I just posted the latest "Shadows on the Sound" podcast episode. It's about possession. We had a real priest as our guest (although we knew him back when he was just a big current events nerd in middle school). And then I freaked myself out by doing a Google Image search for "The Exorcist."
You've heard/read me say it before: I. Am. A. WIMP. Total, cringing, mewling, hide-my-head-under-the-covers-and-eat-"Peeps" wimp. I find the experience of being scared very unpleasant, so I generally avoid it. But to prepare for recording this podcast 'sode, I needed to do some kind of research into the fiction of it. So I went to the best known book on the topic: "The Exorcist," by William Peter Blatty.* Allowing myself to skim some pages so I could focus on the possession-related parts, I read the whole thing in under 24 hours. And I managed to not be too scared. Just...disturbed. Like, really, really disturbed.
Then I updated the podcast page and needed to find an image to go with, hence the Google Image search. And here's how much of a wimp I am: just looking at still images from a 1970's horror flick I've never even seen was enough to freak me the fuck out.
I chose an image of the movie poster. Then I promptly did a Google Image search of kittens to cleanse my mind.
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| Here is a kitten in a pile of marshmallows. Looking at this image is very soothing to me. And to give due credit, I got it from this website: http://toasty-kittens.deviantart.com/ |
*Incidentally, anybody born with the last name "Blatty" is going to be teased like crazy. S/he will have no other choice than to become a bitter recluse, a famous artist, or a stand-up comedian.