10/30/2015

Welcome to our Virtual Haunted Mansion…Muahahaha!


Creaking doors. Musty attics. Groaning floorboards and whispering walls. Dark basements and dank dungeons. Dare to take a tour?  

This Halloween we're sharing scary moments from real life, books or movies.  Have you ever seen a ghost? Felt a cold spot in a strange house or worse––your own home? Take a tour of our virtual haunted house and remember to share a scary story, book, or movie with us in comments.


Remember REDRUM and the strange twin ghosts in The Shining? Don't let the flower print wallpaper fool you.

ALEXA BOURNE:

I'm a big baby when it comes to scary stories and I try to avoid them as much as possible. You couldn't pay me to spend even five minutes in a haunted house. Sure, the twins look innocent enough in this picture, but I'm no fool. I'd be running in the opposite direction...or passing out.  





 JILLIAN  STONE:

As long as I can cover my eyes and peek through my fingers, I love scary movies. I also love creepy disturbing images and fast or slow moving zombies. And oh yes, the Fawn in Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth is a truly remarkable creature as he is both frightening and protective at once. He reminds me of a classic fairy tale character. Brilliantly conceived and executed. On my scary scale the Fawn is a 10! 


The Fawn in Pan's Labyrinth.



A face in the dark is definitely creepy. 

LIZBETH SELVIG 


I am completely and unreasonably terrified of seeing faces in the dark.  I especially dread looking into mirrors or out windows when it’s nighttime. But that’s not all. Old as I am, I turn over magazines on tables if I might run across them after the lights are out. I will not look outside if I hear a noise, and I avert my eyes when I pass a mirror if I have to get up from bed. It’s absolutely stupid I know—nevertheless, I’ll leave looking out the haunted mansion windows to you!  Happy Halloween, to all you GLIAS ghosties and ghoulies!



 Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek!






ANGI MORGAN: 

The scariest book I ever read was an all-nighter: THE SHINING. I remember propping my back against the headboard, pulling the pillows close all around me, and reading this until I was so scared I couldn’t move. Even though the movie with Jack Nicholson was a little different, REDRUM, the twin ghosts & all the hotel guests continue to scare me just thinking about them. 
I’ve entered rooms in real homes that give me the heebie jeebies and goose bumps. Seriously. Give me a good haunting and I’m completely scared to death. I tend to laugh through slasher movies. 
And the only zombie movie that’s ever kept my attention is WORLD WAR Z.





NAN DIXON

I hate scary movies.  Hate them.  I think it stems from when I was little and had to go to bed before any of my siblings.  My dad was finishing off the basement, where our bedrooms were, and used to have the Twilight Zone television show on when he worked on Sunday nights.  I’d lay in bed, frightened out of my mind just listening to the show.  So when my boyfriend took me to see the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre at a drive-in—I spent most of the movie cowering on the floor.




 Trick or Treat!



E.E. BURKE

I used to stay up late at night reading Stephen King books. Not any longer. I need my sleep! I'm a bigger fan of his books than of the movies made from them. Scary movies? I love a good Dracula flick, and this one from 1992, Bram Stoker's Dracula,  is my favorite (probably because it's closest to the book). I love the way Dracula (Gary Oldman) changes from an eerie ancient monster to a hot immortal. Forget Twilight. Give me the REAL vampire.









"Love Never Dies..."


Commenters: Instead of tricks, share a real-life scary story, or favorite horror movie/book in comments for a chance to win this Halloween treat: $10.00 eGift card from Amazon. Remember to leave your email contact information to be entered in the raffle! 

And please, whatever you do, have a fun and scary Halloween.

48 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Really fun! I was telling Liz or Nan that I'm a big fan of psychological horror but not slasher stories or movies. Like I really enjoyed Silence of the Lambs, but I know I would have hated Chainsaw Massacre. ;)

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  2. Wishing everyone a Happy and Safe Halloween! :)
    I am not much into scary flicks or horror books, but I love Halloween. This is not really a scary story, but interesting. My sister has had a spirit follow her for years... he has gone with her to every house she has moved into... my little nephew can see him... it used to scare him... but surprisingly he would say that I would be in his little chair watching over him at night... not sure how... I live in another house... as for the spirit, you can hear him walk around her upper floor... he had turned on the touch lamps that are there too... one time he did that when I was babysitting... I told him he was not funny and to turn it off... surprisingly he did... but most recently was this summer... I was babysitting and I saw a dark figure of a man walk by my little nephew's room... surprised me big time...

