Originally from celtic-queen13, and ontd_creepy:

[ladyofleithian]

1.) Would you say that you are easily scared? List your fear level on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being a MAJOR scaredy cat!

Probably an eight.



2.) What are the three things that scare you the most?

Oh boy...where do I begin?

1. Tsunamis. Fucking tsunamis, man. Blame it on my parents taking me to the tsunami museum when we were on vacation once (you can call it a *major* downer, to put it mildly), but I'm absolutely *paranoid* about tsunamis. Doesn't help that the one in Hawaii a long, long time ago proves they can strike, any time, anywhere:









Granted, I've also heard they come once a year or so, but...*sighs* Still pretty unsettling. And what happened in Japan definitely made things worse.


2. Anything involving Body Horror -- i.e. "the human body should not work that way". One instance of this being the scene from NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART FIVE: THE DREAM CHILD, when the girl's forced to eat her own internal organs in a nightmare sequence (and even worse was that in the theatrical version, they actually had to cut it down in order to let it pass with an R-rating. The uncut version...*sighs* Not for the faint of heart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stgrFa4OP8o. Seriously, fucking Jigsaw didn't go that far, man, Jesus Christ. 0.0. (Although maybe it falls under -- you know, fuck it, it's still disgusting as hell)

3. Torture. Even worse when you're Forced To Watch someone you care about being in pain, etc. Things like that instantly catapult a villain over the Moral Event Horizon, IMHO.

Honorable mentions:

1. Being humiliated. For example, Quasimodo being humiliated at the Feast of Fools in the Disney version of HOND. Worst part is that Frollo basically spurred on/encouraged his soldiers to do it, just because...well, he's a douche, for lack of a better word.

2. Rape/rape subtext.

3. Familiar Adult Fears, like failure, children being in danger, etc. Yeah, come to think of it, I'm actually scared of a lot of things.









3.) Have you ever seen a ghost? And if so, were you frightened?


No, I've never really seen a ghost. Pretty disappointing, really.



4.) What are the top 3 scariest movies that you have ever seen?


1. A Serbian Film. Okay, technically, I watched Phelous' review of the movie, but I think it told me everything I needed to know. Newborn porn, guys. Fucking newborn porn. *Shudders*

2. Nightmare on Elm Street. Seriously, I was scared to go to sleep for weeks. And the remake really topped it, IMHO, mostly via Jackie Earle Haley as Freddy. He's a messed-up motherfucker, and that definitely made the film worth it. (And contrary to popular opinion, I actually didn't mind Rooney Mara as Nancy)

3. Serenity. Okay, okay, fine, it wasn't a horror movie -- and generally it was pretty fun and awesome and shiny. :3 -- but the bit with the Reavers just scared the crud out of me. More specifically, the scene where the scientist was overpowered by the Reavers (sadly can't find it anywhere on Youtube, which sucks. :( ).

Honorable mentions go to Open Water (thanks, jerks. /sarcasm) and Saw.








5.) What are the top 3 scariest books that you have ever read?

1. The Goosebumps books. At least, when I was a kid, they scared the living shit out of me. It was mostly at The Girl Who Cried Monster that I basically decided, "You know, fuck it, I quit." (Especially the twist ending)

2. Anything by Stephen King, period.

3. Bruce Coville's Book of Nightmares, Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark (especially the illustrated ones), etc.

At least those are the ones I can think of off the top of my head. Honorable mention goes to Dean Koontz.




6.) Out of the following, which one do you think has the highest scare factor: Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolfman, The Mummy or none of them?

Probably Dracula. At least Frankenstein's Monster has a bit of a pity factor to it, as well as the Wolfman. Can't speak for The Mummy -- although even the concept of mummification makes me squeamish, I'll tell you. But Dracula...first time I read the novel "Dracula", it scared the hell out of me. (The original novel, that is) To me, the guy just seemed like a sadistic fuck that loved what he was doing -- he just seemed the most "realistic" out of all of those listed monsters, IMHO. (I could be wrong, though)



7.) Which one of the following acts of Nature scare you the most: Tornados, Hurricanes, Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Lightning Storms, Blizzards...?

Going over options:

-Tornados: The best knowledge I have about them is Twister, and it's probably best to take that movie with a grain of salt, so...yeah. Still, the idea of something as powerful as a tornado does scare me, to say the least.

-Hurricanes: Oh hell yeah.

-Volcanoes: Yep.

-Earthquakes: Pretty much.

-Lightning Storms: I. Hate. Lightning. So much.

-Blizzards: Pretty low on my scare factor, really.

