Just before the start of fifth grade, my family moved across town to a new neighborhood and subdivision. I only knew a few kids on my street since I stayed at my old school. October and Halloween could have been awkward, so I was thrilled and relieved when some neighbor kids asked me to go trick-or-treating with them. My parents didnt seem to bat an eye at this (though I think theyd gotten to know the other parents in the neighborhood pretty well), and on Halloween night I set off with three kids Id known for less than a month, after dark, in a neighborhood I barely knew.
I’m all in. I miss when movies had the power to truly scare me. I think age and the mundanity of daily life have converted my fears to such low level concerns: if my wife were killed by a drunk driver or my child were abducted while my attention was diverted (side note, the bit in Minority Report where Tom Cruise submerges in the pool and then comes up to find his son gone, then frantically searches for him, makes my heart race like no alien or zombie can).
So yeah, hit me with the good stuff. The days when a good horror movie or book could keep me awake at night seems like another lifetime. I could use the nostalgia trip to get in touch with the old me.
In the late 70-80’s, for 9-10 years, from elementary though High School, I put on a haunted house every Halloween with a friend, his brother and the aid of other neighborhood kids. It got more sophisticated as we grew older. Nothing like the near-professional effects you see these days, but we had so much fun. The act of creation filled the approaching weeks and days before Halloween with electricity. Such a good time.
Yay! I love this time of year for the Qt3 horror stuff. Looking forward to what you’ve got in store.
So I love horror films but… horror games… shit, they’re too much for me. It’s a combination of having to move forward myself, being able to get ‘got’, and the time spent inside the horror that just makes them utterly exhausting and nerve-shredding to me. I’ve played a fair few over the years, from certain AAA titles to smaller experimental short form experiences, but these days there’s a very fine line between ‘I’d love to play that!’ and ‘Fuck. That.’
I honestly haven’t read many horror stories though, so there’s a blind spot for me!
Oh and as a Brit, Halloween’s never been much of a thing over here. In recent years it’s started creeping in but it’s a pretty muted affair otherwise.
That’s a good thought about horror games, I don’t really play them. I own Alien Isolation but abandoned after a few hours, it just got me so tense and wound up it was almost too stressful to play, could get back into that. Plus I’ve been meaning to try out Soma since I saw a great little Let’s Play of it, think that would be right up my alley.
I’m looking forward to this too. “Scaring myself” with movies or games is just too much work. I have to turn off the lights, watch/play in a dark room by myself to even have hopes of feeling the fear. I used to do that years ago, but it’s just too much effort, so I stopped doing it a couple of decades ago. But I love this time of the year, and I love the Halloween flavor and atmosphere.
Yeah, now Soma is one I think I could play. I loved the Penumbra games but Amnesia looked a bit too intense for me. Frictional certainly know what they’re doing.
Alien Isolation I managed to finish and, for a good chunk of it, yeah, it wound me up in knots too, but once I worked things out it became more tedious than scary. By the end I was ready for it to be over because it ran on for far too long. Still, it’s not an experience I regret. It’s got some great production and moments.
@Rock8man that’s how I play all games, unless friends are joining in! :-)
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the previous years’ write-ups, and this year will be no different, I’m sure. (I’m super hesitant around the horror genre, so this is my chance to enjoy it by proxy.)
I’ve enjoyed this year’s write-ups so far. I can’t wait for them to get to Stranger Things though. It’s right there in the header image! They have to get to it eventually right? Maybe the feature is extending well into November.