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    1. Great story! My aunt always had spirits or poltergeists around, no matter where she moved. Eventually she called in paranormal researchers from the university and they did an investigation. Their analysis was that the disturbances were caused by her. All that nervous kinetic energy…I guess!

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    2. Thanks for sharing Colleen.

      I must be one of those people with a lot of kinetic energy, too, Jill !! I feel like stuff is happening to me... LOL I'm really not that bad, but I always know when the phone's about to ring.

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    3. here's my contact info greenshamrock at cox dot net . :)

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    4. Congratulations to bevieann61@gmail.com you've won the Halloween Treat: A $10.00 Amazon eGift Card! Expect your eGift Card to arrive this morning.

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  3. love this post but i don't like haunted houses at all

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    1. That's what's great about a virtual haunted house! ;)

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  4. This was a great post!! I'm scared of haunted houses they really get me. Movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Massacre scared me too.

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    1. I'm a bug baby when it comes to all slasher movies, but I love a good psychological thriller or horror film, like I said, as long as I can cover my eyes and peek through my fingers!

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  5. This was a great post!! I'm scared of haunted houses they really get me. Movies like Nightmare on Elm Street and Texas Chainsaw Massacre scared me too.

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  6. lived in a haunted house for 2 years... she committed suicide .. but she wasnt bad or mean... just moved things... talked to herself...walked loudly... made rooms freezing cold in the middle of hot summer days.....and smell of perfume.... all good.... scary movie...silence of the lambs...creepy scary

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    1. It seems to be a different experience when you actually live with a ghost then when you read or watch a haunted house story. Like, it's a cross between Beetlejuice and Poltergeist!

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    2. I don't know how long I could live with a ghost!

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    3. I'm with Nan--I'm not sure either. I've had two friends who insist they saw/lived with spirits. One was friendly the other a little creepier (leaving stains on the carpets). Not into ghostly carpet stains.

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  7. Horror movies rarely scare me, but I have to admit that the final scene in The Blair Witch Project got me. I used to live in the woods and the entire movie really plays into the noises and isolation well. The ones that haunt me and freak me out a bit are the ones involving parasites or aliens that infect people and take them over. "The Stuff" really freaked me out as a child because it looked like marshmallow cream. I'm okay with Zombie flicks. I actually like those a lot and they don't scare me. Hellraiser - doesn't scare me. "Prom Night" though... the scene with the rocking horse completely freaked me out as a child and I couldn't sleep afterward.

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    1. LOL! It's so interesting to read about what freaks people out. I love zombie movies, although I have to admit I've become picky about them. I love horror that also involves humor––I know, sick! Right now my fav zombie show is Z Nation.

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    2. Have you checked out Ash vs. The Evil Dead? I heard it's hilarious and just like the movies.

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  8. All horror movies scare. Will not watch them anyone. Friday the 13th , Halloween. I would not even go in a haunted house. Graveyards at night are very scary too.

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    1. Hi Tammy! Graveyards are totally scary. The whole DĂ­a de Muertos thing in Mexico––where they party at the graves of loved ones––is especially interesting to me.

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    2. It's all good, Tammy--I will not watch them right along with you! I really don't like being scared I guess!

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  9. I'm not really big into horror movies. I remember when my best friend and I went to see The Exorcist, it scared the crap out of me. I've never watched it again and I don't ever plan to.

    linda.henderson70@yahoo.com

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    1. Hi Linda, The Exorcist was a very scary movie at the time. Not sure it holds up in 2015, but it's considered a classic horror film.

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    2. I have never seen The Exorcist and have no desire to do so. My son, however, watched it maybe 10 years ago and said it was still pretty scary. So--it might hold up, if the effects aren't too hokey!

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  10. I saw The Exorcist and it was the last scary movie I saw because I had nightmares for weeks. Your haunted mansion is awesome. Happy Halloween!

    dblaser(at)windstream(dot)net

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    1. Another vote for The Exorcist. It's been a long time since I viewed the movie but I remember that the build up to her possession and then the progression of her possession was really well done.

