Nobody puts baillee in the corner

As most of you know, KP (my mom) is the big reason I’m into horror movies because we constantly watched them while I was growing up. Another thing you should know about KP is that she gets inconceivable joy from scaring people. This is exactly what leads into today’s story. 

Carrie wasn’t my first horror movie, but it’s one I vividly remember from my youth. I had just finished the novel, which was also one of my first Stephen King books, so KP bought Carrie for $5 from

H‑E‑B one afternoon, and we hunkered down in my parents’ bedroom to watch it. 

If you haven’t seen Carrie, and you aren’t familiar with the ending, there is a massive jump scare. I, being a child and only having read the book, had no idea this was in the movie. KP, who had seen this movie a million time, however, did. This woman, my own mother, tells me I need to scoot to the edge of the bed and watch “very closely” because if I’m not paying attention, I’ll miss something. 

Naturally, I get as close to the TV as humanly possible and then proceed to fling my body backwards with such force that I hit my parents’ headboard. KP almost peed her pants. 

Since then, I rarely get scared at horror movies. Jump scares don’t get me. I don’t scream. I haven’t flung myself into any headboards recently. Regardless, to this very day, KP considers this one of her crowning achievements. 

Margaret White was right when she said, “They’re all gonna laugh at you.”