So, basically, Hurricanes, Volcanoes and Lightning Storms scare me most. (With earthquakes as an honorable mention)









8.) Lots Of Gore - or - Subtle, Psychological Scares? Which is the *bigger* scare for you?


Probably the psychological scares. I mean, at least with gore I can avert my eyes/get some brain bleach.


9.) What do you think is the scariest way to die is?

Probably burning alive. Also, if any of you have ever seen Red Asphalt (which they may show you in Driver's Ed class -- I know I watched it in Driver's Ed; it was kind of the film where two girls in my class were allowed to leave the room)...yeah. *Shudders* I think I'm going to be scared of driving at that rate, to say the least. Also, drowning or dying of cancer.



10.) Would you ever spend the entire night - by yourself - in a house that was reported to be "authentically" haunted?

Um, no?



11.) Do you get scared when you visit staged Haunted Houses - that you pay admission for?

Yes, but it's the enjoyable kind of scared. The "Halloweentown" kind of scared.



12.) Do you *enjoy* getting the boo-boo-gee-bees scared out of you?


It's usually a sign of good writing (in horror) if it manages to do so. That and I'm a bit of a masochist. ;-) But otherwise, no.



13.) Which scares you more: a really scary book - or - a really scary movie?

Eh, it's a tie. Probably a scary movie, if only because, to quote Matthew Stover's ROTS, "Knowing is one thing, seeing is another." But on the other hand, probably a book, just because the pictures your mind can conjure up can sometimes be scarier than what's on the silver screen. I've found that movies scare me more, though.


14.) Does the thought of aliens scare you? Have you ever had a close encounter?


No, I've never really had an encounter with aliens. But they do scare me a little. (It's a mild scare, though. :)


15.) Are you afraid of bugs? If so, what is the bug that absolutely creeps you out the most?

I'm not really scared of bugs. Except maybe maggots -- baby flies:



*Whimpers and curls in a ball*


16.) If you had a choice, and you HAD to pick one of the following; would you rather be: a.) Eaten alive, b.) Burned alive or c.) Buried alive?

Do I really have to pick? :P Okay...let's go over the options:

(a) Eaten alive -- Um, fuck no. I'm already squeamish over that scene in The Dream Child (as well as the Armin Meiwes case, which I wouldn't have known about if not for ontd_creepy -- trigger warning for discussions of cannibalism, etc. I guess at the very least it was consensual, but still, holy fuck! 0.0), and besides, I'd prefer not to be eaten alive and screaming, thanks.

(b) Burned alive -- Again, fuck no. Even thinking about that just scares the living shit out of me -- dying of smoke inhalation, for example, or...well, something along the lines of Anakin being left for dead on Mustafar (seriously, I love you, Obi-Wan, but that was just awful. 0.0), Freddy burning to death in NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, etc. Yeah...scared of fire. So that would definitely be two steps below being eaten alive.

(c) Buried alive -- I'd probably go with that option. At least I'd be able to bust my way out later.


17.) What is the grossest, scariest thing you have ever eaten (or drank)?

Can't say I can think of any off the top of my head, but I know that I used to be grossed out that I ate scallops as a child. Freaking scallops. And of course, I used to hate spaghetti because I thought it looked too much like intestines -- I got over it though. XD And I remember being up on ontd_creepy early this morning because I couldn't sleep (like I said, masochist. XD) and after reading more about the Armin Meiwes case (masochist, again) I nearly couldn't eat chocolate muffins because -- and I'm going to have to warn everyone to brace themselves here -- I still remember one part in the article that Squicked me most: when the, um, participant along with Armin Meiwes participated in the act of cutting off his penis and trying to cook it and eat it. *Whimpers* (Seriously, I'm a girl and I actually had a Sharing the Male Pain moment there. But then again, considering I had a similar reaction on hearing about a woman who actually had a knife up her vagina -- please don't ask me how that works, please? -- maybe I'm just squeamish about bad things happening to the genital regions in general. And then we're back at the "the human body doesn't work that way" part)

So yeah, other than the occasional "ew gross" and "put off my food because of something I witnessed", I can't say anything out of the ordinary. (Although I'll tell you I stopped reading Goosebumps after that one book where the librarian turned into a cricket-eating Eldritch Abomination. Yeah, I'm a squeamish kid. XD)


18.) Have you ever visited a graveyard at night? And if so, have you ever laid down upon one of the graves?


Mmmm...I think I may have gone to some graveyards on class trips. I've never really laid down on one of the graves though -- I doubt I could ever really do it anyways considering if I did, my ass would be grass.



19.) Do Ouija boards scare you?

Not really.


