My First Horror Movie

I recently sent this to an online publication that asked folks to submit their first horror movie experiences. I thought it might be fun to share with you...and perhaps you can share yours in the comment section...if you dare. Enjoy.

The first horror movie I ever saw (or at least the first I can recall ever seeing) was The Shining. This was in 1981. I was ten years old and visiting my cousins in California (I, a recent transplant to Georgia, had been shipped out to stay with family for the summer). My aunt and uncle were notoriously lax with rules when it came to their kids…so I could always look forward to a free-for-all at their house including lots of sugar and late nights with R-rated movies. I remember my aunt telling me we were going to watch a scary movie that night…one that had just come out on cable (or maybe it was on the VCR/BETA, I can’t recall if videos were that prevalent yet). I knew about The Shining because I’d recently read the spoof of it in Mad magazine (The Shiner)…so I had a general idea of what to expect. I also LOVED Jack Nicholson because he, at the time, bore a striking resemblance to my dad.

I remember changing into my pajamas, my aunt made popcorn, and my two cousins and I found a comfortable spot on the floor in front of my aunt’s giant sectional sofa. My uncle settled into in his La-Z-Boy, my aunt in hers, and the movie started.

From the beginning I was overwhelmed by the oppressiveness of the intro music…an organ, or was it a cello? playing dark, funereal notes over and over. Very ominous. As the movie progressed, I recall glancing down at my Mad magazine (the one with The Shining spoof…probably picked up in my older cousins room where he had a stack of them) during the scariest parts to distract myself without having to leave the room. I was particularly upset by the notorious “old lady in the bathtub” scene and the twins in the hall. But certainly the most horrifying part of the experience was to see just how vulnerable a family really is, how easily things can take a turn for the worse and then all bets are off. Watching the father (who, you’ll recall, looked a bit like my own) become insane and then incredibly violent towards his wife and son was terrifying. By the end of the film my palms and armpits were saturated with sweat and I was on edge…very like how, as an adult, I feel if I drink too much strong coffee in one sitting.

That night, I ended up sleeping with my aunt and uncle because of nightmares. I also wet the bed. And dreams of my father chasing me through our huge backyard in Georgia with an ax permeated the next few years of my childhood (until puberty hit and brought a host of other dreams with it).

As a parent with young kids, I look back on this experience and have to ask, “What in the hell were they thinking?! How is a horror movie appropriate for three young kids?!” (The oldest of us was 12 at the time, the youngest was eight). But, here’s the best part, The Shining is hands down one of my favorite movies of all time…and I LOVE the horror genre. These days, horror movies still keep me up at night…but thankfully I no longer wet the bed.