What Started my Love of Horror
If I had to point to one book that started it all, it would be R.L. Stine’s One Day at Horrorland.
I still remember reading it as a kid. The monsters terrified me. My heart was pounding as the characters went deeper and deeper in Horrorland. By the end, I was convinced something terrible was about to happen.
Then came the twist.
I remember laughing because it completely got me!
As I got older, I watched a movie that truly scared me - no laughing was involved. That honor goes to Nightmare on Elm Street.
I felt like other movie killers had this slightly sympathetic backstory. Even Michael Myers had an origin story. Not an excuse for what he became, but at least a glimpse of him as a child.
But there was NOTHING about Freddy Kreuger that garnered sympathy from me. He was absolutely disgusting and I’m so happy the townspeople burned him up, unfortunately not cutting him into pieces first so he wouldn’t stay alive in their dreams!
Looking back, children’s horror books and movies of the 90s weren’t really what made me love horror. It taught me to love suspense. The feeling of something around the next corner!
Decades later, I still chase that feeling and even write my own stories to capture it.
So now I'm curious:
What’s the first story you read or watched as a kid that genuinely scared you and stays with you until this day?
JOIN the 3BC DISCORD community (link below) and let us know what you think!
#gateway-to-horror
