"Misspent Youth"

Ahh, the countless hours of sitting on my living room floor, wrapped in blankets, watching the flickering television set as it projects images of ghosts, mad scientists, serial killers, atomic-spawned giant insects, and zombies directly into my impressionable cranium. Another Friday night of monster movies and popcorn, a time of laughable immaturity and yet an ever-present desire to regain our youth.

The days of horror-hosts are gone, but that doesn't stop myself from popping in a DVD or a VHS and enjoying a night of fun-filled scares anyways. My weeks lead up to Friday night, when the image of a scantilly-clad damsel-in-distress being carried off by the muscular monster or the silhouette of a werewolf howling at the moonlight can bring me an infinite amount of joy.

And as King Kong falls 100 stories to his demise, as Dr. Loomis and Laurie look in horror to find that the Shape has disappeared, as the burning mill collapses, as Klaatu and Gort aviate back into the skies, there remains a sign of promise. A promise that the next Friday will be full of the same amount of fear, humor, and bewilderment.