The Hounds Below released their first album You Light Me Up in the Dark this week. The band hails from Detroit and vocalist Jason Stollsteimer used to be in the Von Bondies, but those aren't really any good as reference points for the band. Our reviewer, Mark Deming, said they sound like "a throwback to the big-haired glory days of '80s alternative rock, suggesting a meeting point between the Cure, early U2, the Pixies..." I'd add that the album also fits in really well alongside modern U.K. guitar rock bands like the Vaccines and the Cribs, they have a similar energy and sound. You can play spot the influence along with us or you can just check them out for yourselves!

In the spirit of the season we (The Hounds Below) have compiled a list of our 5 most scary films/TV shows ever.

Griffin’s Choice:
Pet Sematary
So the scariest movie to me, especially when I was a young lad, was Pet Sematary. That movie is fucking terrifying! Specifically, two parts scared the bejesus out of me. The first part was when the Mom (played by Denise Crosby) is reminiscing about having to take care of her terminally ill sister. Her sister was this sick, grotesque looking woman in the bedroom screaming for her....that part always really freaked me out. The second was where the kid that gets hit by a car reappears in the bedroom of the doctor in the middle of the night, covered in blood with a hole in his head. When I was about 10, I was, and am still, convinced I saw a weird alien/figure next to my bed...so stuff like that always does it for me.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMja9C6Htts[/youtube]

Mathew’s Choice:
Rumpelstiltskin
This Brothers Grimm fairy tale takes a twisted turn when Rumpelstiltskin is out for a baby and blood. I first watched this movie with my siblings when I was 9 years old and I'm forever since left afraid to leave my window open at night. Afraid he would steal me while I was sleeping from my family. Nowadays, my siblings and I will grab a drink and sit down to watch Rumpelstiltskin for satirical reasons. Our favorite part of the movie is when Rumpelstiltskin names himself “Uncle Rumpel” after he steals a baby. Good times.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2co_we7TgI&sns=em[/youtube]

Jason’s Choices:
Insidious
I watched this terrifying film at the end of a semi-romantic date (yes, semi-romantic). Let me point out that this is not a good date movie of ANY kind. Whether at the theater or at home, it is in NO way a good warm-up for any sort of late night action. The way that director James Wan toyed with my fear of things that go bump in the dark was unique. He didn't hide the monster, he put it right in your face and made you stare right at it. I grew up watching horror films, my grandma Barb (age 84 now) used to rent them for me and my older brother starting at the tender age of 11 years old...so I don't scare easily.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1YbOMDI59k[/youtube]

IT
For a made-for-TV, movie Steven King's "IT" scared me like nobody's business! Pennywise the clown is pure evil. Clowns are NOT funny, not even a little bit. Especially ones that live in the sewers and eat children. Just try and sit through the "black and white photo" scene in the film and tell me it wasn't scary.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYW3NyAPuMI[/youtube]

Lidsville
Before kid friendly shows like Barney and Teletubbies, there was Lidsville. It was the third TV show by Sid and Marty Krofft and it was the craziest one. Filled with psychedelic talking hats and an evil Magician named Horatio J. HooDoo. I have no idea who brought this show to my attention as a teenager, but it made me very uncomfortable. I've actually never been able to sit through a whole episode.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btpd8zg5VWA[/youtube]