Essay

Scary movies!!

By Kip A. Cates

音声ダウンロード

When I was a teenager, I loved horror movies! My friends and I used to watch all the latest films and enjoyed the feeling of being scared out of our wits by ghosts, monsters, witches and devils. I even subscribed to a magazine about movie monsters and collected plastic models of movie villains such as Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.

There are three basic kinds of horror films: ghost movies, slasher movies and monster movies. I loved them all! Ghost movies feature scary stories about innocent people who are haunted by demons or evil spirits, often in a haunted house. Slasher movies are about people, often teenagers, who are stalked and murdered — one by one — by a serial killer or a crazed psychopath. Monster movies feature people or places that are terrorized by evil creatures ranging from vampires, werewolves and mummies to aliens, zombies and killer sharks.

When I first started watching horror movies, I was totally fearless. Gradually, however, I got older, the movies became scarier and they started to affect me more.

I still remember the movie Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Its frightening story and spine-chilling music gave me nightmares for weeks. One of the scariest parts of the film was the shower scene, when the heroine was attacked by the killer with a knife. It was so frightening that I was too scared to take a shower for weeks!

The more horror movies I saw, the more frightened I became. The final straw for me was The Exorcist. For some reason, I decided to see this movie by myself. Big mistake. It was really scary!! The film told the story of an innocent young girl who became possessed by a devil. After watching it, I was terrified. I had nightmares. I couldn't sleep. Things had gone too far!

Finally, I sat down and had a serious talk with myself. I decided that I couldn't go on like this. If I continued to watch horror movies, I'd spend the rest of my life afraid of the dark, jumping at shadows and traumatized with fear. Was that how I wanted to live?

So, I took a deep breath and made a resolution. I decided to give up scary movies. It was a smart decision! As soon as I made my vow, I felt better. Instead of feeding my fears with a diet of scary movies, I began to fill my life with musicals, comedies, dramas and documentaries.

Slowly, my spirits lifted, my fears disappeared and I began to enjoy life again. It was a liberating feeling. No more nightmares! No more fear of the dark!

Many people enjoy horror films and the thrills that they bring. But be careful about going too far. Watching too many scary movies can be bad for your health!

怖い映画

10代のころ、筆者は怖い映画が大好きだった。片っ端からホラー映画を見続けていたのだが、次第に夜眠れなくなったり精神的に不安定になっていく自分に気付き、意識的に見るのをやめたという。

The Japan Times ST: October 21, 2016