The Omen and Salem's Lot were both scary, but I wasn't so small by the time I saw them (my mum threw the book of the Omen away after my inability to sleep at night began to affect the rest of the family). Nightmare on Elm Street scared me when I was eighteen!!
That reminds me of a great story about a guy called Dave Trott who worked for BMP. At the time, Dave's colleague, the Head of TV, commuted from Brighton to London every day and was reading The Exorcist on the train. He said the book was so evil, he couldn't finish it. So, one weekend, he went to the end of Brighton Pier and threw it into the English Channel.
He told Dave he had done this. So, one lunch time, Dave went out to a book shop, bought a copy, ran it under a tap and left it in his desk drawer for him to find...
When I was small, we used to go shopping in Oxford Street every year just before Xmas to buy a winter coat, hat & shoes from C & A ( I know ! ) and to visit Santa in Selfridges. Great memories.
One year, when I was about 6, I remember passing a cinema on the opposite side of the road advertising The House of Wax.
There were life size characters from the film placed above the entrance which were horrific.... but couldn't take my eyes from them.
As an adult, I've always enjoyed weird, horror type films, especially those from Stephen King books so maybe, albeit scared, my interest was piqued from this encounter in the early 1950s.
Think this was a mini series or something called "Armchair Thriller" It really done it for me as a small kid, so much so I still remember the series name
Ive got a 5 and 8 year old, who only partly through me have heard of Pennywise and Annabelle... They claim not to be scared, but I know full well what will happen if they actually saw the films.
I just pretended to be Pennywise to scare the 8 year old, and she said "god dad, you just sound like a northern balloon seller". The cheek!
Not a film, but when I was about 12/13, ITV were doing strange but true with Michael Aspall. They did the episode on the Enfield Hauntings, and the black and white photos of the girls leaping out their bed, followed by the recordings of the man that lived in the house who died of a heart attack, speaking through one of the girls is probably the most spooked I’ve been.
I think BBC went and did something fictional on a Saturday night soon after about ghost stories, and in one episode this guy would have of body experiences whilst asleep, doing bad things to and haunting people. The final scene (I think), was him waking up in his coffin, presumably because they had thought he had died in his sleep.
They were literally very close to each other I believe in being broadcast, around 95-97 maybe.
The Enfield hauntings still fascinate me to this day. In the documentaries I’ve seen since, both daughters look pretty ravaged
I remember seeing the fifties version of A Christmas Carol on tv in the sixties I think, maybe on Christmas eve? Made it harder than usual to get off to sleep.
Not a film, but when I was about 12/13, ITV were doing strange but true with Michael Aspall. They did the episode on the Enfield Hauntings, and the black and white photos of the girls leaping out their bed, followed by the recordings of the man that lived in the house who died of a heart attack, speaking through one of the girls is probably the most spooked I’ve been.
I think BBC went and did something fictional on a Saturday night soon after about ghost stories, and in one episode this guy would have of body experiences whilst asleep, doing bad things to and haunting people. The final scene (I think), was him waking up in his coffin, presumably because they had thought he had died in his sleep.
They were literally very close to each other I believe in being broadcast, around 95-97 maybe.
The Enfield hauntings still fascinate me to this day. In the documentaries I’ve seen since, both daughters look pretty ravaged
Yes I remember the BBC thing, the one that sticks out was one featuring a bloke might have been played by neil Pearson or someone who looks like him. He was a sore manager I think and had a fit wife, there was some tits in it and I remember a scene of him doing her from behind. Anyway, semantics, she sent husband to some sort of crazy therapist who turned him into her dead husband and that's how it ended. Him waking up looking at himself being pretty confused.
The original Whistle and i will come to you, Directed by Jonathan Miller, and i think starring Michael Horden. 25 mins of pure terror. Made in Black and white with poor SFX, but boy what a story. Had to sleep with the light on, PS recommend the short story written by M R James
Anyone remember the 1960’s BBC science fiction drama series “The Day of the Triffids”.....that was pretty scary and caused a huge furore at the time......it was the first time The BBC had attempted anything remotely along those lines and some folk were up in arms! I’m not one for horror films to be honest but The Omen did make me feel a bit uneasy because it had an air of reality about it and all the characters were, in a most disconcerting way, believable.
Not a film, but when I was about 12/13, ITV were doing strange but true with Michael Aspall. They did the episode on the Enfield Hauntings, and the black and white photos of the girls leaping out their bed, followed by the recordings of the man that lived in the house who died of a heart attack, speaking through one of the girls is probably the most spooked I’ve been.
I think BBC went and did something fictional on a Saturday night soon after about ghost stories, and in one episode this guy would have of body experiences whilst asleep, doing bad things to and haunting people. The final scene (I think), was him waking up in his coffin, presumably because they had thought he had died in his sleep.
