by Elizabeth Kelly

Created on: March 11, 2008   Last Updated: June 30, 2009

Horror movies have long relied on the ordinary-gone-bad scenario to scare you. Childhood playthings create havoc in movies like Demonic Toys and the Chucky series. Household pets like Cujo go on rampages. Even houses themselves turn on people, crushing them in two with their gates and boiling them in showers like the one in This House Possessed.

Movie makers know that audiences can identify with the story, and thus be more frightened, if they own the object in question. "Hey, I have a doll like that," you might think. And your next thought is: "Uh-oh."

It was only natural that makers of movie horror would eventually get around to the car as a vehicle for demonic possession. Just about every adult drives one, and their potential for destruction is huge. It's not surprising that somebody thought a possessed car would make for a good scare. What is surprising is that more than one person did. Here is a timeline history of cars that went fiendishly bad on film.

1964: The Twilight Zone -"You Drive"

The first crazy car with a mind of its own appeared on television screens in the early '60s (but you can watch it on DVD today). Like most Twilight Zone episodes, it is well crafted. "You Drive" stars Edward Andrews (whom you might recall as the Grandpa in Sixteen Candles) as Oliver Pope, the typical businessman-in-a-hurry. Driving while distracted, Ollie plows into an unfortunate kid on a bicycle.

Having much more important things to worry about, Ollie speeds away without so much as stopping to see if the boy is hurt (which he is). When a co-worker of Ollie's is suspected of being the hit-and-run driver, he goes along with the idea in an attempt to make sure he himself is in the clear. His family and co-workers notice that he is becoming jumpy and strange -his conscience getting the better of him.

It's at this point that Ollie's car decides to intervene. If he's not going to turn himself in, then his vehicle will have to do the right thing according to the demonic car code of ethics. But first, it gives him a last chance to confess. The car tries to get Ollie's attention, honking its horn in the middle of the night and flashing its lights. When that doesn't work, the car drives Ollie's wife to the scene of the crime and then conks out. Although the car can't speak, it's pretty much saying: "Hey, check this out, lady." Eventually Ollie is forced to confess the crime, driving himself with resignation to the police station.

This Twilight Zone episode was obviously

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