Does horror actually scare you?
 

I enjoy reading horror and watching some horror films or TV shows, but most of it doesn't actually scare me. Watching some films alone in the dark can be quite creepy though.

In general I prefer atmospheric horror and don't mind gore unless it's done just for the sake of it. The horror I dislike is things like Saw or Hostel where it's just finding clever ways to kill or maim people - as a a novice horror writer that strikes me as lazy, along with slasher films.

A few of the films that give me the creeps in the right viewing conditions are Paranormal Activity (particularly 1 & 3), Rec, The Borderlands and The Ritual. I quite like some of the old B&W films such as Night of the Demon and The Haunting.

I think people that are actually scared by horror films are ones that dont watch them. Thats been my experience. I dont get scared by many but i still love watching them. Agree about the Saw and Hostel type movies. Not my thing. Do love the old-school slashers though.

There have certainly been long periods where no horror film scared me. It's subjective, and also 'set and setting'.

I think it's more about a complete story and film, were it's horror as a complete work that actually accomplishes scary at times. Suspense and horror isn't the same thing, but I prefer when they work together, they tend to produce scary moments.

Recent ones that I actually thought had some scary moments were Vacancy, Dead Silence and The Conjuring.

I like watching and reading horror but I can't see how anyone can be scared by it. You know it's a film, nothing is going to jump out of a screen and get you and nothing is going to happen just because you are watching/reading horror.

I still think many are watching horror wrong. Always watch it at night. Maybe after 10 or 11. Try to get a good surround sound setup. And if you are older have a few drinks. I posted about this before but you want to lower your rationality.

Yes if you are watching Alien for the 100th time you might say it's not scary. But if you are watching Alien and thinking what if the Alien was outside after watching the movie and having a few drinks. If you think what if the facehugger is in the room with you after hearing a strange sound in the middle of the night. That's when it works. That's how it worked when I saw Nightmare on Elm Street at home, on late night TV when I was young. And that's how it worked when I saw Sinister a few years ago and didn't want to look out the window.

you shouldn't have been having so many drinks when you were young!

No drinks when I was young. Didn't drink till 21 here in the States. I can't remember exactly what age I watched Nightmare on Elm Street. But it was young enough that I asked myself why did I watch that. Because I was scared afterwards. I didn't want to go to sleep. That's the effect of a good horror movie on a young kid. Of course provided that they like movies.

Yeah, I was just kidding ::big grin:: So true. My folks actually took me to see Jaws when I was 6... I was afraid to let my legs dangle off my bed that night. And I saw the Exorcist on TV a little order than that, which made for a heightened evening.

I think that I'm more scared of unexpected moments

The TV scene in THE RING startled me