Scary Movies: What Happened to the Boogeyman?

When I was 9 years old it was the summer of Jason Voorhees. Friday the 13th Part 5 was released in the theaters and I was too young to go see it. Up until this time my mother had always allowed me to watch horror movies on cable TV (she covered my eyes during the nekkid parts!) and I knew very well who Jason Voorhees was. I remember sitting in the window one day and just feeling sad about not being able to go to the movies. I was a huge fan of scary movies, although none of them had every truly scared me. As a matter of fact, I don't recall having ever been scared by anything up to that point in my life. My mom had already explained to me very carefully that everything was fake. Fake blood, fake monsters, fake knife, etc. I knew everything was fake but I liked watching anyway. Kind of like WWE Wrestling.

Then one day my aunt told me she was going on a date to see Friday the 13th. I started to cry until she promised to sit up with me all night when she got back and tell me all about it over a bowl of popcorn. It seemed like she was gone for 3 days but I'm pretty sure it was more like 3 hours. Later that night we sat on the couch in front of an open window trying to catch any hint of a cool breeze on that hot night. With slow, precise details she recounted every single detail of the movie. I was there. I could see what people were wearing, I could even see the actors' faces. But then she started talking about Jason and something happened to me. Something happened inside me. I felt goosebumps rising on my arms and legs. My heart was beating a little faster. I heard a noise outside the window we were sitting next to and quickly turned my head to see what it was. That was when I realized that the courtyard of my aunt's apartment was totally pitch black at night. As she kept talking and describing how Jason killed his first victim I could not take my eyes off the darkness outside. I was sure that at any moment, Jason would step out of the shadows holding a bloody machete and stare right at me. My imagination was working double overtime. I was scared. For the first time in my life I was truly afraid. I didn't sleep a wink that night. I loved it! I replayed my aunt's version of the movie in my head over and over until morning came.

There have been plenty of scary slasher films made since then. When I was old enough my summers were not complete until I saw at least one horror movie in a theater with popcorn and the whole nine. For the past few years I have noticed a slowing and then a complete absence of new scary movie releases. I feel sorry for teens today because they haven't experienced looking forward to being scared by a boogeyman in a mask. They have not left a theater wondering if they can find their old night light at home. They are truly missing out on a pop culture favorite past-time. The low-budget movies that have been coming out lately aren't worth the money or the time. And please don't get me started on the Rob Zombie remake of 'Halloween'.

Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, Pinhead, Freddy Krueger, The Creeper, Pennywise- where have you all gone? Summer just ain't Summer without you.