How Did the Obsession Begin for You?

[Nordicdusk]

My father got me into horror but not directly he would rent them all the time and hide them but i knew his hiding place and would watch them while he was at work and rewind them to the exact spot he haf them at before returning the tape to the press . He had a strange fear of horror with nuns and priests tho

[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by Bringer Of Funerals

I've written a blog on it

http://www.cult-labs.com/forums/blog...y-journey.html

Good stuff!!
I think somewhere along the way something just grabs you, seems like it was the fantasy element for you, same here, before i got into horror more i remember seeing Star Wars in the cinema (on first release), i was about 4.
I remember being obsessed with the escapism and fantasy of it all, and then came the monsters, me and my brother would collect the figures and make up our own stories for ourselves( although we could never afford 'The Millennium Falcon' in our house.)
I also loved Greek myths thanks to Jason & the Argonauts and Clash of the Titans, and the Sinbad films.(all filled with scary stuff for young kids)
With all this escapism, fantasy and monsters the next logical step is Sci-fi and Horror films.
Then comes the lure of forbidden fruit, and our desire to experience it for ourselves and see what all the fuss is about.
And that's it, you're hooked.

[nosferatu42]

Originally Posted by nordicdusk

My father got me into horror but not directly he would rent them all the time and hide them but i knew his hiding place and would watch them while he was at work and rewind them to the exact spot he haf them at before returning the tape to the press . He had a strange fear of horror with nuns and priests tho

You sneaky devil you!! (ninja style)
it's the forbidden fruit again.
I myself on the other hand have a strange attraction to nun's, it's their dirty habits!!

[Wes]

Originally Posted by nordicdusk

He had a strange fear of horror with nuns and priests tho

Growing up in Ireland back in the day, even in my day - in the 80's, one had a certain trepidation for the clergy, but thankfully those days are well behind us. But I digress....

Worth mentioning I think, at the risk of alienating the ladies (my apologies) is that Horror films, at least for my youthful self always came with a promise of girls taking their clothes off - I used to love the Fridays and Elm Streets because the chance to see some flesh was a guarantee. I mean that gratuitous shot of the girl in the outdoor shower in The Burning brings back feverish memories !

[troggi]

I can see that this thread has short-term potential and why it was growing cobwebs before it's current vogue. The great thing about it is a nostalgic chance to re-visit old vices and actually put them into context.

For me it is definitely the fantasy element that drew me in. The day-to-day mundanity requires the escapism from reality that only fantasy, science fiction or horror can supply to me. Anything else is just "too close to real life" to make the grade and I think that there is something almost pathetic about following a soap opera in which the characters and situations are just pastiches of real life!

So, all though I have no belief in the supernatural or the technologically advanced alien races coming conquering, or maybe because of my lack of belief, the fantastic in cinema books and comics is what I thrive on.

[Frankenhooker]

My parents, Mother especially, were fans of the genre and used to rent all sorts of nastiness from a video van that used to prowl the streets. Obviously being the responsible parents that they are, they didn't let my brother and I watch these films (I was about ten, my brother a year older). However, one afternoon we looked through the kitchen window while they were watching Dawn Of The Dead and that was it. I couldn't hear a thing but I was transfixed but what I was seeing.

Later that night I crept downstairs when everyone was a sleep and watched the whole film, I then started doing the same for every film they would rent. Eventually I got caught but the genie was already out of the bottle, they kind of turned a blind eye after a while, although they drew the line at Cannibal Holocaust (another midnight stealth mission resulted in me seeing that when I was much too young).

[mark meakin]

THE GORGON was the first horror I saw at around eight followed by SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA on one of the sadly missed BBC2 double bills which also introduced me to THE GHOUL & LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF.I then picked up issues of 'House Of Hammer' magazine starting with issue 11 for The Gorgon cover,then I started buying Fangoria & The Darkside Magazine from Issue #2 onwards.Been a fan ever since buying up precerts of the nasties when rental shops near me were hurriedly clearing their shelves of unclassified videos in the 80s.I picked up the VTC release of THE WITCH WHO CAME FROM THE SEA, The Thorn EMI release of DEAD & BURIED, The butchered Hokushi release of THE TOOLBOX MURDERS as well as POSSESSION,TERROR EYES & UNHINGED.All for a fiver each after the rental shops had probably paid up to £50.00 a copy perhaps only months before in a few cases.

[mark meakin]

Originally Posted by Frankenhooker

Later that night I crept downstairs when everyone was a sleep and watched the whole film, I then started doing the same for every film they would rent. Eventually I got caught but the genie was already out of the bottle, they kind of turned a blind eye after a while, although they drew the line at Cannibal Holocaust (another midnight stealth mission resulted in me seeing that when I was much too young).

I did that when I was about 14 & my dad wouldn't let me watch TEN TO MIDNIGHT & PORKYS.My first taste of video was Disney's THE LAST FLIGHT OF NOAH'S ARK.I soon graduated to THE HOWLING & ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK from Embassy then the BRONX WARRIORS movies.

[Wes]

It was a great time, those formative years, and there was so much going on, feeding into the habit. I was reading 2000AD which was a tremendous universe for a youngster - I mean there was really great Horror and Sci-fi conceptual stuff among those pages, and a little later on I was listening to Death Metal and exposed to a lot of interesting stuff for a young guy - Satanism, extreme subject matter, not to mention extreme imagery - I'm thinking of those old Carcass medical book cut-up sleeves or the great artwork for Cannibal Corpse's Butchered At Birth record. So lots of things were going on...

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

I'm honestly not sure how I got into horror cinema, which is quite strange when considering what a massive part of my life it has become.

I started off as a casual film fan, never really straying too far off of the mainstream path, and it probably wasn't until my earlier teens where I started to branch out a little more. Film Four coupled with a local video rental shop helped me on my way a little, but I had little help and influence from those around me where exploring cinema was concerned.

My friends were not massive film fans and we were spoon-fed a regular diet of King adaptations and Quentin Tarantino in our early teens. My mother was always a 'fan' of films in as much as she regularly took my brother and myself to the cinema in the school holidays etc. but my father abhorred films (and most visual media) of all kinds (and still does). It therefore wasn't until I moved into my later teens/early twenties when I seriously started getting interested in film, and it was almost like a light switched on in my mind - I couldn't believe the wonders and marvels of cinema that had escaped me for so long (not really escaped as such, as that would imply some sort of proactive behaviour from me was going on). I watched all I could, and living in London at the time meant I was frequently seen at The Prince Charles Cinema as well as local film festivals and uni/college showings... and I haven't really stopped to this day - aside from most of my film watching occurring in the comfort of my own home nowadays.

The past 10 years or so have been an enlightening and interesting ride which will no doubt continue as my film horizons continue to expand and evolve, but the theme of being alone in my obsession is ever-present in the real waking world - not that I mind so much.

This is perhaps what led me to seek out this place in March 2009 as I was settling down in my new house (well, new to me) and finally had internet of my own rather than catching a few minutes of e-time here and there in public/college/uni libraries. I've flitted here and there through various sites in my short e-life but this one has always remained a steady, daily staple, helped of course by the fantastic and knowledgeable people here; and whilst I've seen many changes here, and dare I say an overall gradual decline in activity in the past couple of years, it still remains my 'go-to' place for sharing knowledge and chatting with similar folk with a passion for horror and cult cinema.