– but how much does it cost you to knock on wood?
~ Judith Viorst
Are you superstitious?
If you asked me that question, I’d say NO. Of course not! But when I think about it, maybe I am. I mean, I’m not afraid to leave my house today, Friday the 13th. (Although, for full disclosure, I am still sitting on the couch in my pajamas. But at SOME point, I will get up and go run some errands. Really. I will.)
As I was thinking about superstitions, I realized that I hadn’t made a list for this here blog in quite a while. And considering my abiding love for lists, well, that just didn’t seem right. So, coming at you live from my couch, here’s a list of 13 on the 13th.
- My parents have owned three black cats, two of them while I was growing up. Watching them cross my path didn’t bother me nearly as much as having to clean up the random hairball.
- The first – and last – horror movie I watched was Leprechaun. It was at a slumber party at my friend Jammie’s house, and I was overruled and outvoted when it came time to pick the movie. I was such a scaredy cat that I sat with my back to the TV the whole time. I was still scared.
- Scratch that. I also watched Carrie at a slumber party at my own house. And by “watch,” of course I mean I sat with my back to the TV. Pouting. (It was MY slumber party! How did that even happen?)
- I had a slumber party at my house one Halloween during middle school. I don’t remember why my friend Elizabeth needed to wash out her heavily dyed hair that night, but I do remember how long it took us to scrub that black dye out of my mom’s [normally pristine] bathtub!
- My parents never let me dress up as anything evil on Halloween. No witches, vampires, mummies, ghosts or other undead characters allowed in our family. I was, however, a homemade clown several years in a row. And can anyone actually deny that clowns are kind of scary themselves?
- Another year, my friend Mindy and I went to a Halloween party together, dressed in our costumes, of course. Only to discover that NOBODY ELSE WAS WEARING COSTUMES. We ran inside and called her mom to bring us regular clothes, but because Mindy’s family lived on the busiest trick-or-treating street in town, it took her mom forever to get out of her driveway. Moral of that story? Never assume everyone else will be wearing costumes and bring a back-up outfit with you.
- After reading all the Harry Potter books last year, I finally decided to watch the movies this past summer. All at once. As in, I watched them in the span of a few days, one after another. When the credits rolled on the last one (well, the second to last one), it was late at night and – obviously – dark outside. I honestly wasn’t sure I’d EVER SEE THE SUN AGAIN. The world of Harry Potter is a dark one, and I don’t recommend mainlining the movies to anyone.
- However, I did love those books and they’ve turned out to be a gateway
drugread. Reading YA has become my new favorite thing. I’ve admitted that before, but what I haven’t said outright is that I really dig (yes. dig.) sci-fi or paranormal YA novels. I know. I know. All I can say is that I promise I will never, ever don a shirt saying, “TEAM JACOB” or “TEAM EDWARD.” - Because I don’t do Twilight. Just so you know. Every other cheesy series about teenagers in various monster or freak forms, yes. But I draw the line at those books.
- When I was in high school, I played basketball. For some reason Smitty started knocking on my head (I suppose in lieu of actual available wood) every time someone was at the free throw line. We were weird.
- A couple years ago, I watched the first season of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. Critics loved it, I’d recently discovered Joss Whedon, and I was bored, so I gave it a try. I actually liked it a lot, but couldn’t watch the other seasons because it was too scary.
- The only movie I’ve ever walked out of (in the theater) was Interview with a Vampire. I was there with my boyfriend (now husband), his brother and his brother’s girlfriend. Obviously they picked the movie (although Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise weighed pretty heavily against Iwillbescareddon’tmakemewatchit). I spent the first part of the movie staring at the floor and wishing I could cover my ears without looking like a baby, and I was SO relieved when the others decided the movie was stupid and we should leave.
- Apparently the moral of this weird list is that I can read about scary things all day long, but please do not make me watch it on a screen!
Edited to add: I did watch the remake of Psycho in college. And I didn’t sit with my back to the screen. And I told my friends I liked it. But I actually thought it was really scary, too.
So, how about you? Are you superstitious? Do you like horror movies? Are you scared of clowns?
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Can’t do horror movies at all. I watched ‘The Ring’ and literally slept up against Brent because I was so scared that night. I also watched the first ‘Saw’ movie…never. ever. again. Oh, one more I just remembered…I watched the first ‘Scream’ movie with all the girls in high school and was so scared of the opening Drew Barrymore scene, that I just knew someone was lurking around our house out in the boonies.
I’m just getting into YA lit…my first series was The Hunger Games, and I devoured all three books in a week. Loved it!
Nikki! What the heck? How have you watched The Ring, Saw AND Scream??? I would never sleep again! (Also, glad I missed that slumber party with Scream. Or maybe I sat with my back to that one, too, but somehow blocked it out??)
I can’t do horror movies either. I can read things, but seeing it on a screen freaks me out too much.
We had a black cat growing up, too. I loved that cat, and she always slept with me when I wasn’t feeling well, so I definitely didn’t have any superstition about black cats.
I’ve been thinking that me being able to read but not watch scary (or gross) things means I’m lacking in imagination. But maybe it just means I’m a visual person/learner. Which I am. Hmmm. What do you think? (Because I promise, I’m not trying to imply that you lack imagination, too!!!)
I swore I would never stoop so low as to read the Twilight series. One day, however, I caved. I couldn’t put them down. I read all four in less than two weeks. My teenage daughter was horrified. I still say that I won’t watch the movies, though!
I probably should have clarified in the post – I did read the first book. But I decided that even though it was strangely addicting, I didn’t want to waste the hours it would take to read the others. So in one of the VERY few moments of willpower I’ve exhibited when it comes to reading (or, really, anything!), I decided not to read the others. But…don’t tell anyone…in the moment? I really wanted to! Gah!
I can count the number of scary movies I’ve seen on one hand. I watched The Sixth Sense in the theater and hid behind my hands most of the time. (I was at least 16.) I watched part of Silence of the Lambs from behind a couch. And my best girlfriend got a BIG kick out of the fact that Gone in 60 Seconds (NOT a horror movie) made me nervous.
I just read The Hunger Games and am tempted to call myself “Team [One of the Love Interests.]” Maybe I should give in and read Twilight, too. ;)
Oh, I forgot about The Sixth Sense! Sadly, I watched it WAY after it came out and had accidentally read a spoiler. So that movie was not the scary movie experience it might have been. (Which is good, but to this day, I am still so annoyed that I saw that spoiler!) However, I still averted my eyes every time something gross or scary was on the screen!
I don’t do scary movies. The Ring still haunts me from when I saw it in college. I will either turn the channel or mute the tv and leave the room if a commercial for a scary movie comes on. And I’m secretly proud of the fact that my girls are scaredy cats – they get frightened by some scenes in Veggie Tales. My goal for them is to make it till adulthood, or ideal never, before watching a horror flick. And then that they’d have the sense to leave once it got turned on! :)
If you stand strong against Twilight, so will I! I just am not a fan.
I can’t handle scary movie/show commercials, either. Especially during the week, when Mark is working and I’m home alone!