how to survive a horror marathon without losing a week to recovery

learned most of this the hard way over one very bad halloween weekend

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Pick your opener carefully, not your scariest

start with something fun and a little campy, not hereditary. you need momentum, not dread at hour zero

Cap it at 4 films, 5 if it's a short one in the mix

past 4 the plots start blending. i once mixed up two different haunted house movies mid conversation

Put the found footage one third, never last

film 3 is where people usually tap out anyway, might as well make it the shaky cam one so the fatigue has a reason

Actual breaks between films, not bathroom-and-back

15 min minimum. walk outside, talk about something not scary. your nervous system needs the reset

Lights on between movies, always

Snacks you can eat without looking at your hands

popcorn, chips, whatever. do NOT attempt anything with a knife involved mid marathon, learned that one too

End on something with a clean, non-ambiguous ending

you want to sleep. save the movies that end on a shot of the monster still out there for a solo afternoon watch

One person on lights/sound duty who isn't watching cold

someone who's seen it before to kill the volume before the worst jumpscare. saved my downstairs neighbors more than once

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