How to Scare Me: “Carrie”

So now you know The Wizard of Oz was one of the first films to scare me. By the way, I also watched The Creature from the Black Lagoon and Godzilla when I was little, just cause I wanted to prove to myself I wasn’t a complete chicken when it came to monster movies.

But my first bonafide horror flick was the 1976 Carrie. I was dragged to this unwillingly by my older sister who I was visiting in Washington D.C. I knew I didn’t want to see it, but she did, so I had no choice. I was 12 – which, of course, is now considered way too old to get scared, given what kids are exposed to these days. No matter, it made its impression in my brain.

I barely watched through my fingers the gory confrontation in the gym, when Carrie, drenched in pig’s blood, wreaks havoc and basically kills everyone. And the part later when she crucifies her mother with knives. But it was the very end, when Sue is walking to Carrie’s grave to put flowers on it and that hand shoots up out of dirt to grab her arm, that really got me. In fact, I wasn’t even WATCHING it, had my hands over my eyes, but the audience gasped so loud, it made me jump. I started crying because it scared me so bad. Yeah, I think my sister felt pretty awful for doing that to me. Here’s a bit about Carrie on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments, including some comments from my favorite Stephen King, who wrote the book:

Of course, I appreciate the film now for all its teen angst and wonderful nuances – but I still have to cover my eyes in some parts.