In the spirit of Halloween, I'm listing here my top five scariest movies -- those that I actually only watched once, with all the house lights on, with my eyes half-open, and the sound muted in some scenes (or my hands cupped in my ears) to defer ala'Jaws tada-tada-tada scary music.

The Ring

All I remember about this movie is a girl who fell in a deep well (or she was pushed, I don't want to know) and begun haunting people. I lovingly hated The Ring movie because it scared the wits out of me especially the background music, the unexpected unfolding of the story, and the disturbing black and white grainy images between the scenes. Directed by Gore Verbinski in 2002, the movie was a remake of a 1998 Japanese horror film

The Blairwitch Project

This 1999 movie scared me big time and I really connected with all the characters maybe because of the way the movie was made (a homemade, amateurish, true-to-life video of real-life people who ended up lost in the woods). Up to now, I still think Blairwitch was true (although it really wasn't). After this movie, I never ventured the woods of our subdivision alone.

Feng Shui

This is the first movie where I regarded Kris Aquino as 'nakakaarte pala'. I was impressed by her acting and more impressed by the storyline about a young working mother who found a bagua which brought her luck and curses. I especially liked the twisted ending of the movie. I thought the family died in the accident but I was happy to find out they weren't. And then surprised to find out that what Kris saw were ghosts. Grrrr... Directed by Chito Roño in 2004.

Paruparong Itim

I was too young to remember the storyline of this movie but what I do remember is that it scared me big time. The 1973 movie, based on my google research, was a dark adaptation of "The Miracle Worker", directed by George Rowe and starred Boots Anson-Roa, Vic Silayan and Nora Aunor. Paruparong Itim was regarded a groundbreaking film in the early 70's. I must have seen the movie when I was around eight or nine and one scene I keep recalling is a dinner on a long table where all the characters are seated and in comes a black butterfly. From then on, I've regarded all of Vic Silayan's movies as dark and scary ("Kisapmata" for example).

Itim

1976 movie by Philippine National Artist Mike De Leon starring Tommy Abuel and Charo Santos. It tells of a young Teresa who begun to have visions about her dead sister. Francis Cruz offered a good review of the movie. What I remembered the most about Itim are the haunting locations (old house, old clinic, old church), the Lenten atmosphere as the movie's backdrop and Charo Santos' naiveté character. After watching this movie, I begun associating all of Mona Lisa's movies as mysteriously twisted and dark ("Insiang" for example).

I had nightmares out of these and their effects on me lasted for days. In Feng Shui, for example, because I am an Aquarian and don't know how to swim (isn't this embarrasing?!), I shunned from swimming pools and beaches for one year.

What do I keep watching scary movies then?

Says Erin Richards in her article Goosebumps: The Physiology and Psychology of Fear: