One of the things we thought would be fun to do for this blog was themed movie nights. We recently did a retro movie night, but on Halloween we took the leap for the first time in our three years of marriage and watched a scary movie together. I survived without any claw marks in my arms, and Susan survived without succumbing to heart failure.

SHE SAID:

I try to avoid watching scary movies like I avoid the H1N1 virus. Most people can sit down in a dark room for hours and watch axe murderers, exorcists and aliens unleash their rage and walk away unscathed. Not I. As soon as the movie ends I feel like a murderer is hiding in the shadows, or worse, under my bed! I avoid mirrors for weeks. Even previews at the movie theatres can give me nightmares. I blame it on watching Rescue 911 and Unsolved Mysteries at too young an age.

It goes without saying that when Brad suggested “scary movie night” this past Halloween I was hesitant, to say the least. However, I hadn’t watched any scary movies since “The Happening” (I know, not technically a scary movie…) so I thought I’d give it another go. Our friend picked “The Others” for us to watch, starring Nicole Kidman.

As soon as the movie started with an unexpected blood-curdling scream I wanted to turn it off. I fought through it, though, despite the eerie music, horrifying camera angles and downright creepiness.

Once the movie was over, something miraculous happened. I didn’t sense any doom, I wasn’t afraid to look in a mirror (for too long), and I wasn’t crying like a fool! I believe this is due to several factors that might help you along, should you somehow have the same irrational fears as me:

• We watched with friends after much lighthearted conversation.
• No one snuck up behind me or latched on to my neck in an attempt to scare me.
• No one quoted any creepy lines from the movie – THIS ONE IS KEY.
• We continued with lighthearted conversation after it ended.
• Brad let me squeeze his hand as much as I wanted.
• I had comfort food.

As much as I can’t stand the thought of a scary movie, once in a while it is fun to scare yourself. It may even be healthy to get the ole’ heart a pumpin’. If nothing else, it definitely brought us closer together.

HE SAID:

Of all the themed movie night ideas, I never thought Susan would agree to do Scary Movie Night. I’m not the biggest fan of scary movies, but every now and then I get the urge to watch something creepy. For the last three years it hasn’t even been an option for us to watch a scary movie together.

The movie we chose would likely not be considered scary by most people’s standards. But you have to understand that we had to take it easy since I’m not really interested in becoming a widower. “The Others” was more of a loud noises and creepy children type of movie rather than the kind of movie that keeps you up at night from fear of being murdered by a strange creature of the night.

Now, I’m not going to lie. It was very tempting for me to do something to add to the scariness of the night for Susan. I could have left the room and then crept up behind her and scared her, or in the middle of an especially tense scene suddenly screamed “BOO!”. However, I value my marriage. I also value sleeping in a bed, not on a couch (although I’ve never been kicked to the couch). Both of those things combined are far more important to me than the fun of scaring her.

I tried taking videos of Susan clutching the arm of the couch and covering her eyes, but it was too dark in the room so it didn’t turn out. Here’s a picture of her first time driving across the Confederation Bridge to show you what she might have looked like had the pictures turned out. Regardless, I really enjoyed scary movie night. It’ll probably be a while before we indulge in such things again, but I’m glad she got over her fears even just once. In the end it’s just more proof that it doesn’t really matter what you’re doing, as long as you’re enjoying time with another person.

If you have a favorite scary movie we would love to hear about it. Maybe you have a fun story about watching one with someone. Let us know in the comments.