Friday Five: Favorite Halloween Movies

It’s that time of year again, folks, and True Blood offers just the atmosphere for those haunted nights of Halloween. We have a tradition around our house for Halloween night that began when my kids were very young. We don’t take them out door-to-door, trick-or-treating. We take them to a hotel with a pool, let them splash around, order pizza, then curl up in front of the television for whatever Disney is serving up for the evening.

Of course, that’s for the kiddies. This is what we adults pull out when the last tiny eye has shut in slumber.

1. The Haunting – I’m not talking about the awful remake done in ’99. I’m talking about the chilling, absolutely frightening black and white that was done back in ’63, and starred the wonderful Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson and Russ Tamblyn. I still wrap a thick blanket around me at the same time Claire Bloom does when the haunts start “banging on the doors with a cannonball”.
2. Poltergeist – “Now clear your minds. It knows what scares you. It has from the very beginning. Don’t give it any help, it knows too much already.” Truer words were never spoken. Steven Spielberg took everything that scares us, adult and child alike, and threw them all into this movie. For its time (1982), it was the scariest movie I was never brave enough to see until it came out on VHS (remember those?). It was years before I looked under my bed again.
3. The Ring – When that sweet, dark-haired, little girl came crawling out of that well, I freaked. But when she crawled out of the TV, I was under my pillows and that’s where I stayed. What is it with hauntings and TVs?
4. The Grudge – When will these young girls learn, if you hear a noise in the attic and you’re all alone, LEAVE! Sarah Michelle Gellar learned the hard way. The root of this story is a very sad one, but the psychological thrill makes this a favorite for Halloween night.
5. The Messengers – Kids and pets always know when there’s something wrong. If I held a child who’s eyes were focused on something that wasn’t there, I’d be heading out the door and I wouldn’t be walking. Always listen to the babies and Fido!

What’s on your list?