When I was a kid, there was a TV show called ‘Salem’s Lot’ that became a huge hit across the country, and within my group of friends too.
If you are of an age, you will recall this too I am sure.
I remember watching it, maybe every Friday night or possibly the three episodes over a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday night. We’d all gather and sneak across the gardens behind our houses in the middle of the night to watch it in each other’s living rooms after our parents had gone to bed. It was definitely some questionable Gen X behaviour, but it’s a memory that has stuck with me vividly.
I recall sharing stories in the playground after Jaws had been on TV the night before, and of course back then, you had to watch it live. You couldn’t blink, you couldn’t go to the loo. You had to watch it live, otherwise you would miss it.
Magic.
As homage to the great horror movie villains and monsters, the top shelf in my bedroom was crammed with all 12 models from the Aurora horror, glow-in-the-dark series that I meticulously built, painted and loved to bits.
Horror has left a strong impression on many people from my generation, whether it was Salem’s Lot, the BBC double bills on Saturday nights, Hammer House of Horror, Tales of the Unexpected or those glow in the dark models. And don’t even get me started on the horrifying public information films!
These memories are the inspiration and roots of Twisted50, and I’m excited that we can continue the great tradition of gothic horror in the UK.
Filmmaker, author, screenwriter and founder of Twisted50. Currently directing splinter unit on Mission: Impossible 8.
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7 thoughts on “What was YOUR childhood memory of horror?”
A few years younger than you, Chris, I wasn’t able to watch Salem’s Lot as it aired, but I remember begging to watch it. My mum then let me watch a clip on the old BBC programme Points of View. It was a clip where Mr Barlow turns up at a jail cell to claim a new victim and was quite an intense jump scare. I almost crapped my pants…and then wanted to watch it even more.
I remember being allowed to watch Horror Express and being terrified of the thawed out beast, almost shaking with fear sitting up to watch ALIEN, The Thing and American Werewolf in London.
And I still wanted more.
It’s this visceral reaction to horror that is both terrifying but so much fun that keeps brining us back to the genre.
My kids often tell me how terrified they were by seeing certain horror films younger than the recommended ages and I feel slightly guilty for a little while….just as long as it takes them to ask to watch the next one….
YES! You either get this, or you don’t. Horror Express was another that was a moment for me, the red eyes and special effects mesmerised me.
Picked up the blu ray a couple of years back and it’s a glorious film…the most Hammer-esque non-Hammer film…it’s one of those films that stick with you for life….I got a copy of Theatre of Blood at the same time and that’s another high-camp classic that I will never tire of. Seeing Michael Hordern stabbed to death by tramps at the start of the movie shocked me, but I couldn’t turn away!
Theatre Of Blood is a staggering classic. Of course the twist is pretty visible these days but back when I saw it, I had ZERO idea and it florred me! Not to mention eating your babies. I mean come one, who can’t think this is an undisputed classic, best watched at midnight on BBC2!
There’s an LSF session for you! 😁
Salem’s Lot was the one for me. I was still at primary school when it first aired in the UK. The unforgettable scene when Danny Glick appeared at the window, scratching. ‘Let me in, Mark.’ Pure undiluted horror. There wasn’t a kid at school the next day who wasn’t talking about it. And I realise that one of my own short stories, with a hag appearing at a window, the boy even has the same name of ‘Mark.’
The other one was much earlier and was on of the Christopher Lee Dracula films. I was very young and sneaked into the TV room to watch it one night. I don’t recall which but it began with young Jonathan Harker stopping his coach to ask an old woman the direction to Dracula’s castle. She tries to dissuade him but he is adamant and she relents but passes her crucifix over to him and places it around his neck. That’s the point at which I broke. I fled the room and was back in my bed under the sheets. And then I remembered that I had left the TV on. There followed an epic struggle between my fear of Dracula and my fear of my dad finding out that I had left the TV on. It felt like an age but was probably less than a minute. My dad won out and I agonised my way back to the room to turn off the TV and lights and head back to bed.
Finally the third great horror from my childhood. I had started secondary school when ‘Threads’ aired. Filmed like a documentary it transcended vampires and werewolves and zombies to present us with a visceral oh so probable horror that still hits with the same power so many decades later
I loved Christoher Lee horror films. My cousins and I were sometimes allowed to stay over at each others’ houses and watch them.
I really enjoyed Hammer House of Horror and Tales of the Unexpected. I used to watch The Twilight Zone late at night with my mum.
I used to buy Dennis Wheatley books from a stall in the market when I was a bit older. Also watched the films.
My favourite horror fim is The Lost Boys (1987), but I was no longer a child at this point.