Wednesday, October 31, 2018

When a Stranger Calls - Scary Halloween

Many of you remember this movie - the original one in 1979 that scared the pants off of me as a young woman who still did a lot of babysitting during that time. The trailer above is from the remake

I preferred the original to the remake, but then again, I loved the original "The Fog" and hated the remake which should have titled "Gucci models are menaced by a walking piece of bad Tilipia". But in a nutshell - cute teen babysitter sitting in a swanky house, the kids asleep upstairs (because we know all kids are instantly asleep at 7 PM when Mom and Dad leave for cocktails) gets more and more menacing phone calls, finally calling the police (who trace the call in like 60 seconds using "Criminal Minds" technology )who inform her where the calls are originating from.

 "It's coming from inside the house!"  GASP!
My husband was recently on the road for aweek. I never advertise that he is gone, until he's back, but the house was too quiet with him away and I made sure the extra bolts we have on all outside doors were secure and  the bolts that keep someone from coming up from the basement, should they come in through the basement windows, were latched into the floor joist and the door frame.  It's a quiet neighborhood but it IS a very large city, so I keep our Bungalow secure, my big black 4 x 4 truck left out of the garage in the drive so it's obvious some cranky redneck is home (that would be me).
Stuffies - inexpensive burglar tripping tools

Before my husband left on his business trip, he took Abby on a walk and came back with a funny story. Apparently, as they rounded a corner, there, by someone's trash was an old baby seat, which was being thrown out. Abby laid her ears back, frightened and suddenly tried to get to the other side of the street.  It was the baby chair that frightened her.  He could NOT get her to walk down the sidewalk past it.  We are not sure if in the gloom it looked like a predatory animal or she had a bad experience with one in her past, but she was NOT getting near it.

When we took a walk the next day, it was gone but Abby was still skittish around that spot.
The other evening, after my husband called from his hotel, I watched the 2006 remake of When a Stranger Calls. I probably shouldn't do that when I'm alone, because then I'll then jump at every little noise and have every light on in the house, even though our house is pretty boogyman proof (and I have a large caliber service weapon that works much better than a slingshot and an angry hamster).

But what if the phone rings.

Ring Ring.

Heavy Breathing.

"Abby Lab - Run -   It's Coming From  Inside the House!!!"

15 comments:

  1. Abby you crack me up. One time years ago I bought home new rug to put in front of the sink. It had a goose on it...the old one was just beige. When Angel Milky-way saw it he was totally freaked out. Literally belly crawled toward after a few days he was sitting on the goose. When a Strange calls sounds dang scary. Play Misty for me, was another one that gave me the creeps.
    Hugs Cecilia

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  2. BOL!!! Watch out Abby!!

    I was also a young woman who did a bumch of babysitting...and I STILL have bad dreams about "When A Stranger Calls"!

    Happy Halloween!
    xoxo,
    Rosy Jakey & Arty(and Mama B)

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    1. .50 cents an hour back in the day, and I felt lucky to make it so I didn't have to work at McDonalds.

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  3. Hari Om
    LOL, well, I for one wish you a fun and peaceful Spooky Night!!! YAM xx

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    1. We had fun night - a lot of kids - husband cooked dinner and I think we killed a bottle of Pinot Noir.

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  4. Oooh, that baby seat DOES look pretty suspicious, Abby! Momma's real careful about security stuff too, since it's just us at home. She just got a new toy that lets her check on her phone if the front door is locked or not, so she can check when she wakes up worried at night without getting out of bed.

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    1. That's a good idea. When there have been garage or car break ins in the neighborhood Mom just pins up her bad guy targets from the LEO range in the window by the back door with a note "if you are wider than this 2 inch grouping of .45 acp pick another house!" - Abby Lab
      Abby Lab

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  5. BOL! I can't watch anything scary. I would never sleep again.

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  6. Mom doesn't like being home alone when Dad is away, but we do our best to protect her:) Too bad she won't let us sleep in her bed - then she would really be safe!!!

    Happy Howl-o-ween!!!

    Woos - Lightning, Misty, and Timber

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    1. Abby has only gotten up on the bed a couple times when we first got her. She's welcome but I think she was scolded too much in her earlier home to feel comfortable.

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  7. Oh dear Abby - u gotta werk x-tra hard sumtimez to keep u an'your mom safe, doncha? A few dayz ago our mom found out there had bin a shootin'just less than 2 blockz frum our house - now she wantz to win a lotta green paperz so we can move. You did a good job Abby protectin'your dad frum that old baby seat - just never know what else mite b hidin'with it.
    Lady Shasta'n Miss Maizie

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  8. OMD you are brave watching dat alone!! Mama is too much of a chicken ;) We hope there were no ghosts lingering around dat baby chair.

    xoxo,
    Matt (& Matilda)

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  9. we totally agree for the fog...John carpenter probably would say it with the singer Melanie: what have they done to my film, ma?
    Happy Howloween

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  10. Why do we watch scary movies when we're by ourselves, really? (Well, in my case, because they scare my husband too much to watch them.) At least we have the dog alerts, even if they would run to me for protection. :)

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  11. I'm with Abby...those things creep me out too. 😆

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