OK -- what is it about this movie, anyway? Why has it affected us?

I was about 16 when I saw this on tv. I think I remember the constant whispering and planning by the creatures scaring me the most. Also, they were so relentless in their pursuit of Sally, and she tried so hard to get her hubby and friend to believe her - finally her friend did. Those little things were no joke! I was afraid to go down the stairs after I saw it. Glad we didn't have a fireplace, lol. I have not forgotten it after all these years, just finished watching it on youtube.

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Some great points by everyone. Certainly the faces and the look in their eyes and the whispering. The whispering was so maniacal and evil...and the excitement they have about getting the girl...I think at one point one of them says something like "Can't we kill her now?!?!" and then the other one says "soon" or something. It was my first exposure to the idea of something sort of lusting after getting to kill or scare someone. Very twisted. I also think the fact that they actually get the girl as someone mentioned in another post and that it was implied that once they get you you are stuck with them in that fireplave FOREVER. That was the part that got me too. That you couldn't even escape by death. And then the fact that the girl became one of them. It was also my first exposure to that...someone changing and becoming what they feared.

I was 3 or 4 years old when I saw this and I think that's also the key. So many of us saw this as young children and it's a bit much for a kid of that age I think. It was the 70's and I'm just not sure what my parents were thinking.