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  11. I'm not alone in hating scary movies! Yeah! Great post. Happy Halloween everyone!

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  12. I am right in there with not watching scary movies. I don't have enough time to see all the not-scary ones I want to see, so I don't take the time. I actually think, though, that the psychological ones would scare me more than the slasher flicks. Those I could probably tell myself were just stupid--like fairy tales aren't real. But the ones that play with your mind? Those kinds of things stick with me and freak me out over and over. I know each of my kids' worst-ever, most scary movies: For my son it was "The Ring" -- he was in college and after seeing it slept with the light on for two years (he claims). My daughter hated "Event Horizon" -- she said the creepy mind things that happened because of the black hole still freak her out if she thinks about them. Neither is on my "to watch" list!! Loved this topic, Jill. Thanks! Happy Halloween everyone!!

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  13. the shining

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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    1. The Shining is a big winner in both novel and film formats.

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  14. I'm not so sure I LOVE being scared, but there is something intriguing about stories that include unexplained paranormal events. The original novel Dracula, for instance, is an amazingly scary book. I also loved M. NIght Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense and Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth. Brings out the goth-girl in me!

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  15. I don't do scary movies much, but the scariest movie I've ever seen is Alien - that thing freaked me out. The scariest book I've read lately is Cherie Priest's Maplecroft, a fantastic tale.

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  16. ALIEN is such a great sci-fi horror film. And so suspenseful––a real nail biter!

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    1. Nuke it from orbit...
      It's the only way to be sure.

      ALIENS ... scarier for me because it had a kid

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  17. Carrie, the original movie: the arm... Brrr. Rosemary's Baby: Mia Farrow's face when she looks at her baby! Unforgettable! AND the movies are as good as the books. "Traditional" horror movies -gore/slasher- don't do anything for me; I find them stupid/gross, in general. And Dracula with Bela Lugosi. He was a terrible actor, but he was scary!!!

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    1. Carrie and Rosemary's Baby are both classics. And you're right, the movies were as good as the books.

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  18. Carrie, the original movie: the arm... Brrr. Rosemary's Baby: Mia Farrow's face when she looks at her baby! Unforgettable! AND the movies are as good as the books. "Traditional" horror movies -gore/slasher- don't do anything for me; I find them stupid/gross, in general. And Dracula with Bela Lugosi. He was a terrible actor, but he was scary!!!

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  19. I will read scary but I cannot watch scary, although I did scare the bejeebers out of myself reading "In Cold Blood" in the middle of the night when even familiar sounds are creepy.

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  20. I liked your post but I really don't like scary movies! I had nightmares as a child about the birds !! I still get nervous around ant type of fowl! Lol bevieann61@gmail.com is my email

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    1. Yay!!!! You are the first one to mention a Hitchcock film! I have this theory that there is one movie in everyone's childhood that scared/scarred them for life. My mother let my son watch Jaws and he became obsessed with sharks. In kindergarten he wanted to be a marine biologist. ;)

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  21. I liked your post but I really don't like scary movies! I had nightmares as a child about the birds !! I still get nervous around ant type of fowl! Lol bevieann61@gmail.com is my email

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  22. I liked your post but I really don't like scary movies! I had nightmares as a child about the birds !! I still get nervous around ant type of fowl! Lol bevieann61@gmail.com is my email

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  23. I've never been much for horror movies, but I did enjoy Alien and the whole Alien series. Those movies were so scary, but I braved them because I loved the whole alien aspect of them. :D

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  24. You guys, the ones of you who have braved the horrors, I can't imagine reading or watching any of those whole movies. The Birds came to Saturday Night at the Movies and that was too much and that was before my anxiety problems kicked in. That I can watch now but nothing any stronger.

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    1. I love to analyze fairy tales. All of them are terrifying on one level or another. Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Rumplestiltskin––what a creepy obnoxious little goblin he is!

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  25. Congratulations to bevieann61@gmail.com you've won the Halloween Treat: A $10.00 Amazon eGift Card! Expect your eGift Card to arrive this morning.

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