The Postscript: Scary movies

I have never been able to watch scary movies.

My mother will remind you (if she gets the chance) that I can’t even watch embarrassing television programs, which is, frankly, embarrassing. I would watch that terrible moment when Lucy was about to get caught doing something embarrassing by her employer, Mr. Mooney, on “The Lucy Show” reruns, and I would have to leave the room in a hurry — making excuses about how I suddenly needed to help set the table. The truth was, I just couldn’t stand to watch Lucy get caught.

Scary movies, of course, are much worse. If getting caught by Mr. Mooney was bad,...