Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — Movies aren't something made to simply entertain us, but they also educate us if we let them.
For example, scary movie characters make the same mistakes over and over again in an attempt to teach us what to do if a crazed killer, a werewolf or some kind of demon ever chases us. These filmmakers just want to make sure we stay safe.
The hashtag #LessonsFromScaryMovies has been trending on Twitter, and I thought I'd pick out five tips we can all use a refresher on.
When being chased by someone in a car, don't run down the middle of the road
This is a solid bit of advice from @BarryMan900018m.
When you're in the middle of the street, your chances of being hit by a car skyrocket. If you get off the street, those odds drop dramatically.
Not to mention if you get off the street you'll get out of the direct beam from the car's headlights and have a better chance of hiding.
This is also good advice if the killer is driving something with rear-wheel drive. Run into the woods and his car will have trouble keeping up in that kind of terrain. Running into the woods, however, opens up a whole new can of worms. We won't get into it now.
Don't ever open the mirror in your bathroom. You won't be alone when you close it
@kcrivers44m is the kind soul who shared this little nugget.
The better idea is to keep all your bathroom goods on the vanity in plain sight. That way you avoid the medicine cabinet and that pesky scare you get when someone pops up behind you.
The only down side to this is if you're married. If you're a man, your wife already has 97 percent of the counter space utilized with face washes, hair pins, a blow dryer and pretty much every other beauty and or hair care product she owns.
For women, if you put even more out on the counter, you need to play the counter real estate game to find more space. That, and you get to hear your husband complain about where he can put his stuff so a demon doesn't sneak up behind him.
If the price of a house seems to good to be true, someone was either murdered there or it's haunted
This is sound counsel from @J_Valdez241h.
It's true that it's currently a buyer's market when it comes to homes, but not even a recession accounts for a home that's on the national historical registry measuring in at just over 10,000 square feet on three acres for the insane price of $120,000.
This place is haunted, people.
If you're really in a jam, you can find another home for the same price. It won't have 12 bedrooms, but you, your spouse and 9-year-old son don't need all that space.
As a side note, if you do have a 9-year-old son and you're moving into a new home, there is a good chance he's possessed. So, get that checked out ASAP.
Don't scream, "Is anyone here?" because the killer isn't going to say, "Yeah, I'm in the kitchen. You want a sandwich?"
I feel that this one from @JanosKians is simultaneously good advice and bad advice. It's really a double-edged sword.
It's a classic mistake to walk into any area where a killer might be and yell, "Hello?" into the dark. You've given away your position and, no, the killer likely will not respond.
On the flip side, if you do call out and you get the response, "Yeah, I'm in the kitchen making you a sandwich," odds are it's not the killer, but rather a friend and you're about to eat.
So, win-win. You're not about to be hacked to bits, but you are about to score a sandwich.
So, please, use this one with discretion.
The bad dude always has theme music — hear it, and that's when you run
This one from @IL3OT1h is an interesting observation.
If you do hear ominous music, it means one of two things.
The first possibility is that a murderer is carrying around a boom box blasting his own theme music. If that's the case, I'd like to give him some applause for his commitment.
The other possibility is that you are hearing things in your own head, and then you have a whole new set of problems, because you're likely insane and the twist ending is that you were the killer the whole time. Trust me, you never see that one coming.
Nonetheless, if you hear that music ,take the advice and hightail it out of there.
What other lessons have you learned from scary movies? Let us know on the comment boards, Facebook or send an email.
