We were talking tonight about scary stories, and things that happened to us when we were kids. My husband shared a story about how one of his friends kicked a soccer ball into a drain, and a shady man appeared out of nowhere and stole it. The man had horns.
Do you have remember any creepy stories from your youth? Either ones that were told to you or that you experienced?
I’ve always loved to be scared.
Is that strange?
I always liked the thrill of a scary story or movie, but they would disturb me. Often I would run into my bedroom, jumping into bed, cautious of letting my ankles get within arm’s reach of the bed out of fear the boogeyman would grab them.
I would never act scared, though. I would be stoic even though I was trembling inside. I was under the impression that monsters should never sense your fear because they might be attracted to it.
My friend Tobie was the best at telling what she said were true ghost stories. She has since proven to be an amazing actress and is now a drama teacher, so it was difficult to determine where reality ended and fantasy began with her. All I can say is that these stories were incredibly detailed.
I wish I could remember one now to share with you. Slumber parties at her house were always chilling. We would all be in bed, complete darkness, when she would set in on a tale.
There were always sound effects and unexplained noises that accompanied her stories, which added to the authenticity. Generally we would scream at the end and giggle like, well, little girls, acting like we would shake off the fright with laughter.
Then I’d be in for a pretty spooky night of staring into the darkness and hoping I wouldn’t get pulled into oblivion by some malevolent force.
It’s pretty easy to spook me.
For a period of time in the 1980s the theme song to “The Hitchhiker” sent chills down my spine.
Don’t even get me started on the sleepless night I had after watching Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.
Halloween presented a whole other can of spooky worms for our neighborhood. There was always that one house we weren’t supposed to approach. Rumors abounded.
At one point we were under the impression that a disfigured person (a la Chunk from The Goonies) lived there. Another time the entire family was rumored to be child killers.
I’m sure they were lovely people, but they kept eerily quiet on Halloween, and we were kids. So we scared ourselves silly with idiotic “dares” to go ring the doorbell or sneak a peek into a window.
No one ever made it up to the door. We were all a fright away from wetting ourselves.
I just spent the better part of an hour reading creepy short stories online. I’m OK for the time being, but after I watch The Walking Dead it’ll probably be a jump-into-bed kind of night.
Scary Stories Resources
- 13 Short Creepy Stories (via Thought Catalog)
- Short Scary Stories (A Halloween Contest on Reddit)
- Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (yes, the stories from the books, and with the original illustrations)
What about you? Do you like to be scared and tell/listen to scary stories? Let’s talk in the comments below.
P.S. These movies are always good for a scare.
