For all those out there who are HARDCORE HORROR fans, I’d like to wish you LOTS OF BLOOD, GUTS, AND GHOULS!

More horror to you, and may your horrific sides thrive with ghostly pleasure!

I LOVE horror, and have loved it since I was a little kid.

It was a dark passion that thrived within me since the time I was just a tiny lass with two pigtails!

I’d sit in a dark corner, and read about vampires, werewolves, and Frankenstein. The sheer pleasure I derived from these fictional characters (of course they’re REAL, Shhh…) was incomparable to any other joy.

My parents often worried whether I was being led to the dark side. Little did they know that I was born on the DARK SIDE.

So when other girls my age were fiddling with dolls, and cuddling up to teddy bears, I was wondering whether I’d be lucky enough to see the Loch Ness Monster.

(Don’t you worry Nessie, I’ll drop by soon, Shhh…)

Now horror evokes many emotions and reactions. The first and foremost should be FEAR. What’s the purpose of horror if it doesn’t scare you out of your wits, or at least gives you a few goosebumps.

Horror is actually the fear of the unknown and the unexpected.

Now imagine that you’re watching a zombie movie, and a poor, young woman, who has been hounded by zombies throughout the film, has just been rescued by a group of uninfected humans. As the bus they’re riding in races down the freeway towards the setting sun, you heave a sigh of relief. It’s finally all over, and everyone can take it easy now.

BUT THEN, out of nowhere, a stowaway zombie is seen lowering himself into the bus through one of the open windows. Thus, the movie ends in a chorus of savage screams erupting from the inside of the speeding bus.

NOT ONLY was this ending UNEXPECTED, but it was also completely UNKNOWN.

These two elements are essential for eye-popping and hair-raising HORROR.

But what if I told you that horror can also make you cry.

No, I’m not talking about crying for mercy, or crying for the blood and gore to stop.

I’m talking about REAL crying, the kind of crying that makes your throat feel lumpy, and makes your eyes water like a garden hose, the SAD kind of crying.

HEY!! Don’t turn your back on me! Are you ashamed of me?!

Who said horror can’t make a person teary eyed?

What DID you say?! NO!! I’m not a crybaby!!

Banishing horror to the barren wastelands of mindless drama is totally UNFAIR. Horror is much more than just screams, blood, and mindless killing. It’s about emotional turmoil. Horror is about twisting a person’s psyche, and making him vulnerable to exaggerated frights and scares.

So once a person is vulnerable, his entire emotional setup is also prone to being manipulated. It’s this manipulation that not only sets a person’s pulse racing, but also makes him question his own rationality.

After watching a freaky horror movie, how many of you have double-checked beneath your bed, or made sure that there’s nothing hiding behind the shower curtain?

That’s exactly what horror is capable of doing.

It screws up a person’s reasoning and logic, and makes him vulnerable to unfounded fears and doubts. The rhyme and reasons of even the most basic things go to hell, and all that’s left is emotional havoc.

Horror movies have made me CRY, and these are the 5 reasons WHY.

1. Identifying with a character’s grief

No horror movie or story has been complete without a loved one’s death. It’s either at the hands of a demonic monster, or due to the influence of dark paranormal powers. Death is death, and it evokes strong emotional upheaval.

2. Feeling the frustration of an intense situation

Horror movies have been conceived upon the base of frustration. It’s frustrating to have to save oneself from death again and again, scene after scene. Sometimes the pressure is so intense, that it carries over on to the mind of the viewer, and makes him buckle mentally.

3. The needless blame game

Have you ever noticed that when it comes to horror, there’s always someone being blamed or chastised for the bad and unexplainable things taking place. It’s like every horror movie needs a scapegoat that can get kicked, punched, and slapped before eventually being sacrificed in the name of gruesome horror.

If this sad scenario doesn’t bring tears to your eyes then what will?

4. The dead kid or dog

No horror story is complete without a dead child or a dead pet dog. Is the loss of innocent lives the high point of all horror plots? Are people more prone to feeling the pain of the loss of a small child? Do dead children and dogs increase the spook factor of a horror story?

There has to be some logic to this, but the resultant dull ache in the heart could yank out a few tears.

5. A killing frenzy that went wrong

Many characters in horror movies have been shown to reach the brink of desperation. They’ve been subjected to so much gore and mayhem that their minds seem to stop processing the right thoughts. So when lost, and completely out of their minds, they sadly end up killing the wrong people.

And it’s this pain and guilt that consumes them, and also the unassuming viewer digging into his caramel popcorn. (Who likes caramel popcorn?! Uhh!)

So horror is much more than just thrills and chills.

It’s the revelation of deeply buried feelings that can only be resurrected through the shameless SCARE and DARE theory.

Tears keep you human, and that’s what you need to connect with when you’re watching horror.

Who knows when a HORROR Movie or Story may cast its spell upon you, and threaten to uncover your exceptionally dark and not so human side.

Don’t allow yourself to be swallowed by this enormous black hole.

Just pull out the tissue box, and let the priceless tears roll.