Halloween: the time of year when the leaves finally begin to fall, that chill is in the year, and when the time comes to choose a movie for the night, everyone’s thinking of what scares the best.

I saw Paranormal Activity Wednesday, a $15,000 film consisting of two main characters, one of whom is haunted by a demon. While the crowd around me talked through the whole showing, I slumped in my over-worn chair and thought back to The Exorcist when Linda Blair spun her head around before throwing up on the reverend.

Sure at the time, the scene of spewing pea soup wasn’t a high point, but overall, it was a good movie. Much better than the Blair Witch Project-like film I was stuck in.

The favorites such as Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street are dismissed as audiences around the country can’t wait to make their way to the theatre to see Halloween II: the remake. Was the first one really that bad?

I haven’t seen it, so I won’t begin to bash its level of horror: I will end up seeing it at some point and probably still grab on to my date. But I can say that Jamie Lee Curtis did fine the first time around in the Halloween II of 1981. (By the way, I highly discourage going all the way to Halloween V or Halloween: The Resurrection, if a Halloween marathon comes around).

Special effects may have improved the movie makers’ intent for scaring, but the story lines may never beat Alfred’s and others that have already been done. Increasing the speed of the Jason’s run in the newer Friday the 13th will not terrify people even more than his original slow hunt.

Keep your mind open to all films that interest you, but nothing will psychologically thrill you this Halloween better than the classics.

You may have to deal with some poor effects, but the scaring will still thrill you, the monsters will still haunt you, and Freddy may creep into your dreams after a Nightmare on Elm Street marathon.

I’m not saying that we all should put Nosferatu on our Netflix queues, but the classic horrors should be re-visited before everyone puts in Saw this weekend. Freddy, Jason, Michael, that guy with the knife in Psycho, they’re all worth frightening you again.