Revecca Montgomery, 31, shares her true life story:
I watched with bated breath as the masked man appeared in the doorway, clutching a chainsaw.
There was a crack of thunder, followed by an ear-piercing scream as he swung the blade into his victim.
Blood and guts splattered everywhere.
The entire cinema was wincing and groaning at the gruesome images on the screen, but I was loving every minute of it. I knew my mate Ryan was, too.
We’d met three months earlier at our job in a hotel and really bonded over our shared passion for horror films.
We started going to the movies occasionally after work, which sent rumours flying amongst colleagues that we were more than just friends.
I denied it at first but slowly, I started to realise that Ryan and I had a connection we couldn’t ignore.
One night, I gathered the courage to make the first move.
“Why don’t you ask me out?” I suggested casually as we walked towards the train station.
He looked at me in shock.
“I’m scared you’ll say no,” he admitted.
I laughed and promised I wouldn’t.
Ryan and I on our wedding day with our pooch, Rody.
We went from friends to lovers pretty quickly after that.
Ryan and I had loads in common. We both had strong family-oriented values and although we enjoyed a laugh, we had serious sides, too.
But I’d never met anyone who shared my obsession with horror flicks quite like he did.
But despite appearances, he was a big softy at heart.
Our ‘romantic’ dates usually involved dressing up for the Fright Night parties at our local cinema.
I’d go as a zombie nurse or Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street.
Ryan already looked pretty scary with his tattoos and shaved head but when he added some red contact lenses to his eyes, he was downright terrifying!
But despite appearances, he was a big softy at heart.
We were so happy.
He was sensible and reliable, and I knew he’d make a great dad some day.
We moved in together and for our one-year anniversary, we ditched the movies for a romantic dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant.
I started to suspect Ryan might propose, but I came home empty-handed and slightly disappointed.
That night, I was feeding our Rottweiler, Rody, when Ryan suddenly burst into the kitchen and got down on one knee.
“Will you marry me?” he asked nervously, presenting a box with two rings inside.
“Of course I will,” I said.
Ryan explained that his grandfather, a jeweller, had made him an engagement ring and wedding band, but he couldn’t tell which was which.
Slipping the platinum band with a square-cut diamond onto my finger, tears welled in my eyes.
I couldn’t wait to plan our big day but a traditional white wedding wasn’t for us.
We wanted our guests to have a memorable evening.
“Our theme should reflect who we are as a couple,” I suggested.
We only had to think for a couple of minutes before we had our idea.
“Let’s do a horror theme!” I exclaimed.
The guests at our wedding loved dressing up!
Ryan was stoked, but my heart raced with anxiety while we told his parents.
“I love it!” Ryan’s mum Alison said when we told her. “It’s so different.”
When our wedding day came, I was too excited to be nervous.
All of our friends were expecting something big and I was confident I wouldn’t let them down.
Arriving at the ceremony, I looked up at the gothic architecture of St John’s Cathedral in Brisbane.
It was the perfect building to kick-start our celebrations.
When I walked down the aisle, with Rody as my trusted ring-bearer, our guests gasped.
Me, Ryan and our bridal party.
My dress had layers of blue and silver fabric, covered in sparkles and frills.
I wore silver eye shadow to match, and black long-sleeved gloves.
Ryan teared up when I got to him.
We stuck with the old-fashioned church vows and everyone was misty eyed when we kissed for the first time as husband and wife.
Then we left for the reception, where our guests had been asked to come as horror movie characters.
Michael Jackson’s Thriller blared from the speakers as Ryan and I entered the room.
We’d both put in scary contact lenses, which made our irises white, and my bridesmaids had dressed up as vampires.
Every inch of the room was themed from dead trees as centrepieces, to eerie spider web tablecloths.
Our wedding cake was a sight to be seen!
Our guests had gone all out, too.
We ended up with Dracula, zombies, mummies and Billy, the puppet from the Saw horror movies bogeying on the dance floor.
Even Ryan’s little nephew Henry wore a skeleton onesie!
My mum dressed as Morticia from The Addams Family while Ryan’s godparents wore fake spiders in their hair.
Ryan and I couldn’t stop smiling.
“I love you, my scary wife,” Ryan whispered as we danced.
Always beware of the clowns!
Four years later, Ryan and I have a 16-month old, Layla, and I’m in the process of training as a mortician.
I want to provide grieving families with funerals that properly celebrate life.
Layla’s not old enough for horror movies, but we took her to Disneyland for the Halloween parade and she waved happily at all the skeletons.
All my life people thought my obsession was strange but now I’ve found my ghoul mate, I couldn’t be happier.
