Whether or not you enjoy a good scare, have you ever wondered what exactly makes horror movie novelists, screenwriters, and directors tick? Call them deranged, call them genius, but definitely call them college educated — which means that your favorite horror flick might just have been inspired by an eerie encounter these creep inducers had on campus.

Check out our top 20 list of horror novelists, screenwriters, and directors (including two dynamic duos) and the classics with which they found their fame and fortune. Then see where these masters of the macabre matriculated — maybe you’re heading there yourself, if you dare.

1. William Peter Blatty, The Exorcist. Arguably one of the scariest movies of all time—audience members would faint during screenings—The Exorcist had its start as a novel by William Peter Blatty. The Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, DC is the main locale of this tale of demonic possession, and Blatty happens to be a graduate of Georgetown University. Props to Blatty for heeding one of the most famous pieces of advice for writers—write what you know.

2. John Carpenter, Halloween. Thanks to this graduate of both Western Kentucky University and University of Southern California film school, never has a lit jack-o-lantern been scarier than during the opening credits of the first Halloween installment. The movie, which made Jamie Lee Curtis a household name, was produced with a budget of just $320,000, hence the dearth of movie blood and the clever reuse of a spray-painted Captain Kirk mask to hide Michael Myers’ grim features. Genius.

3. Wes Craven, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Last House on the Left, Scream. Craven might be his name, but this horror genius is anything but timid when it comes to scaring the bejeezus out of viewers. It’s been said that Freddy Krueger is a mashup of a childhood bully and a creepy guy he once saw, but there MUST have been other people and events that spooked Craven during his time as a writing and psychology major at Wheaton College and later as a grad student at Johns Hopkins University.

4. Peter Benchley, Jaws. This Harvard grad’s novel taught us that it’s always a good idea to have a bigger boat when it comes to doing battle with a blood-thirsty shark. Of course, it didn’t hurt Benchley’s writing career that his grandfather was Robert Benchley, the famous New Yorker writer and regular of the Algonquin Round Table, a group of writers and critics that included Dorothy Parker.

5. Brian DePalma, Carrie. This director is known for other film classics like Scarface and Carlito’s Way, but horror fans know him for bringing Stephen King’s Carrie to life on the silver screen. DePalma actually started off as a physics undergrad at Columbia University, but moved on to graduate work in theatre and film at Sarah Lawrence, where he won a writing fellowship. Smart move, DePalma.

6. Thomas Harris, The Silence of the Lambs. Thanks to Thomas Harris, an English major from Baylor University, we forever link chianti, fava beans, and the heebie jeebies with his most famous fictional character, Hannibal Lecter. Sir Anthony Hopkins won the Academy Award in 1992 for his turn in the film adaptation as the cannibalistic Dr. Lecter, who had a soft spot for FBI cadet Clarice Starling, played by Jodie Foster, who also took home an Oscar.

7. Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window. The shower used to be a safe, happy place before this British filmmaker introduced the world to innkeeper Norman Bates and his devoted mother in Psycho. In the thrilling classic Rear Window, he taught us that people should really mind their own business, especially when they have murderous neighbors. After secondary school, Hitch enrolled in the London County Council School of Engineering and Navigation and was a draftsman and designer after graduation before pursuing his illustrious film career. Film fans enjoy spotting Sir Alfred’s cameos in movies—he can be seen walking his own dogs in the beginning of The Birds.

8. Tobe Hooper, Poltergeist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Chainsaws are creepy to begin with, but television sets took on their own brand of horror in Poltergeist, thanks to Tobe Hooper. This former college professor actually made The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with a cast culled from professors and students. Sure hope they got extra credit for that bloodfest!

9. Stephen King, Carrie, The Stand, The Shining, etc. Stephen King’s novels run the gamut from sheer terror in The Shining (“Heeeeere’s Johnny!”) to tear-jerking inspiration in The Green Mile. But this University of Maine alum’s initial claim to fame was his first published novel, Carrie, which told the horrifying tale of a telekinetic girl who exacted revenge on her tormentors. What many people don’t realize is that King happens to be a really funny guy (grab a copy of his On Writing memoir and see for yourself) as well as a huge Boston Red Sox Fan. Sorry, King. This baseball season must be a nightmare for you.