They were literally very close to each other I believe in being broadcast, around 95-97 maybe.
The Enfield hauntings still fascinate me to this day. In the documentaries I’ve seen since, both daughters look pretty ravaged
I quite enjoyed the tv drama starring Timothy Spall a couple of years ago
There was a Channel 4 film production of The Woman in Black back in the 90s. When the woman appeared at the man’s bedside with face bearing down on him, I was literally paralysed with fear. Rewatching it still had a similar effect even though I knew what was coming.
I saw a weird film once about a man trapped in a telephone box. No one helped him get out and he was just towed away. Really freaked me out as a kid. Anyone seen it too?! Plus the other one was a kids birthday party and the pipes burst and all the kids gets covered in blood. May have been a hammer horror short. Last one! Some story about a man on a train being told he has a devil on his shoulder by an old lady. He cant see it or feel it, but later he somehow gets killed by it. Again I think this was a short story but really scared me. Love to know what programme it was.
Anyone remember the 1960’s BBC science fiction drama series “The Day of the Triffids”.....that was pretty scary and caused a huge furore at the time......it was the first time The BBC had attempted anything remotely along those lines and some folk were up in arms! I’m not one for horror films to be honest but The Omen did make me feel a bit uneasy because it had an air of reality about it and all the characters were, in a most disconcerting way, believable.
I remember this one and thought it was great. Would have said it was 70s tbh. Don't remember an earlier one though.
The original Whistle and i will come to you, Directed by Jonathan Miller, and i think starring Michael Horden. 25 mins of pure terror. Made in Black and white with poor SFX, but boy what a story. Had to sleep with the light on, PS recommend the short story written by M R James
The 2010 version with John Hurt was also pretty creepy and well worth a look.
There was a Channel 4 film production of The Woman in Black back in the 90s. When the woman appeared at the man’s bedside with face bearing down on him, I was literally paralysed with fear. Rewatching it still had a similar effect even though I knew what was coming.
I think that’s one of the better films out there as well. Saw it in the theatre too. Really well done
one I’d also forgotten about, the Return to Oz. I was definitely under 10 when I first saw that and the scene when Dorothy is trying to escape from the house and all those witch heads are looking at her, def shook me up. Also the wheelers and those things that appeared from the walls. They looked like the Easter Island statues (I think)
Arachnophobia! I'm not a fan of spiders anyway, and this ruined me. Had nightmares for months, and had to check everywhere for spiders. Even now I still have a weird flashback and have to check under the toilet now and again.
There used to be a programme on Channel 4 on a Sunday evening around 6pm (early 90's) and it was all scary stories but they used puppets. Cant remember what it was called. The story teller in it sat by a fire with a puppet dog. I cant be making this up cos i wasn't doing drugs by this point.
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He told Dave he had done this. So, one lunch time, Dave went out to a book shop, bought a copy, ran it under a tap and left it in his desk drawer for him to find...
One year, when I was about 6, I remember passing a cinema on the opposite side of the road advertising The House of Wax.
There were life size characters from the film placed above the entrance which were horrific.... but couldn't take my eyes from them.
As an adult, I've always enjoyed weird, horror type films, especially those from Stephen King books so maybe, albeit scared, my interest was piqued from this encounter in the early 1950s.
My sister made me watch both, I must have been about 8.
It really done it for me as a small kid, so much so I still remember the series name
I mean wtf???
A car with a mind of its own?
Woah
I just pretended to be Pennywise to scare the 8 year old, and she said "god dad, you just sound like a northern balloon seller". The cheek!
25 mins of pure terror.
Made in Black and white with poor SFX, but boy what a story. Had to sleep with the light on,
PS recommend the short story written by M R James
I’m not one for horror films to be honest but The Omen did make me feel a bit uneasy because it had an air of reality about it and all the characters were, in a most disconcerting way, believable.
Plus the other one was a kids birthday party and the pipes burst and all the kids gets covered in blood. May have been a hammer horror short.
Last one! Some story about a man on a train being told he has a devil on his shoulder by an old lady. He cant see it or feel it, but later he somehow gets killed by it. Again I think this was a short story but really scared me. Love to know what programme it was.
Christ my dad made me watch some crap!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Day_of_the_Triffids_(1981_TV_series)
one I’d also forgotten about, the Return to Oz. I was definitely under 10 when I first saw that and the scene when Dorothy is trying to escape from the house and all those witch heads are looking at her, def shook me up. Also the wheelers and those things that appeared from the walls. They looked like the Easter Island statues (I think)
Even now I still have a weird flashback and have to check under the toilet now and again.