It’d be worrying to think that your only knowledge of the horror genre stops at the slasher movie, the documentary style ghost story and zombie action films. I’m not saying that each of these areas of horror don’t have their own merits, but there’s so much else out there!

I remember, as a child, stealing the chance to try and watch horror movies with my brother. We had a small, portable black and white TV (which weighed more than your average flatscreen), and we would stare into this flickering blue glow, daring it to frighten us.

These were the days when you could watch some truly classic horror movies, which would appear on BBC2. There was something really magical about this, about seeing these tales unfold from long ago. My brother in particular was a fan of werewolves, so every werewolf movie on TV we would have to watch. For me, they were the most terrifying of the monsters, but I would have to keep viewing.

I remember with complete crystal clarity the night that we first watched Curse of the Werewolf starring Oliver Reed. The mad eyes darting back and forth was already enough to set my heart racing. I’m not sure I was more than 11 years old. And still I kept watching.

There really is something about these old horror movies. It’s the storytelling, the atmosphere and often the unsettling way they are shot that gives them the intrigue. And while many of these films are floating around on DVD, I often wondered how they would be on the big screen. It’s almost as if these movies are as ancient and long gone as the evils they explore.

Fortunately, that’s not the case. There are many events and festivals that celebrate the classic horror genre. Some of these events include the Frighten Brighton Classic Horror Film Festival, which shows many classic horror movies of past eras.

On August 11th, from 12pm, the next festival of films is under the heading Horror By The Sea, and features such notable films as:

Mad Love

Cat People

Them! (a personal favourite – “Shoot the antenna!”)

Plague of the Zombies

Phantasm

You can order tickets for these horror movie screenings right now.