Op-Ed: Sean Shuns Scary Movies

The screen shuts off, darkness. Your clammy hand grips the remote. Your heartbeat pounds in your head: thump, thump, thump. Your eyes scan the dark silhouettes of the room; something isn’t right…

Pretty scary, right? Halloween is here and horror movies are premiering left and right. I hate horror movies. First, they’re scary, only not the roller coaster type of scary, or spider scary, but impending doom scary. As if only your mom or hiding under the bedsheets can save you. Secondly, the effects of horror movies are long lasting, not temporary like other frights. My hatred for the genre originates from 6th grade on Halloween night. Carrying bags laden with candy, my friend and I were heading back to his house. “Dude, let’s watch a scary movie.” “Yeah.” “We should totally watch The Conjuring, how bad could it be?” So we found it on his phone and began watching. 

Twenty minutes in, a sense of dread washed over me. Forty minutes in, I had to start taking breaks in between scenes; I was wholeheartedly regretting my decision. One hour in, my fingers were poised on my eyelids, ready to shut them if need be. Finally, the last thirty minutes, the climax and the resolution of the movie. The screen shuts off… darkness. But there was no rush of relief. Instead, the feeling of dread remained, like a wet shirt that sticks to your back. I was a changed man from that day onward. 

The aforementioned horror movie-induced fear is unlike any other. For example, looking down from the top floor of a skyscraper might invoke a rush of adrenaline and cause an involuntary gasp, but I would forget about it the next day. The things that I saw in The Conjuring, however, I remembered for a year and a half. My faith in God made leaps and bounds because I would pray at night that the scary demon lady wouldn’t find me. I became allergic to darkness. I couldn’t go up the stairs without the lights on. I jumped onto my bed so nothing could snatch my ankles. I asked my parents if I could sleep in their room. While it may be amusing to look back on, it was quite traumatic at the time. 

Horror movies are not enjoyable overall because they shed light on the dark side of life. Characters are filled with hate; murder, torture, and other such events are common; and innocent, loveable characters such as children are often exploited as victims. Horror movies don’t teach lessons; they don’t make you feel good. They are produced purely to instill terror into the hearts of all viewers.

I know that I have been deeply changed by my horror movie experience, and I feel bad for all the other victims of the genre. I think that movies should be fun, thrilling, and enjoyable to watch with friends and family. In my opinion, horror movies offer nothing of the sort.