Do you ever get so scared you start laughing? As outlandish as that experience might sound, it’s one I found myself familiar with this month. I recently went to the movies with some friends to see Nosferatu. We had all been eager to see it, even me, although I wouldn’t consider myself a horror buff in the slightest. The term scaredy-cat would suit me much better.Â
Still, any time with my friends is always a good time, and after recently reading the book Dracula by Bram Stoker for a class last semester, vampires were certainly on my mind. So, I put on my bravest face, and warned my friends not to judge me too harshly if I started yelling during the movie.Â
To my surprise, while watching Nosferatu, there was far more laughing than yelling and screaming in fear. Don’t get me wrong—the jumpscares got to me, and there were times when I put my eyes in my jacket to avoid getting even more frightened, to no avail.
Our situation was arguably ridiculous. We had chosen a theater with unique seating, ranging from couches and recliners to regular chairs. Since we arrived late, we scrambled for the regular chairs. As we all curled up within ourselves in attempts to shield ourselves from the jump scares, our seating arrangement felt more like a curse than a comfort. However, as I curled up on the stiffest chair in the world, clutching my friend’s clammy hand at the sight of something haunting on screen, I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.Â
There we were, crammed onto stiff chairs, scared out of our minds at a movie we had all willingly chosen to see. It was all just so funny to me. Just when my laughter died down, another jump scare would hit, making me freeze—only for the cycle to repeat when I laughed at my own reaction.
Soon the laughter became infectious. My friends started laughing too, and we began whispering jokes to one another. Whether it was a line we thought was delivered in a funny way, our scared reactions, or something absolutely absurd happening on screen, we traded quips and jabs throughout the entire film.
I left the movie theater thoroughly scared, my eyebrows aching from how much I had furrowed them in fear, but wholly satisfied. Some of my favorite movie experiences have always been with others, whether it’s my family or my friends and Nosferatu was no exception to this. Despite the fact that I got so scared that at one point I teared up, the laughs, the jokes, and the company made the movie even better than I had imagined. Plus, we had slushies the entire time. While they weren’t always the most successful at calming our racing hearts, they were definitely tasty.
If anything, my experience watching Nosferatu taught me that everything becomes a little less scary when you’re not alone. That being said, I think I’ve reached my horror movie fill for the next couple of months. No matter how many laughs they bring, I remain a scaredy cat through and through.Â