Some hobbies are easy to explain to people. It’s easy to talk about wine tastings, book clubs and mountain biking. The benefits and the enjoyment a person gets out of those things is apparent. But telling people that you love horror movies is a little more difficult. How do you explain the fun that comes with having a chill run up your back as you watch some would-be victim vainly try to run away from a pack of ghoulish zombies? How do you discuss the artistic merits of a guy wearing a mask of human skin and waving a bloody chainsaw around? It’s hard to talk about that stuff and not sound at least a little disturbed.

But it’s not weird. In fact, it’s pretty logical. Tales from the Video Vault started a little over two years ago when I started watching horror movies in earnest for the first time since I was a kid. I’ve watched 200 or so movies since then, some silly, some frightening and others downright disturbing.

Why do I, and the millions of other people who dig horror, keep watching these movies? For the same reason we keep going on roller coasters: it’s fun to be scared. Watching scary movies is a test of endurance, a way to get the blood pumping and the adrenaline flowing without actually having to be on the receiving end of a bloody axe. And when the monster dies and the credits role, we feel like we had some part in all of it, even though we did nothing but watch.

But there’s more. Fear creates sharp memories. Try and think of the five times you’ve laughed the hardest in the last 10 years. You might come up with a few memories, but they’ll be vague at best. The places, the names of the people, the circumstances, will all be unclear. But think about the five times you’ve been 100 percent truly scared. Chances are you’ll remember it all—where you were, how it happened, why you were scared. That fear rush—the one that amplifies every noise and shadow—also etches those memories into your brain like a laser.

In the spirit of the season, here’s a short (and not totally complete) list of some of my favorites that I’ve written about in Video Vault. As you get ready for Halloween this year, consider picking up these movies at your local video store or adding them to your Netflix queue. Turn out the lights, lock your door, hunker down on the couch and get ready for an unforgettable cinematic experience.

“Parents,” 1989, directed by Bob Balaban and starring Randy Quaid and Mary Beth Hurt
A bizarre horror tale told through the eyes of a young boy, “Parents” is mostly concerned with skewering the 1950s. The social commentary’s a bit obvious, but at its core, “Parents” is about that frightening moment during childhood when parents stop being god-like and become real, fallible people. However, in the case of “Parents,” the mom and pop duo of Mary Beth Hurt and Randy Quaid turn out to be not so much fallible as flesh-hungry cannibals, making life for their son immensely terrifying.

“Black Christmas,” 1974, directed by Bob Clark and starring Olivia Hussey and John Saxon
Before “Halloween” there was “Black Christmas,” a creepy, atmospheric slasher film set inside a mostly deserted sorority house on the day before Christmas break. A little more subtle than its descendants (there’s little gore and the killer is only glimpsed fleetingly), “Black Christmas” has so many twists, turns and red-herrings that it’s impossible for the viewer to relax. That the cast is capable and rather likeable doesn’t hurt, either.

“Videodrome,” 1983, directed by David Cronenberg and starring James Woods and Deborah Harry
Weird with a capital W, “Videodrome” is just as full of intriguing concepts as it is gaping flesh wounds. Tackling everything from voyeurism and sadomasochism to media theory and emerging technology, Cronenberg creates a sci-fi/horror hybrid that doesn’t let up.

“Peeping Tom,” 1960, directed by Mark Powell and starring Carl Boehm and Moira Shearer
And speaking of voyeurism, there’s “Peeping Tom,” Powell’s notorious feature about a disturbed young man who murders young women and documents the proceedings with a portable movie camera. It’s easy to be sucked into the strange world of Boehm’s character, and as his murder methods are revealed, it’s impossible for the viewer to stop watching, no matter how much he or she wants to.

“Day of the Dead,” 1983, directed by George Romero and staring Lori Cardille and Terry Alexander
The most underrated entry in Romero’s quartet of “Dead” films, “Day” is easily the most claustrophobic and gory. Focusing on a small-scale cold war between the military officers and the scientists who comprise a small band of survivors hiding in a missile silo, “Day” drives home the point that even when zombies are afoot, humanity’s own worst enemy is itself.

“Dead and Buried,” 1981, directed by Gary Sherman and starring James Farentino and Jack Albertson
A zombie movie that’s not quite a zombie movie, “Dead and Buried” is an intriguing horror film with interesting characters. Director Sherman makes the fictional town of Potters Bluff seem real and menacing. You won’t find many goopy entrails in “Dead and Buried,” but it’s still a fun ride.

“I Drink Your Blood,” 1970, directed by David E. Durston and starring Bhaskar and Jadine Wong
The ultimate in drive-in excess, “I Drink Your Blood” has it all. A lurid title, buckets of gore and a killer concept: a gang of hippie-Satanists become rabid after eating some meat pies poisoned with rabies. Death, dismemberment and other depravity follows. It’s not too scary, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.

“The Exorcist,” 1973, directed by William Friedkin and starring Linda Blair and Max von Sydow
Some horror movies retain their scare-power no matter how old they are or how many times you see them. “The Exorcist” is one of those movies. It’s the epic struggle between good and evil scaled down to fit inside a small apartment, and it’s creepy as hell. Watching Linda Blair’s transformation from innocent young girl to a vulgar, sore-covered demon induces the kind of shiver that comes with having a cold knife pressed to your warm skin.