15 years later, I'm *still* wondering what I did to make my (at the time) ride-or-die BFF utterly ghost me. We went from seeing each other multiple times a week, sharing meals and watching movies and texts, to absolute crickets. The ache never really goes away. All my love, sweetie. ❤️‍🩹

2026 just keeps taking

...(O'Rourke from septic shock; Dunne by murder at the hands of an abusive ex), and the rumors of actual corpses being used in the production, to add an extra layer of tragedy and spookiness to everything. /4 of 4

And, of course, there's the legend of this film literally being cursed, with stars Heather O'Rourke (the cherubic Carol Anne) and Dominique Dunne (Dana) both dying young/not long after the film's release... /3 of 4

JoBeth Williams is one of horror's greatest, most devoted mothers, and Zelda Rubinstein steals the show as iconic psychic Tangina Barrons. The practical effects, including a rotating room as Diane is dragged along the walls, are superb, and the ghostly/demonic visuals are a lot of fun. /2 of 4

11. Poltergeist (1982). Little Carol Anne starts talking to "the TV People" -- then disappears through a portal in her closet. Her parents will do anything to get her back. Is this the scariest PG-rated movie ever? Imo, YES (the guy ripping his face off in the bathroom gets me every time). /1 of 4

men need to start wearing crop tops and slutty lil shorts again WE USED TO BE A SOCIETY

I’ve been out of the loop a little, and was wondering why my New England 83 year old normielib mom had gone hard for Ossoff. Now I get it. The moms want blood.

You truly could not go wrong with Carpenter in this era; great OST, great cast (and I find it hilarious that Jamie Lee and her mum don't share a scene until the climax), and GREAT atmosphere. Plus, Adrienne Barbeau's whiskey voice, mmmmmh. /2 of 2

10. The Fog (1980). Antonio Bay is celebrating its centennial -- and the leprous ghosts of the town's past have returned for vengeance. God, I love this movie. Totally one of my comfort watches/practically have it memorized at this point. /1 of 2

AMAZE

...But, me being me, I spend the movie thinking, "What cute lil Avondales! What a GORGEOUS Goliath bird eater!" Goodman's colorful exterminator Delbert is a highlight, and seeing Julian Sands is so bittersweet these days (RIP, sweetie; gone far too soon). /2 of 2

9. Arachnaphobia (1990). An extremely venomous Venezulan spider is unwittingly shipped to a small Californian town, where its offspring wreak havoc. The idea of something so tiny being so dangerous -- you don't even see it til it bites you! and, BAM, DEAD -- *is* terrifying... /1 of 2

nobody finishes a book and concludes “that was great; now I shall never read another one.” other writers are your teammates and coworkers, not your competition.

rip to one of the coolest software engineers who ever lived

Moth 🔦 first picture in my October series!

Love the asylum atmosphere, spooky visuals, and the appearances of Jeffrey Combs as the spectral surgeon Dr. Vannacutt -- and I'll always have a nostalgic soft spot for this, since I first saw it on VHS at a house party/sleepover (we were all thoroughly terrified). /3 of 3

Geoffrey Rush is playing a delightful amalgam of Vincent Price/John Waters and Famke Janssen is cyanide sweet and scalpel sharp as his vicious wife. /2 of 3