Here are four television spots that freaked my crazy little head out as a child. First up, Nanny and the Professor‘s Juliet Mills in Exorcist rip-off Beyond the Door (1974). I still haven’t seen the film because I was so traumatized. Then, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), for my money, still the most relentless American non-supernatural horror film ever. Third, Larry Coen’s It’s Alive (1974). Man, they don’t make PG movies like that anymore! And then, Phantasm (1979) double-featured with John Carpenter’s underrated The Fog (1980). I so wanted to be that kid from Phantasm when I was ten years old. Still do, I think.
And finally, last but certainly not least, a trip through Disney’s Haunted Mansion. Talk about formative childhood spook experiences.
