It’s October again and it is a month of horror movie offerings on TV. I know through many streaming apps they are available most anytime but in October they are promoted and in your face so to speak.

I have never liked scary movies, horror movies, satanic movies and during October –  yep, that’s pretty much all that is on TV. I’ve never seen the “Exorcist,” or a Freddie movie, no “Chainsaw Massacre,” no “Shining,” no “Omen”  and no Vampires… you get the picture.  

My mother on the other hand loved mysteries and suspense,  I remember when I was 11 or 12, watching Alfred Hitchcock movies and Rod Sterling’s the “Twilight Zone” or “Night Gallery” with her.   We’d huddle on the couch, lock the door and watch them. Afterwards, I’d stay awake half the night seeing shadows in the dark!

The first movie I remember was “The Wizard of Oz,” which by most accounts is a scary movie especially to a child. When I was young, for some reason, the TV networks played it around Easter and Christmas. Records show that  NBC picked it up for the 1964 TV season. It became an Easter Sunday tradition and later moved the airing to Christmastime. It aired annually well into the 1990’s. 

It seems an odd choice for both of these holidays but I remember it was a “big” deal at our house.  My mother always excited when Oz was coming on. She would make popcorn and the whole family would watch it together — terrified by the wicked witch and her flying monkeys.

For me, I lean towards movies about true events and documentaries.  During the pandemic lock down, I watched every movie on Netflix I could find about the holocaust.  Talk about something to “not” cheer you up during a stressful time but actually it helped me realize that whatever we as a nation were going through because of the lock down and the deaths…it was nothing to compare to the suffering the Jewish people have endured.  These stories were of horrors of a unimaginable kind, not by creatures that lurk in the night but most horrendous evil committed by humans…if they can even be called that. Some of the films that I recall, — “The Zookeeper’s Wife,” “Sarah’s Key,”  “The Island on Bird Street,”  “The Pianist” and “Schindler’s List” — some were too difficult to watch more than once.

Beyond documentaries and true events, I used to love “Out of Africa” and “Gone with the Wind.”  But, I went off Meryl Streep and her political views which soured “Out of Africa” for me. I have a VHS copy of GWTW but have not seen it in years, it seems to not be politically correct these days.  Not only that but could I even find a VHS player?

I will occasionally watch romantic comedies.  The problem is they are all about young people and as I have gotten older,  I just can’t relate. The industry needs to make more that show what my generation is experiencing as we age. I know there are some. However, many of those don’t reflect the reality of growing old. They don’t show love in the winter of life.

So no horror movies for me this month. I will concentrate on looking for the beauty in the fall season and trying to block out the “Halloween” part.

On the movie front, I will search for ones that inspire. I am looking for films that show how ordinary people can become extraordinary. These movies highlight how individuals can rise up to overcome life’s trials.  The world has many horrors, I want to find tranquility.