Leaving the light on...

Because last week I was on vacation but was unable to take the usual trip to the Outer Banks, I was feeling rather melancholy and kept wistfully thinking of lighthouses (because there are four we see there every year)... and of course my warped mind worked that right into thoughts of lighthouses in horror movies.

I'm a big fan of lighthouses, in general. I've seen quite a few up and down the entire East coast, and a few in the Great Lakes region, so they really appeal to me in horror movies as well. Whereas they are supposed to be beacons of hope and all that happy jazz, in horror they evoke more dread at times that anything else. But that could very well be simply because of the content of the film.
Sometimes they play a pivotal role within the movie, other times they are just there to be aesthetically pleasing or give a sense of unease.

In any case, just a few of my favorites:



The Ring (2002; the photo at the top of the post is also from The Ring)



Lighthouse a.k.a. Dead of Night (2000)



Darkness Falls (2003)



The Orphanage (2007; image stolen from Andre at The Horror Digest)



The Shuttered Room (1967)



Harper's Island (tv, 2009)



Storm of the Century (tv, 1999)



Half Light (2006)



Jaws (1975)


Jaws (again)



The Lovely Bones (2009)



The Goonies (1985)



Shutter Island (2010)



The Fog (1980)