Poltergeist

Last night I watched the movie Poltergeist for the first time. Okay, so let’s back it up, there’s an event once a month in Philly called Science on Tap. It’s pretty cool! In pre-Covid times, it meant that you went to a bar and listened to someone talk about something science related. One of my favorite parts about it was that the speakers were passionate about whatever they were talking about — whether it was the mating rituals of birds or how pizza is affecting infant mortality in Peru — and I love listening to people talk about what they are passionate about.

Anyway due to Covid restrictions, Science on Tap has had to pivot like many other non-profit organizations. So last night their monthly event was to watch Poltergeist through Netflix watch party while having someone participate in the chat from the Mutter Museum.

So this seemed like right up my nerd alley. Watch a movie and hear about excavation of bodies — pretty cool, right? I had also never seen Poltergeist so double win. There was one tiny problem though…

I’m scared of horror movies.

I thought, “hey I’m in the mid-thirties, this won’t scare me. For crying out loud, it’s only rated PG.” Flash forward to the first QUARTER of the movie and I’m sitting on my couch with a pillow clenched in my arms and trying to stop legs from nervous shaking.

Does anyone else does this? Watch stuff that used to terrify them in the hope that it doesn’t terrify them now? I’m not sure why I thought it would be any different. That suddenly I would be…