's looking in at him. Yes, we were there for the debut of the episode. I recall watching the half-hour and hour-long "TZ" series and still dearly love them. I found "The Howling Man" quite creepy though the Devil is verrry handsome! The devilish handsome Robin Hughes also was memorably wickedly handsome as the decapitated villain in "The Thing That Couldn't Die", which began my sister's lifelong fear of beheadings, just as "The Beast With Five Fingers" freaked her out about disembodied hands.

"Thriller" episode "A Wig for Mrs. Devore" ~ I don't remember the specifics of this episode since I haven't seen it since it aired in 1962. I don't remember the image of her at the end, but I know that every kid at school found it horrifying. Isn't that weird that I don't recall the image, not even a bit? I'd love to see this series again, as I never saw it rerun anywhere. Maybe a lot of it would come back to me if I revisited it.

Surprisingly, most horror films didn't faze me at all. I remember seeing "The Tingler", which should have been harrowing, but I apparently weathered it just fine. However, the trailer of "The Killer Shrews" gave me nightmares! I still recall seeing that in the theaters and being thoroughly shaken. At that time, we weren't so jaded that we thought, "Oh, dogs in shaggy outfits." I likely didn't know what a shrew was! I just remember being really frightened by the images. I was about 8 years old then. Curious? Here's the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhG8vLz9PUA
"What's the big deal?!," you and I say now. Who knows why it shook me up when other images didn't?

I was about 7 when we went to the drive-in to see "Curse of the Faceless Man". This imprinted on my mind, and scenes haunted me throughout my life but in a good way. I wanted to see this movie again to find if it would have the same effect on me. Finally, it aired in the wee hours of the morning, in those days before my first VCR. I was astonished to see how much of it I recalled exactly! It really was astonishing. I still love this rather obscure film and defend it from attackers.

"Darby O'Gill and the Little People" ~ The horse-shaped spirit with the glowing eyes and the death coach were chilling images, but I'm not sure that I was actually frightened by them beyond the expected goosebumps.

I'll have to think about this more, perhaps dredge up older memories. One of my oldest isn't about fearing a film. I was so worried that we wouldn't get to see "Tobor the Great" at the drive-in that I actually began running a fever! I think I was about 4-5 years old, and I recall everyone giving me the ice from their soft drinks because I was ill from fretting about it. I know: I was such a strange child. Is is any wonder that I'm still somewhat odd? If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here!

Oh! I just remembered one that scared my sister and I: the walking tree trunk tossing the native girl in the quicksand in "From Hell It Came"! *shiverrrr* (At least, we did then.) Quicksand scenes continuing to bother me for some reason, all of that being dragged down to your death. Lewis Smith goes that way in "Southern Comfort", with no one around to hear him crying for help. Who knows why some things get to us?

[Rawhead Rex]

I must have a been 6 or 7 years old, and i remember asking my mom when Kojack was gonna be on tv, and she said ahhh, hhhmmm. oooohh you mean Kolcheck The Night Stalker. :teeth: This is some of the earliest horror stuff i had ever seen.

[TheLurkingFear]

Earliest horror memory? Frankenstein onTV, and Hammer horror. Also Psycho.

'Mrs Bates? Mrs Bates...?' - and when Vera Miles turned round that chair to reveal Mrs Bates, albeit dead and dessicated and eternally grinning that corpse grin...:teeth:

There was no going back: a life-long horror fan!