SON OF THIRTY-ONE DAYS OF HALLOWEEN! DAY 10: "THE RING" CURSED VIDEO(TAPE!)

Dateline: 2003. Having survived the Great Scare of Y2K and enjoyed a few Halloween parties thrown by myself and my then-girlfriend, I was feeling a new sense of interest in horror films. I'd always loved horror movies, but there were some I had been truly scarred by as a kid, among them: the original Night of the Living Dead and the not-related but still scary Return of the Living Dead. I had also been pretty terrified by the experience of watching "The Blair Witch Project," which I thought was real found-footage (I was so naive!), in a theater. It was the only time I'd ever seen people leave a movie in silent procession before.

So while I was not yet ready to confront my fear of zombies and witches, I was becoming more interested in watching then-new horror films. I'd heard how terrifying "The Ring" was, but believed it was all hype. I mean, really, a cursed videotape? What, did you die from not rewinding before returning it to the video store instead of getting charged for another day? It was with this arrogant mindset that I went down to Blockbuster (remember those?) and then returned to my apartment with "The Ring."

I should point out that DVD technology was still relatively young; I'd only had my DVD player for two years and was still floored by the quality of both picture and sound. I mention this to get those youngsters reading this to realize that utilizing a cursed videocassette as the central conceit of the film made plenty of sense back then, as most folks still didn't have DVD players.

I'm not going to review the movie, but I will say that it disturbed me. A lot. I watched it midday on Halloween, the windows covered with blankets to create a better viewing experience. Being a bachelor, I'd become accustomed to falling asleep on the couch in my living room. After watching "The Ring," I didn't fall asleep near at TV for a long time.

Though some have mocked me for being afraid of this film, it remains one of the most effective and disturbing horror films I've ever seen, which has been quite a few in the last decade. I don't know what's at work within "The Ring," but it's tone and creepy haunts you long after you've seen the film. I also find it very interesting that "The Ring" isn't played very often on television, even during the Halloween season.

Perhaps the scariest aspect of the film was the "cursed videotape," copies of which were left in various public places as part of the film's brilliant marketing strategy. If you've never seen the film or the cursed tape at the center of it's narrative, you can watch it right here. But be warned: though we don't use tape anymore, methinks a video can still be haunted no matter the format...