Candyman and Vampires: How my love of horror began
Here’s my nostalgic story about how I became a fan of horror movies like Candyman and why I will always love the genre.
Candyman was my Bloody Mary
The first horror movie I remember watching was Candyman when I was around five or six. l know that was pretty young, but that’s how it started. I remember still to this day how the movie terrified me, but I didn’t look away either. You could say that Tony Todd was the first horror icon I watched and one I still love.
Another early memory I have is sitting in my grandparents living room on Halloween night. My grandfather was watching a vampire movie. The scene I saw was this guy (who I found out was Peter Cushing) using a windmill as a cross. I thought that scene was so amazing. I had no clue what movie it was until I was older. The movie was The Brides of Dracula.
As I got older, my mom taught me about the horror greats, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee. My mother was the one that got me into watching horror movies. I have many fond memories watching ’60s and ’70s horror movies with her.
I do give my late grandfather credit for watching Brides of Dracula that one Halloween night and one time for waking me up to watch Scream with him.
I also grew up watching this late night host Ned the Dead with my family every Saturday night. My dad, who doesn’t even like horror movies, would even watch it with us.
Ned the Dead was part of my childhood. Courtesy of Frankly Green Bay.
A Total Vampire Obsession
When I was a teenager I was obsessed with all things with vampires even before my teenage years I watched Buffy and Angel with my older sister. We also loved watching Blade together.
You already read my story about seeing Brides of Dracula and Lee’s Dracula movies.
I would also rent Queen of the Damned all the time at my local Family Video. Let’s just say that it was my Twilight. For those who are wondering I watched Interview with the Vampire just as much too.
The Underworld movies were also a big thing for me too. I remember watching the first one at age 13 at midnight while eating pizza with my family. It’s just a memory that has always stuck with me.
My Friday the 13th and Hellraiser Stories
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So the first time I watched Friday the 13th I don’t remember how old I was, but I remember being sick from school and it was on Friday the 13th. I won’t lie the movie gave me chills. One year for Christmas I was given all the movies as a present!
Hellraiser is kind of a funny story. I remember being young and seeing a glimpse of Pinhead, but it wasn’t until I was in my teens when I watched the full movie. During that time too, I was obsessed with reading Clive Barker’s work. I’m still a fan of Hellraiser and Barker.
There are so many more memories that I could share, but these are my favorite ones. These memories are why I am a horror fan and why I will always be a horror fan.
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I want to hear your horror memories! What was the first horror movie you saw? Share your thoughts in the comments!