Macabre

Nasty, infectious diseases fascinate me. I have always loved books about bubonic plague, smallpox outbreaks, Ebola…you name it. It doesn’t really surprise me if I stop to think about it. As a young kid I loved horror movies; the slashier and bloodier, the better.

I would go to my dad’s every other weekend after my parents got divorced, and I got to sleep in my teenage sister’s room. She had a TV and my dad had cable. You see where this is going?

My sister was always out and about with friends, so I had control of the TV in her room. And on pay cable channels, there was always a horror movie on. This was the late 1980’s after all. The horror movies back then were cheesy by today’s standards. But they were so much better. Today, horror movies are out for the shock value. So the 80’s movies are just classic, with just the right amount of blood and gore, and a little bit of story line. The Friday the 13th and Freddy movies were among my favorites, and anything by Stephen King.

But let’s not forget the scary movies. The Amityville Horror. The Thing. Tales From the Crypt. Night of the Living Dead. Poltergeist. The list could go on and on. I couldn’t get enough of these movies. And I remember my dad saying he was worried about how much I liked these movies! Oh, Dad.

Nowadays, I think my love of gory horror has manifested itself into my fascination with scary infectious diseases. I mean, your insides liquefying is about as scary as you can get, am I right? I still like a good scary movie, but they just don’t make ’em like they used to.