My thirteen choices are a little thin — I didn’t back them up with much, and of course since then I’ve thought of a million others. Oh well! At least we agree on The Haunting! Julie Harris’ Nell is basically struck down before she has a chance to live at all, and yet her horrible sister and family will prosper on. Surely the unfairness of the sacrifice of her life makes her character affecting, though she does go a little major crazy there. The last time I watched the movie I thought she was wound just a tad too tight, but Harris is wonderful. I don’t doubt that she was emblematic — and still is, probably — of real women who have given everything up to serve and when it’s time for them to get something of their own, it simply doesn’t happen. I think we all can relate to that!

Btw, the housekeeper’s line that “No one will come any nearer than that…in the night…in the dark” was among the many lines in my talented sister’s repertoire, (she also used to do a spot-on imitation of the laugh of Dracula’s acolyte, Renfield (Dwight Frye). She liked to produce that eerie effect at just the right moment on dark walks home from school through a cemetery–and no, I’m not making that up!).

This is a great, spooky choice from you, Medusa. I can’t wait to peruse your list of 13 more scary movies during the blogathon.

And Rosalie Crutchley is wonderful as the housekeeper in The Haunting. Dibs on her for a future article!

No, seriously. Dibs.