Which Iconic Slasher Universe Would You Live In?
Pick your poison
Ready for another fun hypothetical horror question? Following on the heels of my “Which scary horror monster would you want to be?” post, I decided to try a new poll for the followers of my Instagram account. Which slasher universe would you prefer to live in?
Obviously, the common sense answer would be none of them. But, if you had to choose, which one do you think would give you the best chance to survive? I’ll go through the pros and cons of each slasher universe. Then I’ll discuss poll results and my own choice at the end.
To clarify, the universes are based in these franchises’ main locations: Crystal Lake (and the surrounding forests) for Friday the 13th, Haddonfield for Halloween, Woodsboro for Scream, and Springwood for A Nightmare on Elm Street. Also, I’m assuming that you can’t leave these locations and must stay there all year round.
Friday the 13th
Pros: Beautiful wildlife and scenery. Crystal Lake is breathtaking, especially during the summer.
Cons: A virtually unstoppable masked psychopath roams the woods and kills nearly everyone who is unfortunate enough to come in contact with him. Crystal Lake is located in an isolated rustic area that is difficult to escape. Your cell phone probably won’t have service, so forget about calling for help.
Halloween
Pros: Haddonfield is a great place to live as long as it’s not October. It’s a folksy Midwest town with friendly people, although admittedly the teenagers tend to be rather rowdy.
Cons: There’s a great chance that you’ll be knifed to death on or around Halloween. You probably won’t even see the killer coming because he’s wearing a white mask, camouflaging himself perfectly with all the other spooky costumed partiers.
Nightmare on Elm Street
Pros: You’ll probably be okay as long as you don’t dream. If you can get your hands on a lifetime supply of Hypnocil, you have nothing to worry about.
Cons: There’s a great chance that you’ll die in your sleep, especially if you’re an avid dreamer. There’s also a decent possibility that you’ll be institutionalized. Springwood has a nasty habit of dumping its citizens in mental institutions.
Scream
Pros: Unlike the other slasher universes, there is nothing supernatural going on in Woodsboro. You won’t have to worry about unkillable monsters or dream demons.
Cons: Residents often receive annoying nuisance calls asking if they like scary movies. A large assortment of masked knife-wielding psychos are known to populate the area. Kill one and another soon pops up to take their place.
Results
Poll Results:
- Scream – 43%
- Nightmare on Elm Street – 29%
- (tie) Friday the 13th and Halloween – 14% each
I seriously considered A Nightmare on Elm Street because I rarely dream (or at least I don’t usually remember my dreams after waking) and thus I would make a difficult target for Freddy. But I’m going with the majority and picking Scream.
The fact that it’s the only slasher universe out of these four that doesn’t feature a supernatural killer is a major factor. I’d definitely rather take on Ghostface than Freddy, Michael, or Jason. Also, I think I would have a stronger chance of surviving because of my knowledge of horror tropes and cliches.
