Chynna Is Participating In A HUGE Blog Hop: What Are YOU Most Fearful Of?

SPOOK-A-LICIOUS: WHERE BOO-KS DEVOUR YOU
BLOG HOP TOUR (OCTOBER 17 - 24)

Today is supposed to be MUSIC MANTRA Monday but we're doing something a little different this week. I'm very excited to be participating in another HUGE author blog hop that will go on until October 24th, where we'll draw a winner for a fantastic book prize. Last time, we had a party theme going on where we got right into the '60s with our Beatles Party theme. We had such an amazing response then and hope to do the same this time where I'll be getting you all to tap into the darkest places of your psyche to face...WHAT ARE YOU MOST FEARFUL OF?

Ready?

Let's start with the rules of the Blog Hop Tour then we'll jump right into our theme:

(**WARNING: I'm sharing links to YouTube clips of a few scary movies. Younger children may find them upsetting so grown-ups: be sure to screen the post first. There's nothing too graphic...just a little scary.**)

TOUR RULES:

1) HAVE FUN!!!

2) INVITE ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS!!! SPREAD THE WORD!!!

3) THIS TOUR STARTS: Monday, October 17th, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

THIS TOUR ENDS: Monday, October 24th, at Midnight (Arizona Time)

***Winners will be drawn and posted October 25th! ***

4) MEET AND MINGLE WITH ALL THE AUTHORS! EXPERIENCE A NEW PARTY DESTINATION AT EVERY STOP! PARTICIPATE IN EVERY BLOG CONTEST AND BE ENTERED FOR CHANCES TO WIN MULTIPLE PRIZES! EVERY BLOG VISITED IS ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TO WIN!!

5) PARTICIPATION AT ALL BLOGS IS RECOMMENDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED. REMEMBER, THE MORE BLOGS YOU HOP, THE BETTER YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING PRIZES. EVERY AUTHOR IS WAITING TO MEET AND INTERACT WITH YOU, SO PLEASE BE SURE TO SHOW EVERY AUTHOR SOME LOVE!

6) DID I MENTION TO HAVE FUN? WHOO! HOO!! HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOO!

***Authors have full discretion to choose an alternate winner in the event any winner fails to claim their prize(s) within 72 hours of their name being posted or after notification of win, whichever comes first. Anyone who participates in this blog hop tour is subject to these rules***

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You don't scare ME, Freddie!

Now, I love a good scary movie. And when I'm talking about 'scary movies', I don't mean the slasher ones with Freddie Krueger or Jason chasing a half-naked woman across a field where she suddenly trips on nothing and gets killed. I'm talking about those psychological movies that resonate with you long after the closing credits. Where the theme music of the movie sends chills down your spine and causes your skin to explode into goosebumps.

That is scary.

These movies are psychological thrillers and they are my absolute favorites. They give you what I call a 'good scare'. They get your blood pumping, have you listening a little more closely to noises you never noticed or cause you to jump at the routine things you'd normally encounter during your day. You start looking under things or shine a flashlight in your car before getting in...you get the idea. These movies are scary because they tap into the deepest, darkest areas of our subconscious where we bury the things we're truly fearful of.
I thought it would be fun to start our spook-a-licious post with sharing the five movies I've seen that have stuck with me the most over the years.

Chynna's Top Five Scariest Movies (Click on the movie titles to watch the trailors!):

(5) PSYCHO. Okay, who doesn't know the theme music to this movie? Or see poor Norman Bates dressed up like his mother staring out of an upper floor bedroom window? Or peek out of the shower curtain every so often, fearing its going to be ripped open. ::shudder:: I watched this movie for the first time at a friend's birthday sleepover. At the time, the sequel to the movie had just come out starting Meg Tilly so we rented the original then watched the sequel. Oh man. It was weeks before I could have a shower without panicking! Alfred Hitchcock was an absolute genius when it came to creating psychological thrillers/suspense with both creepy and empathetic characters that stayed with you.

(4) THE OMEN. This movie starts out so sweet--a prominent family living their dream. Then their dream turns terribly wrong when Mr. French runs into a priest who talks about the Apocalypse and its the French's son who is the son of Satan (eeeeeee!!!). For those of you who haven't seen the movie, I won't spoil it for you but its definitely a 'must-see'. Don't see all the re-makes or the sequels. Watch this one first. Not only is it a brilliant plot filled with twists, turns and surprises, the actors are amazing (Gregory Peck is in this one!). The kid who plays Damien is the cutest but scariest little guy I have ever seen.

