October TV needs Monitoring by Parents.

Hi neighbors. With the beginning of October comes the promise (or threat) from most television stations of 31 days of horror films.

Nightly fare will feature horror flicks once shown at theaters. They may include slash and chop movies (where the only reason for the movie to be made appears to be increasing the sale of fake blood and plastic body parts), science fiction or Gothic classic monsters, lots of horror with witchcraft, mythological monsters, and a few bio-hazards thrown in for fun.

In the old world (when we were young) the monsters were trolls under a bridge, werewolves and old hags who lived in the woods; children were too afraid to go the outhouses by themselves at night.

In today's world children are still afraid of monsters under their beds, going past the edge of the light cast by the yard lights, bullies at school and drive-by shooters.

There is something about being afraid without actual fear of danger that attracts moviegoers around the world.

Horror moviemakers keep looking for something that their movie-savvy audience will still see as scary. To draw in audiences movies had taken on and taken over-the-top, real-life situations and sensations.

For instance, when a person loses a limb they may experience what science calls phantom limb sensations. This is expressed by those who have had it as a feeling that the limb is still there; it itches, aches, cramps, etc. Doctors explain that these sensations are brought on by still active nerve endings.

We have all seen movies where transplanted body parts retain the cell memory of their former owners.

"The Eye" was a Japanese movie that was remade several years after the original. It was about a girl who gets a new eye that belonged to someone who had seen something horrific. She started having visions of the same scenes the former owner had gazed upon.

Another limb transplant movie is about a transplanted hand that once belonged to a murderer. The hand started enticing the present owner to strangle people.

There is a television show out now about a heart transplant recipient who starts showing signs of personality change similar to the donor.

People get sick and worry about pandemics that spread quickly around the world. Countless movies have been made about that scenario.

Even the weather has become a monster in many new movies.

When all else fails, directors bring in an alien to scare everyone. They can look like anything -- even ourselves -- and are bent on killing or enslaving every human on Earth.

The only reliable thing in life is death itself -- but not in the horror movie war for the cash. Now, you can't even die without coming alive as an "undead" zombie to wander earth forever. (Or until someone reminds directors about maggots). And let's not forget the ever popular vampires.

Since most moviegoers are wise to the monster makeup and other horrific scenarios offered in the cinema and on television; most smart moviemakers have turned to a comedic take on horror. Offering the usual horror fare, they send in some wise-cracking professional along with a naive and young, side-kick (who often becomes a victim as well) so the audience can see things aren't as bad as they could be.

Good usually wins the day and the monsters get their comeuppance and all is well again. People can go home and check under their beds, turn on the alarms and relax with a pizza.

Just be warned about October television shows. Some of them are still very frightening to children. Most of them have bad language and sexual situations or at least innuendos that are offensive.

Until the next time friends, remember, it might be a good month to really monitor what your children are watching on television. Maybe they could spend more time raking leaves or roasting hot dogs?