Do you think your religion/ religious upbringing influenced which movies you think are scariest?

No, but I wasn't very spiritual as a child. At some point in my childhood, I lumped Christian myth into the same area of my brain that superheroes and slasher villains lived, and I've never been able to view religion as anything more than hyper-fiction. However, the devil scared the fuck out of me, and as such, Hell is a big trigger for me.

Actual Hell, like a real, tangible plane of suffering. That kind of Hell. Event Horizon, The Final Prayer, As Above so Below, those types of films freak me out a bit because deep down I think I'm afraid Hell may be a real place.

I've been an atheist my whole life, and definitely.

It's always drawn me to fates worse than death. Whether those are forms of body horror, psychological or somatic manipulation, time-loops or even supernatural and spiritual conceptions of hell. Any time someone is trapped for something which feels like eternity.

Also, I guess my impersonal sense of what the universe is like has made me drawn to cosmic horror as well. Humans being incidental to a vast universe, and the potential for something much older, more powerful and utterly unconcerned about our inherent value being out there.

I guess both of those lead to what really manages to scare me, and that's existential horror.

That said, being non-religious and a scientific skeptic has never been a problem for me to suspend disbelief when it comes to horror fiction with religious or supernatural themes. I have a huge taste for supernatural mysteries, cryptids and UFO sightings. And while I don't really buy any of it the lore is fascinating, and I quickly realised that whether I believe it happened or not doesn't really matter.

My ex was an atheist but found religious possession movies terrifying. Even though they didn’t believe in the demons themselves, just the idea of being trapped while something takes over your body scared them enough.

As a Catholic, I really enjoyed them because my faith made me feel like they’d be the only kind of horror movie I stood a chance of surviving.

This is a good question. I think ones enjoyment or boredom at the exorcist could be linked to degree of religiosity. Much of the shock value within is tied to a reverence for Christianity.

I grew up in a liberal Christian household and demonic possession movies really never scared me. What scared me more were movies like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Stepford Wives, where one or a few people are powerless to stop a group, human or non-human who weren't demons, from taking control of their minds and bodies and faith can't save them.

And slashers/psycho on the loose movies are scarier because it happens in real life. It may not be a supernatural boogeyman like Jason, Michael, or Freddy, but murderers like The Night Stalker and The Golden State Killer are very real and deadlier than any demon.

Absolutely. I grew up Catholic and was very religious as a young kid. People thought I was going to be a priest. After the reports of rampant sexual abuse by priests, I disengaged from the church and no longer attend mass.

All that being said, demons and possession are without a doubt what scares me the most. Exorcist and Hereditary are definitely my top 2 scariest. Martyrs fucked me up pretty bad too. Even though its not about demons, you can understand how it would freak out a spiritual person. I am still afraid of supernatural things and believe in them. I dont fuck with Ouija boards or that kind of thing.

I grew up Catholic. No longer practicing but I don't discount the concept God completely. I'm pretty open. But I guess agnostic. Although I do appreciate some facets of religion as a whole (architecture, art work, world building, ritualism).

Anyway, when I was involved in the Catholic church as a child, I'd regularly be up late at night fearing I'd burn in hell and the notion of becoming possessed. Like to the point of sobbing uncontrollably. When night fell, I felt constant dread because I believed that was the time in which those things would occur.

Then I started watching horror. Religious/possession shit scared me the most. No surprise there. But now it's one of my favorite sub genres of horror. Idk why. It just interests me the most even though I'm no longer practicing.

...Maybe it's because it was a world I was embedded in for so long and it never completely leaves you. Maybe I do subconsciously still find it to be the most frightening.

No, but I do tend to be more interested in the films that tackle religious aspects, depending. Demons etc, bunk. Is God real/does it matter/etc, very thought provoking and often times revelatory about real world applications of faith (personally/in thought rather than tangible realities)

Being raised Catholic definitely helped me appreciate The Exorcist and it's many imitators, though I think most at fears are universal

Absolutely. My mother was a hardcore Catholic and movies can’t get demon-y enough for me.

Anything forbidden by the church is also great, tarot, ouija, seances, witches - so. good.

Beside that, I love monster movies, werewolves, vampires, jaws, Godzilla, etc. And before they got huge and exhausted, zombies. Idk where my monster love comes from, but I also love mythology, so that might be that.

