Estimated read time: 2-3 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 Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information.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.
A DARK, DARK CELLAR — Some people like to be scared.
They like the adrenaline rush of getting a fright through movie jump-scares and the suspense of: “What’s going to happen next?” And we’re not just talking about a few outliers here. The horror movie industry made over $41 billion in 2018, so clearly many people love terrifying fiction.
But movies and real life are two different things. I, for one, wonder if horror movie lovers would be as entertained if encountering the boogeyman in dark alleys was a consistent part of their real lives.
The person in this featured video gets to find out how creepy a specific “horror sound effect" makes them feel in real life thanks do a rusty metal door that may or may not live in a deep, fluorescent-lit basement.
How could a door be scary, you ask? It’s scary because it sounds like it’s possessed by a clown that’s even more evil than Pennywise played by Tim Curry in the 1990 TV miniseries “It”. Indeed, it’s terrifying enough that most people would be loathed to meet this door in a dark alley.
I may feel a bit creeped out by this clown laugh, but I also see this is a lesson for anyone who thinks they live in a haunted house: Maybe it’s simply time to tune up all your door fittings, check the weatherstripping and get a little grease in those hinges.