So here's how it works in Budd's own words:
"The purpose of the Scare Me Blogfest is to write about the scariest book that you have read, Movie you have watched, Ghosts you have encountered, and/or to share your own scary story. Just sign up on the Linky below and post your entry on Halloween. A panel that includes me, myself, and I will argue and fight to decide which entry was the best and that entry will get an award. Who knows, I may make several."
I've chosen to write about three of the scariest things I've ever seen on screen in the order I saw them. All three are British, although that wasn't deliberate.
Doctor Who: The Curse Of Fenric
This four-part 1989 Doctor Who story sees Sylvester McCoy's Doctor visit a Top Secret naval base during World War II. It borrows heavily from Norse mythology and combines it with a healthy dose of vampires to make an excellent and uneasy tale. The script, performances, monsters, location, effects and even the weather all work together to make a brilliant story.
Why is it scary?: The Haemovores are vampires in all but name and have a look that would put you off your lunch, but the scariest thing about The Curse Of Fenric for me is how it deals with ideas of faith. Vampires in many stories are repelled by crucifixes. Haemovores take that idea to its logical conclusion and are repelled not by the crucifix, but by the faith of the person holding it. If you have an absolute faith in anything then you are safe. At the tender age of eight I sat down on four successive Wednesdays to be scared out of my wits by the simple idea that my own doubt could kill me.
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The Wicker Man
This 1973 film set in the Scottish Islands follows a policeman searching for a missing girl in a convoluted conspiracy and ritual sacrifice. The Wicker Man features Christopher Lee in drag, Britt Ekland's body double's buttocks and a truly excellent performance from Edward Woodward.
Why is it scary?: We come back to faith again and by extension certainty without the need for proof. All the characters in The Wicker Man are certain that their own beliefs are correct even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The merry dance that the islanders lead the policeman on is all the more scary second time around. The climactic scene is terrifying and shocking. I haven't seen the remake, but the fact that someone could watch this and think they could improve on it is truly horrifying.
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Threads
Asking what might happen if they dropped an atom bomb on Sheffield, this 1984 TV Movie is an unflinching look at a Nuclear holocaust. I was recently reminded about the severity of Threads and have ben unable to get it out of my head.
Why is it scary?: It's an unflinching look at a Nuclear holocaust. How could it not be scary? If the other two stories here examine ideas of faith, then Threads brings us full circle, but it's more like abandon hope all ye who enter. The documentary style and unrelenting plausibility of it all wears away your expectations and rather than rooting for the survivors you begin to see them as the real victims. This film is harrowing in the extreme.
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What scared you?