20.) Abandoned Haunted House - or - Abandoned Insane Asylum... which one is scarier?

Probably an abandoned insane asylum. Then again, asylums in general just freak me out (even if they may be a little...kinder today?).




21.) Do you enjoy scaring others?

(Haven't really done so yet)

Eh...it depends. Harmless pranks, yes. Managing to scare people through my writing -- maybe. I never want to cross the line, though -- you know, traumatizing people. I think my comfort zone would probably be the "Halloweentown" to "Stephen King" range -- leaning more towards the Halloweentown range, of course.



22.) What is the best scary prank you have pulled on someone?

Sadly haven't done so yet. #Is very, very quiet. But I could try some, if I could. :)



23.) Have you ever seen an actual dead body; firsthand - and not including at funerals?

Other than the occasional roadkill -- I know I once saw a dead cat lying on the road -- no, but it's still pretty traumatizing.



24.) Is there any music that creeps you out? If so, what is it?

Oh boy...

Some of Evanescence's music is pretty scary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kySDbZJjQAE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clxHke47UQY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mauH_uQZRY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kXM6OxEVVY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_xc5ljCr_I&feature=related


Along with, well, basically everything by Marilyn Manson? Stalker songs as well ("Every Breath You Take", for example), as well as Korn, "#1 Crush" by Garbage, "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm of The War Drums" by A Perfect Circle, Why So Serious from The Dark Knight (ugh, just that sound...), the theme for NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (the original -- I was really disappointed they didn't have it in the remake. I mean, Steve Jablonsky's a genius, but the original Elm Street theme -- hell on fucking wheels, man), the Halloween theme, the theme for Saw (or Hello Zepp, if you want to get technical), Hellfire from Hunchback of Notre Dame (it's the lyrical content, man) ,
Bells of Notre Dame (because Claude Frollo is a sick sonuvabitch, but we knew that already), and some songs by Disturbed, most notably "Inside the Fire" (trigger warnings for discussion of suicide).





25.) Is there any piece of art that creeps you out? If so, what is it?

Off the top of my head, probably this:





26.) What creature do you think is the scariest of all? (No make-believe creatures please).

Probably sharks. (Blame Jaws for that one. XD) In all seriousness though, I think it's the whole idea they don't really mean any harm that somehow makes them scarier -- well, they usually don't mean any harm. Their vision is extremely poor, so from their point of view, a human in a wet suit or a human on a surfboard looks like a seal or a turtle, and the smell of blood...yeah. Though I'm sure there are exceptions, usually they chomp on a human Mistaken for Prey, then realize, "Whoops, my mistake" and swim off. I guess it just makes me more antsy than anything else -- at least, afraid to go surfing (though I have boogeyboarded a few times). I definitely don't want to get in the crossfire of the whole people = seals/turtles thing. #Possibly being irrational.


27.) Do you think that you could ever stand by and watch a mortician prepare a body for burial without getting scared, creeped out or physically sick?

I think I have a pretty strong stomach, so...maybe?


28.) Do you have many nightmares? If so, what would you say is your worst one?

Oh, hells yeah. I think some of my worst nightmares were ones about trying to escape a tsunami -- I remember one particular moment where I woke up from one of said recurring dreams, tried to forget it, logged onto my Verizon account per usual, and there was the newsstory about the tsunami hitting Chile. Another nightmare I had was about investigating Freddy Krueger's house a la the ELM STREET remake, and running across a man in a mask made of tinfoil trying to kill me -- I think the worst part was actually fighting off the guy on top of a high school at prom and nearly falling -- I woke up with my heart pounding. I had to watch MONSTERS INC to calm myself down.


29.) Do dolls, puppets or clowns scare you?

No, not really. (Well, other than the living killer dolls/puppets, that is. Night of the Living Dummy, for instance) As for clowns, no -- except maybe Pennywise The Dancing Clown from It (although the Nostalgia Critic's review of the TV miniseries was pretty good Nightmare Retardant).



30.) And finally.... what is the best scary story of something that has happened to you?

The one I most remember is trying to brave the ocean waves to rescue my brother's paper cup when I was a kid -- if it weren't for the adults there, I would have been washed out to sea for sure. It probably doesn't compare to say, other scary stories I've heard about, but it was a close call for sure. Similarly, trying to brave a street at what was all but rush hour in order to get to my job back when I was in eleventh grade just because the guy who was supposed to take me there wasn't there at the moment. Just because I kept thinking, "Oh shit, I'm going to die, am I going the right way", things like that. Let's say I'm a pretty boring person when you get down to it (and a tad masochistic to boot. XD).