As the final image of The Blair Witch Project flickered before us on the screen, no one in the filled-to-capacity theater breathed or even moved. The screen darkened, and the credits began to roll. Suddenly, everyone was breathing, all at once. Hard, as though we'd just finished a marathon. The climax had been so terrifying, so intense, we'd all been holding our breath without realizing it. I turned to my friend, and he stared at me with eyes as wide as mine must have been. "Six stars out of five," I said. He nodded. As we waited for the Haxan 5 to arrive, we talked in hushed tones with the couple next to me, who had stood in line for four hours with two hundred others on the chance that someone with a ticket might not show up and they might get in. We agreed it was the scariest movie any of us had ever seen. The male half of the couple swore as he realized he had to spend the weekend alone in his house. I realized, unhappily, that I had to do the same. In a few minutes, the guys from Haxan came out and answered questions. They were really funny and friendly (especially considering that, with the press tour, they'd answered most of these questions dozens of times recently). The mic refused to work properly, so whoever used it had to stand in the exit where no one could see him. It was funny, worked well to difffuse the fear that clung to our minds. Once outside, in the darkness of 2am Orlando, everything seemed ominous, everything an omen. The vaguest shadow flitting across my peripheral vision brought back all the fear I thought I'd shaken. What an experience. What a movie.
I slept with the light on that night.

Eric is better known as freestate on the Haxan posting board. He's 20 years old, living in Florida, soon to attend college in Calgary.