Yes I do. I'm an atheist, so possession movies involving exorcisms are either funny or boring to me (for the most part. Parts of The Exorcist do get to me a little). I do believe in aspects of the paranormal, so sometimes those do get to me, but I don't tend to prefer Western paranormal films because of the Christian themes. Ouija boards aren't scary to me. I've used them several times and honestly... I don't get the hype at all. They're kind of awkward/ boring, actually. You have to be with the right people to have fun with those.

Some paranormal films reallllly got to me ngl. I had trouble sleeping after Gonjiam Haunted Asylum, Ring (both versions are good IMO), and Shutter (original Thai).

All this being said, I think The Exorcism of Emily Rose is really underrated. Actually pretty creepy from what I remember. The RL case it's based around is actually really interesting. It's been years since I've seen it, so maybe I'd feel differently. I just never see anyone talk about it.

I grew up Catholic and am still mostly practicing. I’ve always found exorcism movies kind of funny. The first time I saw The Exorcist I laughed. But I still love religious and exorcism horror movies! One of my favorite horror/thriller (not really scary) tv shows is Apparitions. It’s a 6 episode show and it isn’t over the top. It sticks to the rules of exorcism in the Catholic Church. I think it’s worth a watch for anyone that likes religious thrillers. Edit to say I thought Veronica was boring

I grew up religious and I am still pretty devout to this day. Possession horror isn’t that scary to me, but I find it enjoyable if it’s done right. I am most terrified by psychological horror, actually. Not being able to trust yourself, surroundings, or the people in your surroundings just does something to me. Maybe because I have mental health issues? Lol idk.

Supernatural horror outside of religion also gets me pretty freaked out. I’m still terrified of Candyman and The Ring, so religion really hasn’t played much of a part in what I find scary (unless you attribute it to my belief that something you can’t prove or “see” is actually real).

I grew up in a religious Christian household, not crazy evangelical or puritanical, but church and religious observance were a regular part of my upbringing and daily life in my home, and I’ve retained my faith as an adult. I know that my experience isn’t everyone’s, but my faith has always been a source of comfort and security for me, so I’m pretty unfazed by demons, possession, etc. because I just don’t feel like a good candidate for possession.

Yeah. Born into the church of Scotland (protestant) but my parents never went and I stopped going with my gran as soon as I could. Don't remember believing, though apparently I did, and am now atheist/antitheist.

As such, I don't remember being scared of going to hell and always found cinema depictions of it kinda meh. Don't like possession movies or The Exorcist. I like my supernatural horror to be more Lovecraftian, and generally prefer slashers or other horrors rooted on an earthly plan.

I do like Hellraiser, though their hell seems more of another dimension than a fiery lake where sinners go.

In my case, the answer is totally yes. I’m not religious anymore, but still supernatural horror and demons especially scare me much more than realistic threats.

Probably. Im 90% sure its why I dont at all like or find the the conjuring movies scary. Like I can have suspension of belief when it is some crazy ass out there shit but for some reason when it comes to things people actually believe I just cant ignore it. Or I just really hate the grifting Warrens and thats what ruins it.

Yeah. Yeah I think it does. I grew up southern baptist, read the Bible cover to cover at age 18 and became an atheist because of it…yet I love possession movies and/or religious horror like Saint Maud because they scare the hell out of me. I’m certain it is because of all of the hellfire and brimstone they tried shoving down my throat. Errementari is more dark fantasy than horror, but DAMN, the scene when they are in literal hell creeped them fuck out of me. In a good way of course lol.

Probably. I don't find possessions, ouijaboards and haunted stuff scary. A hundred year old house? Yeah, I grew up in one. It creaks and moans a bit and not once due to silly ghosts. A haunted/possessed doll "based on a true story"? Give me a break.

I almost fell asleep during The Exorcist because the plot was lame. You'd think an old god have better things to do than trying to get control over a child. It should have been more subtle to avoid detection. What did it gain from possessing a kid for a short while? So dumb.

Ouijaboard? It's a toy, FFS.

I grew up in an atheist household. I am more scared of parasites, body horror, torture and weird monsters. Not that most of those are plausible either :D

I was never superstitious.