(3) JAWS. Duh duh...duh duh...duh duh duh duh....duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh. Can you hear the infamous theme from the movie? ::shudder:: I remember vividly when this movie came out. It was the summer of 1975. My mom, aunt, uncle and a few of their friends went to go see it. Each of them also read the book (yes, there was a novel first). Let's just say water play that summer consisted of everyone sneaking up on one another under the water trying to see who could get the biggest scare. I finally got to see the movie on television a couple of years later then I was the one freaking out that summer. I still have a tiny panic attack when I'm swimming in water where I can see the bottom. On the positive side, I did learn to water ski fairly quickly the year I saw Jaws because whenever I fell, I heard the theme from the movie and screamed to be pulled back in our boat. Yes, by today's standards the effects are kind of lame but it still gets my vote as one of the scariest movies ever because it still scares me today.

(2) THE RING. A more modern choice compared to the last three, The Ring is, in my opinion, one of the best thrillers to have come out around that time. This movie is based on the Japanese version, "Ringu". Like the original, The Ring focused on a strange video tape that seemingly kills. Seven days after a person watches the video, they get a phone call then a scary girl with long hair hanging over her face (Samara) come out of the television and kills the viewer. When she was alive, Samara was a disturbed little girl, kept in a loft in the barn because whenever she was around, terrible things happened. She was committed to figure out what was 'wrong' with her but to no avail. In the end, her mother decided the only way to put Samara (and her parents) out of her misery was to throw her to her untimely death in the well. Only Samara didn't die right away. She lived for seven, long days before she died--hence her hunger for vengeance. You'd have to watch it a few times to 'get' all the hidden meanings, twists and turns but it's a fantastic example of psychological suspense. The ring is creepy not just because of the main theme of a girl seeking vengeance for her death but every time you think you've figured things out, another twist is thrown in your path.

(1) The EXORCIST. This has to be one of the most terrifying movies of all time. Admittedly, I haven't even been able to watch the movie all the way through. I came downstairs late one night just in time to see the infamous head-spinning scene and that was it. I've never had the nerve to watch it. And I've heard there's both an edited and an uncut version of this movie and honestly...I can only imagine how much more terrifying the uncut version must be when I can't even get through the edited version! This movie is terrifying because it deals with subject matter (blasphemy, possession, questioning the existence of God and/or Satan) we just don't want to question or face. Plus, it's supposedly based on a true story.

Okay, those are my scariest of scary movie choices. Now, let's tackle the main question stemming from the discussion of these psychological thrillers: what are you most fearful of? These movies scare us because they push buttons we try really hard not to be touched. Each of these movies doesn't just deal with some scary things that are happening but also deep, rooted issues floating around the scary things. And most times, these issues are things we feel are beyond our control or realm of power to control.

That's what I'm most fearful of: feeling powerless. Some examples would be complications during pregnancy when I've done everything right; horrific experiences from my childhood that I wasn't old enough, or strong enough, to stop; not having the knowledge or information about my children's special needs to help them; or having cancer. The way to regain power in these situations is to strengthen yourself from the inside out:

* My daughter always felt powerless in the world around her because she didn't have control of how body reacted to sensory stimulation. Now that we understand both what SPD is and what tools/strategies she needs to function, she's much stronger to face what comes her way. I talk about this experience in my memoir about the first five years of her life: [Not Just Spirited: A Mom's Sensational Journey With SPD];

* When children are abused, neglected (or worse), they feel tremendously powerless. And even worse, society tends to define these kids by what they've gone through rather than seeing what they're doing to overcome their hurdles. My memoir about my own childhood being raised by a mother with mental health issues she refused to deal with (and the terrible things my brother and I endured as a result) outlines these issues, showing how we can become strong enough to define ourselves. [White Elephants];

* I also wrote a YA novella dealing with these same issues with a strong, inspiring male main character so that teens can see that we can be faced with tremendous adversity and still come out on top [Blackbird Flies].

Movies like the ones I listed above prey on our deepest fears, which is why they are so terrifying. But maybe in some small way, they are showing us how to face them. Hmmmm....

In celebration of our participation in the Spook-A-Licious theme, I'd like to give away one FREE copy of one of my books! The winner will get to choose from ONE of the following:

• One print or .pdf copy of Not Just Spirited: A Mom's Sensational Journey With SPD (winner's choice);
• One print copy of White Elephants; or
• One .pdf copy of Blackbird Flies.

All you have to do to enter to win this book package is:

1. FOLLOW 'The Gift';
2. Leave a comment about (a) your favorite psychological thriller movie and why AND (b) what your most fearful of;
3. Leave an email address of where I can contact you if you win.

That's it! And if you help spread the word through your social media connections or joining my author page, you'll have an extra entry you just need to leave a separate comment telling me that you did it and where. Thank you so much for stopping by here. It was so much fun researching and posting about my favorite movies. Enjoy the rest of the tour! =)

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Have fun on the rest of the Tour! Click on any of the links below to be taken to the other fantastic stops on this Blog Hop. OH! And be sure to stop back for our announcement of who wins after the 24th of October!