Thursday, April 20, 2006

I remember watching "The Exorcist"...

Back in 1981, I was still not allowed to go to movie theatres, so when a movie was shown on television, it was a really big deal for me. They had been showing ads for "The Exorcist" for weeks. Mom kept clucking her tongue. I expressed no interest in watching the movie, though I secretly wanted to. It didn't look possible to watch it anyway, as I was going to be helping a friend babysit that night.

Mom drove into Raychelle's driveway. "Don't watch that horrible movie."

"OK, Mom, no problem."

She drove off and I ran into the house. Raychelle met me at the door. "Hurry!! I put the kids to bed already, and 'The Exorcist' is just about to start! Come on!!"

This is where I had a decision to make. This is the moment where I had to choose whether to obey my mother or to disobey her. I didn't even think twice. "Awesome! Is there popcorn?"

We sat in that farmhouse, side by side on the couch, and watched that movie in the deep shadows of the living room. I was terrified as the story unfolded. We shared a blanket, both becoming seriously freaked out. We had never seen anything like it, and we were all alone in a creaky old farmhouse in the dark. My mother's advice suddenly seemed like good advice, and I wished I had taken it, but it was too late.

As soon as the movie was over, Raychelle and I turned on every light in the house and sat in the kitchen waiting for her family to come home. We sat there for hours.

7 comments:

Born to be Transformed said...

I remember seeing that movie. It wasn't too bad for me, but around that same year was a movie called "When a stranger calls".

That one messed me up.

Spoke said...

I grew up with that tripe. Mum LOVES horror movies. If mum chose a Beta vid for the night, it was a ripper. I couldn't imagine letting my daughter, today, watch what I've seen. All those rip and tear flicks of the 80's freightened me, still do. I won't watch them now.
I do like the classics though! Lon Chaney , Bela the ghosty, Cushing, Price, Davis. Good old timey scare movies with class!

Anonymous said...

It just dawned on me: your stories are Stuart McLean kinda stories! When your first book comes out I will be in line to buy!

W said...

It was When a Stranger Calls for me too...I was baysitting that nite and there is a real scary part when the bad guy calls this girl when she is babysitting. Some moron called the house that I was babysitting at and did the same thing to me that was happening on the show. Freaked me out pretty bad. It was probably some friends that were just playing with my fragile mind, I am not sure but I do know that it really had me shaking until I was safe at home in my own bed.

Amber said...

I watched the exorcist back in grade 12 (haha 'back in'... that was only 4 years ago)... anyway... yeah it was completely freaky. When the girl is spewing green gunk... that's cheesy but other parts really did feel demonic. My friend Meredith was shaking like a leaf half way through. My friend Paddy (supposedly big tough guy) got freaked out at one part and grabbed my foot for protection. Geez.

Though it's definitely not something I dwell on, I know demon possession is real because of the recounts in the Bible. Have you ever witnessed it in real life? I don't know if I have (at least not in the extreme that the movie depicts... or the chapter where Jesus meets the crazy guy in the graveyard)...

Stahled said...

I hate scary movies. I am such a wus. A few years ago when it was rereleased my friends wanted to watch Exorcist on halloween. I said hell no and instead agreed to watch some other cheesy "scary movie" that was playing at the same time. We bought our tickets and then as we were walking by the theatre where Exorcist was playing, my two much larger than me friends, picked me up and carried me into the movie. At first I kicked and screamed and then I realized I was making a scene. Thats when I just sat curled up in the fetal position and watched a small little girl deform into a demonic creature that played in my mind for weeks after.

Kirstie said...

Man, everyone has a scary movie story! I do too. I was always an extremely sensitive little girl and my parents were wise enough to keep me sheltered from the scary stuff. Then I went to a sleepover where a friend convinced me I should watch this really great movie, it wasn't scary at all! It was rated R but even her mother said it was fine for us to watch. I don't even remember the title but it was horrid, about a girl's ghost haunting people. I had nightmares for months. What are some parents thinking, letting their little kids watch that stuff? I think it might be even scarier that it didn't phase my friend at all.