LJ Idol Week #23c - "The Golden Ticket"

[prog_schlock]

This is my third (of three) entries for Week #23 of therealljidol.

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The Suspense Is Terrible - I Hope It Lasts

The original Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released in 1971. It started a kind family tradition that I don't know that I've ever fully from. Specifically, it started a tradition of my mother showing me films and shows that freaked

Comments

[lrig_rorrim]

It's funny - movies and television never had such an impact on me. I could (and did) blithely watch horror movies from an early age. I still remember going to see Jaws at a drive-in with my babysitter's family when I was maybe three or four. I loved it, though the other kids screamed and hid (the babysitter smuggled us in, in the trunk of her car. Four kids squished in there, as she paid for herself and her husband and one giant tub of popcorn. We held our breath and tried not to kick each other and give away we were there, secret. The scariest part of that night for me wasn't the huge dismembering shark - it was becoming convinced as we bounced over the gravel driveway, past the ticket booth, that she wasn't going to let us out of the trunk, and I'd be stuck in there for hours with her three kids who hated my guts).

But books got me, and got me good.

I was in third grade when I declared to my dad that I was booooooored and wanted something new to read. He was in bed with a washcloth over his head, suffering from a sinus headache. He waved his hand in what might have been "go away kid" or "please god go away kid" or maybe possibly "choose anything you want off my shelves, dear child, I don't care!". I decided it was the latter and picked up a nice thick paperback. It had a little paper boat on the cover. It was, in fact, Stephen King's It. I got halfway through it that afternoon, and didn't sleep well for the next year. My dad took the book away from me that evening when I literally screamed aloud as something else terrible happened. I'd managed to keep it down to quiet gasps and sobs before then. I was desperate to know what happened next, but unwilling (and unable - the book was hidden away QUITE securely) to dive into any more Stephen King until college. And of course, these days he's one of my favorite writers. It's funny how that works out, isn't it?

[prog_schlock]

In the trunk of a car heading for the drive-in! I experienced that several times as a youth. Man, just being in the trunk is a nightmare. I can't believe I used to do that - closed space AND dark? I'd flip out these days!

My dad let me read Stephen King's "The Stand" when I was a kid and I was absolutely hooked. I think if I hadn't been so into Sci-Fi and Fantasy, I could have very easily fallen down the Stephen King rabbit hole forever. Since he didn't write about elves and lasers and shit, though, I only read his books sporadically. He's terrific, though and I can well imagine who terrified you must have felt reading It when you were a kid (though he should have let you finish it so you knew what happened to Pennywise - that is actually a relief in the end).

Thank you for reading and commenting!