Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Horror Movies

I purposely don't watch horror movies because I know for a fact they will give me nightmares. I inadvertently watched a horror movie in college and it has stayed with me ever since. Here's the story. Oh, first a little background. I have what some might call an irrational fear of snakes. If you come near me with a snake, I will fight you. If you come near me with a picture of a snake, I will still fight you. I hate the fact that there are snakes in every single one of the Harry Potter movies. To illustrate my problem with snakes, here's a story: Shortly after we moved, I was out walking Scout and exploring the surrounding neighborhood. I stumbled upon a little trail that went near some ponds. I went closer to investigate, thinking it might be a cool place to walk Scout. Upon nearing the trail, I heard a little rustling and looked down to see a small, tan snake slithering away. It was very small and probably harmless, but Scout and I were out of there so fast and I have not gone near it since.

Now that that background info is out of the way, on to my story about the inadvertent horror movie watching. When I went away to BYU, I was excited, for the first time in my life, to have cable. I didn't actually watch a lot of TV, but I did take a strong liking to Animal Planet. I was watching Animal Planet one day and they were showing an incident where this guy had a pet Boa Constrictor and it escaped. And it escaped hungry. Cut to this little old lady who lives by herself and has a small, white dog to keep her company. She loves the said dog because it is her little constant companion. Remember the Boa Constrictor that escaped? So, the little white dog hears something in the garage and peeks its little white head through the doggy door to see what's going on. Hungry Boa Constrictor is in the garage, sees the little white head poke through and strikes. Yep, it was a horror movie alright. That snake pulled the little white dog through the door, coiled around it, killed it, then ate it. And this poor old lady watched the whole thing through the window in the garage door but could do nothing to stop the snake and save her beloved little white dog. Horror Movie! And, I have never forgotten it. Though it was all a re-enactment, the images are burned into my mind. Especially the last one of the boa constrictor with a huge lump in its body.

Now, remember how I don't watch horror movies because I know they will give me nightmares? So, the other night I had a nightmare. I dreamed that this huge python came into the house looking for Scout. For some unexplainable reason, we had a big tiger in the house. The python made quick work of the tiger in order to get to Scout (and that's no small feat. I was rooting for the tiger, obviously. Later, when explaining my nightmare to Mr. Frisby, he said he would rather the snake kill the tiger because he would be able to run away from the snake and it would be less dangerous than the tiger. I told him that a snake powerful enough to kill a tiger like it was a stuffed animal would be much scarier and much more dangerous than a tiger, so he should probably root for the tiger). So, the rest of my dream (which fortunately wasn't very long because I was awakened when Mr. Frisby got up to get ready for work) I was trying to figure out what I was going to use to kill this snake so it wouldn't get to Scout. It was horrible! And, even after I woke up, I was still going over scenarios in my mind about how I might be able to kill this snake. And that is why I don't watch horror movies.

8 comments:

Gordita said...

I also avoid horror movies for the same reason. I'm still laughing, however, that for some unexplainable reason you had a tiger in the house. That's good dream stuff right there.

Hayley said...

shudder...to horror movies & snakes. snake or tiger - i don't know which one should go first? both bad. real bad.

Julie Sparks said...

I can't handle horror movies either. Mom says I had a vivid imagination as a kid, so she'd never let me watch scary movies. My dreams do a fine stand-in for horror movies.
Keep an eye on Scout!

Dalene said...

I agree 100% with avoiding horror movies of any kind. I also avoid all Law & Order-type shows for the very same reason. Anyhow, your description here is making me laugh out loud. I would root for the tiger, too.

Molly said...

I don't watch scary movies. I remember everything about them. I'm totally afraid of the dark. And I think I watched part of Swamp Thing (or so people tell me) when I was little and as a result I've always been scared in open (or dark) water that something was going to grab my feet. Not a fish bite or anything. A swamp monster with hands... It's terrible.

Andrea said...

I can't get horror movies out of my head either. I've also cut back on the action movies I watch too due to the violence (they can be pretty horrific).

Dana said...

That is a hillarious dream! You and I dream some crazy dreams, remember my dream about the spears coming at me from the ceiling? and how I rolled off the bed and ducked my head and then Aaron woke up and found me on the ground. We still laugh about that. Also, did I ever tell you that I had a snake when I was in High school? I hope we can still be friends. Don't fight me.

Hilary said...

machete. a gun might take too long to load and Scout needs to be saved FAST.