It probably seems like I've been talking an awful lot about scary movies lately.

And yes, I am a fan of horror genre. I wouldn't say it's my favorite, though. I'm as much a fan of science-fiction, comedies (everything from the slapstick silent films to the screwball comedies to today's considerably raunchier sex comedies), documentaries and sports dramas. I'm an aficionado of pretty much everything, really.

But it is that time of year, so you'll have to forgive me if I have horror on the brain. Some of my earliest memories are of scary movies and scary television programs that I saw growing up.

That includes "House of Dark Shadows," the 1970 movie spinoff of the long-running, Gothic television soap opera. The film absolutely terrified me but it also thrilled me at the same time.

However, I have gone back to revisit the movie — I watched "House" in its entirety when it showed up on a cable movie channel recently. And sadly, it doesn't hold up particularly well. (A subsequent sequel, 1971's "Night of Dark Shadows," was even worse.)

By the way, the original, cult-favorite series (as compared to the 1991 revival) is available on DVD, though there are no really complete sets of it yet.

While I'm at it, here are some favorites from my childhood, all of which are available on DVD:

The classic Hammer Horror movies. The British film studio made its own, vivid versions of classic horror tales and movies featuring classic monster characters.

Easily the best of these were 1957's "The Curse of Frankenstein" (Warner, $12.98) and 1958's "Horror of Dracula" (Warner, $9.98).

Christopher Lee starred as the title monsters, and I'll go so far as to say that his take on Dracula might be the definitive movie version of the much-filmed Bram Stoker creation.

"Night Gallery" (Universal, $59.98), the 1970 horror anthology series that featured Rod Serling as the host.

I remember the show being very inconsistent. But the thought of the "green fingers" episode still sends shivers down my spine.

"The Night Stalker," the 1972 television movie that starred Darren McGavin as investigative reporter Carl Kolchak, who is on the trail of a vampire terrorizing Las Vegas.

A two-pack (MGM, $14.98) features both the original movie and its 1972 follow-up, "The Night Strangler," which wasn't nearly as good.

And a three-disc box set (Universal, $39.98) that contains all 20 episodes of the subsequent television series.

That show eventually turned into rote monster-of-the-week tales. But when it was good, it was pretty good and scary.

The zombie episode, in particular, made me a frightened little wreck.

(By the way, a 2005 television "re-imagining" of "Night Stalker," starring Stuart Townshend as Kolchak, was terrible.)

e-mail: jeff@desnews.com