The following are tips for any character that finds him or herself in a horror film. The author is kind of hard to pinpoint considering it has many already. Did I mention that it could always use more? If you have a tip that isn't on the list, don't hesitate to mail it to my brother and he will add it to the list. And if you do happen to find yourself in a horror film someday, use these tips wisely and you may make it out of the film alive. Until the sequel that is...

• 1) When it seems that you've killed the monster, never check to see if it's really dead.

• 2) If you find that your house is built upon or near a cemetery, was once a church used for black masses, had previous inhabitants who went mad or committed suicide or died in some horrible fashion or who performed necrophilia or satanic practices, move away immediately.

• 3) Never read a book of demon summoning aloud, even as a joke.

• 4) Do not search the basement, especially when the power has just gone out.

• 5) If your children speak to you in Latin or any other language which they do not know, or if they speak using a voice other than their own, shoot them at once. It will save you a lot of grief in the long run. Note: it's unlikely they'll die easy, so be prepared.

• 6) When you have the benefit of numbers, never pair off or go off alone.

• 7) If the gang plans a fun midnight party in the town's old abandoned mansion, don't tag along. Especially don't tag along if everyone's going as couples, except you're the odd guy/gal out. And if you're the gang's jokester, you may as well write up your last will and testament while you're driving with them to the place.

• 8) As a general rule, don't solve puzzles that open portals to Hell.

• 9) Never stand in, on, above, below, beside, or anywhere near a grave, tomb, crypt, mausoleum, or other domicile of the dead.

• 10) If you're searching for something which caused a noise and find out that it's just the cat, leave the room immediately if you value your life.

• 11) If appliances start operating by themselves, move out.

• 12) Do not take (or borrow) anything from the dead.

• 13) Don't fool with recombinant DNA technology unless you're sure you know what you are doing.

• 14) If you're running from the monster, expect to trip or fall down at least twice, more if you are female. Also note that, although you are running and the monster is merely shambling along, it's still moving fast enough to catch up with you.

• 15) If your companions suddenly begin to exhibit uncharacteristic behavior such as hissing, fascination for blood, glowing eyes, increasing hairiness, and so on, get away from them as fast as possible.

• 16) Stay away from certain geographical locations, some of which are listed here: Amityville, Elm Street, Transylvania, Nilbog (God help you if you recognize this one), the Bermuda Triangle, or any small town in Maine or Massachusetts.

• 17) If your car runs out of gas at night, do not go to the nearby deserted-looking house to phone for help.

• 18) Beware of strangers bearing tools such as chain saws, staple guns, hedge trimmers, electric carving knives, combines, lawnmowers, butane torches, soldering irons, band saws, weed-whackers or any device made from deceased companions.

• 19) Listen closely to the soundtrack; and pay attention to the audience, since they are usually far more intelligent than you could ever hope to be.

• 20) Never, never, NEVER try to communicate with something icky because "there's so much we can learn from them".

• 21) Don't make fun of or play with dead things.

• 22) If you find a town which looks deserted, it's probably for a reason. Take the hint and stay away.

• 23) If a meteor strikes nearby, move out of town.

• 24) When something bad is chasing you, bear in mind that when you try to start your car, no matter how reliable the vehicle is normally, you'll have to crank the engine over many times before it will fire up.

• 25) If you walk into the local abandoned-looking church to seek help or shelter, and you notice that the crucifix is mounted upside down, turn around and go back outside as quietly as possible.

• 26) When you happen to be one of the fortunate ones and actually make it through the film alive, never, NEVER sign on to do a sequel. If you do, expect to depart this world in the first five minutes.

• 27) Never have sex in the bunkbeds of recently renovated summer camps.

• 28) Strange lights are seldom harbingers of joy.

• 29) People arriving to rescue you generally get ambushed by the monster, so don't rely on them as your only means of escape. In fact, expect to be surprised and delayed by encountering their flayed corpse at some point.

• 30) On no account do ANYTHING because someone dares you to.

• 31) If you realize that the people in your town/county are having their minds taken over by some strange force, alien or otherwise: DO NOT call the police as they are A) either already taken over themselves and will turn you in or B) Will not believe you and laugh at you. Either way, you must handle the problem yourself.

• 32) If a small band of children appear to be smarter then the adults that are around them, be cautious. If they stay together in a small, secretive group, and display nothing but hostility towards their elders, authority, and the church, leave town at once. If you wish to stay, be as kind to the children as possible, but expect to die anyways because you are inferior to them.

• 33) If you assist the villian of the film, do not expect gratitude in exchange for your services. In fact, do not expect anything other then death, which will come in the final minutes of the film and usually over the girl you have become attracted to, but the villian wants as their own.

• 34) If any animals, such as Birds, Pirahna, Spiders, etc. begin to exhibit behavior that seems a bit more hostile towards mankind than normal, immediately call in the authorities, get out of that town, and do not try to talk to any scientist who specializes in that animal (ornithologists and the like) for they will not believe you.

• 35) Whatever you do, DO NOT keep pets such as cats, dogs, hamsters, or anything cuddly. If you must, do not let them out of your sight for so much as a second.

• 36) When you land on a distant planet and find some objects that look like eggs, leave them alone.

• 37) When one of your spaceship's crew finds a hideous parasite attached to his body (as a result of disobeying the previous rule), don't let him back on the ship. The guy's dogmeat anyway.

• 38) When a hideous alien menace is hunting you (as a result of disobeying the previous two rules) never wander off alone to hunt for the ship's cat.

• 39) Never, EVER go in/out there (There being the attic, closet, barn, basement, dark alley, dark anywhere else, the all-concealing shadows, the woods or the lake)

• 40) If someone who seems important tells you to do or NOT do something (like DON'T fall asleep, DON'T leave me, DON'T look for the homicidal-chainsaw-wielding-psychopath by yourself) by all means, listen to them, unless doing so would break another of the guidelines.

• 41) If you manage to lose a few body parts along the way, don't despair. Take this opportunity to replace them with weapons, such as chainsaws, harpoons, etc.

• 42) If you are using a gun to combat the all-comsuming evil, it is a good idea to quickly find a new means of defense, because no matter how much ammo you have, you'll run out just before you kill the monster (unless your name is Ash, in which case, you'll never have to reload)

• 43) If you are wounded by flesh-eating zombies, aboandon all hope, because sooner or later, no matter how many anti-biotics you take, yer gonna become one of 'em.

• 44) If you're the the last main character left, and a bunch of people are hunting the monster/monsters DON'T stand out in the open, because you will immediately be mistaken for a/the monster.

• 50) Don't open the closed door, especially if you hear scratching, heavy breathing, or any other strange noises from the other side.

• 51) DO NOT go into the dark room.

• 52) If you're a male, get out of there as fast as possible! The only one who ever survives is a female.

• 53) While in a horror film, never bathe, especially when in the house alone.

• 54) In terms of weaponry and general equipment for fighting the monster, never rely on any tool more complicated than a pointed stick. Generators will inexplicably run out of power, just as the nasty space-vegetable climbs onto your jury rigged electrical grid. Just when you've got the ghoul lined up in your sights, your gun will invariably jam.

• 55) If you are a female, never show your breasts, easy women are expendable.

  This is just a partial list borrowed from the site of The Cabinet of Dr. Casey, a great horror site, lots of movie poster art too.