By Nancy Bush
I kind of steer clear of horror flicks these days, but there was a time . . . My favorite movies to watch on Halloween are:
Halloween (The original version by John Carpenter)
It was really scary and that fast, ringing music creeped me out. It was kind of the kickoff for the start of both the Nightmare on Elm Street and the Friday the 13th series. When I learned that basically the writer’s only directive was to make a movie about babysitters being killed, I thought it was brilliant.
The Omen
I’ve never gotten over the nanny saying, “Look at me, Damian. It’s all for you,” just before she kills herself . . . and the little kid waving at the Rottweiler. . . and the photographer seeing something in his pictures. I’ve watched the movie over and over again and I still brace myself during certain scenes. It’s a story that just hangs in my psyche. I can’t hear the name Damian without seeing that nanny . . .
E.T.
The whole hiding E.T. in with the trick-or-treaters was new and fun when the movie came out, and I still love it. I’m always surprised how well the film stands up. Just a wonderful feel-good movie.
The Shining
I loved the Stephen King book and the 1980 movie really captured the slow creepiness of the story. The filmmakers used Oregon’s Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood as the stand-in for the fictional Overlook Hotel, so I always think of it whenever I visit the lodge. Also: Jack Nicholson. Something about his slow-talking way just makes you dread what’s coming next, even though you want to see it.
The Sixth Sense
I went to see the film when it came out and I was about three-quarters of the way through when I realized what the ending would be. Gooseflesh rose on my skin. I remember thinking, “Oh, my God, this is great!” I’ll never forget it.
In a chilling, masterfully twisting new novel of suspense, the New York Times bestselling author of The Camp explores the dark side of friendship . . .
“I pledge my own life and soul to The Sorority.”
Every school has its cool girls, and at River Glen High, they’re known as The Sorority. The name began as a joke, but it holds a grain of truth. Because they’ve made a pledge to protect one another . . . no matter what the cost may be.
The pledge to kill Ethan Stanhope—that was a joke too. But then Ethan died in a car crash on the night of graduation, along with his little sister. A tragic accident, they said.
Private investigator Mackenzie Laughlin remembers the girls of The Sorority, though as a cop’s daughter, she was an outsider. Now, nearly ten years later, one of them is missing, and Mac is hired to find her. The accidents have started again too—if that’s what they are. Because Mac is beginning to realize just how much the Sorority sisters have to hide—and how far they’ll go to keep their secrets . . .
Reading Regency Novels With Vanessa Kelly