10. Ira Levin, Rosemary’s Baby, The Stepford Wives. The late great novelist—a graduate of NYU–brought the devil to New York City in Rosemary’s Baby and strangeness to the suburbs in The Stepford Wives, two of his most well-known works. Rosemary’s Baby enjoys additional notoriety, as the film version, starring a young Mia Farrow, was directed by the highly controversial Roman Polanski.

11. Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez, The Blair Witch Project. These filmmakers, who both graduated University of Central Florida in 1994, had most of us believing that three college students really did disappear into the woods of Burkittsville, Maryland. (They didn’t). Never have stick figures been so creepy and hand-held camera footage so nauseating as in The Blair Witch Project, one of the highest-grossing independent films ever. Nice job, boys.

12. Victor Miller, Friday the 13th. If a certain day on the calendar has you freaked out, blame Victor Miller for creating the characters and events at Camp Crystal Lake that kicked off the Friday the 13th saga. In all fairness, however, Miller distanced himself from the bloody franchise, since he did not approve of Jason becoming the killer (fans will remember that it was Mrs. Voorhees, Jason’s mom, who was the original stalker). Miller earned his BA in English from Yale and an MA in Theatre and Speech from Tulane. He eventually moved more towards the theatre world, becoming co-founder of the American Shakespeare Theatre’s Center for Theatre Techniques in Education.

13. Sam Raimi, The Evil Dead. Comic book fans love or loathe Sam Raimi for his direction of the Spider-Man blockbusters, but this English major from Michigan State really made his name with the 1981 gorefest The Evil Dead, in which we learned that zombies are willing to travel to secluded cabins in the woods to feast on humans. The Evil Dead is such a favorite of horror fans that Raimi was compelled to not only write sequels, but also create a remake of his own original, due out next year.

14. Anne Rice, Interview with a Vampire. Give it up for the only female to make our list! Novelist Anne Rice showed some respect for the undead with the creation of her most famous character, Lestat (played by Tom Cruise in the film adaptation) as well as reminded readers that vampires are BAD. (Hear that, Twilight fans?) Rice earned her undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University and later earned her master’s in creative writing. Sadly, Rice’s young daughter died of leukemia, and some say that it was her grief that led her to write such haunting tales.

15. George A. Romero, Night of the Living Dead. This master of horror might have witnessed his classmates pull a few too many all-nighters at Carnegie Mellon University to come up with his bloody classic, Night of the Living Dead. Romero’s work is too much for some viewers, but many directors adore this guy and pay homage to his films every chance they can get.

16. Eli Roth, Cabin Fever, Hostel. While a wicked case of psoriasis in his early 20s was most likely the inspiration behind the gross display of a flesh-eating virus that is Cabin Fever, Eli Roth formally learned the art of filmmaking at New York University. (He graduated summa cum laude, so we’ll take that to mean he learned it well.) This dude likes blood and gore, as seen in Hostel and Hostel II, so it’s only right that he landed in the “Splat Pack” of Hollywood’s horror elite.

17. Steven Spielberg, Jaws, Jurassic Park. Yes, Steven Spielberg is known for non-horror masterpieces like E.T. and the Indiana Jones movies, but don’t forget that he made us afraid to go into the water and led us to believe that extinct creatures could be a credible threat. Believe it or not, USC film school turned down this film titan TWICE, so he opted for California State University Long Beach. Bonus trivia: Spielberg is a not-so-proud brother of Theta Chi fraternity, which hazed him so terribly that he is said to include some kind of reference to the brotherhood’s crest and secret ritual in each of his movies as sweet revenge.

18. M. Night Shyamalan, The Sixth Sense, Signs. You won’t be hiding your eyes from gore in any of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies, but chills still prevail. “I see dead people” will go down as one of the most famous movie lines in history, thanks to this NYU Tisch School of the Arts grad. Shyamalan was born in India but raised in a tony suburb of Philadelphia, and Pennsylvania often figures prominently in his movies. Like one of his idols, Alfred Hitchcock, Shyamalan writes himself into his scripts, though unlike Hitch, Shyamalan has considerably more than a walk-on part in movies such as Signs and Lady in the Water.

19. James Wan and Leigh Whannell, Saw I—VI. The Land Down Under has exported a fair share of movie talent over the years, the latest crop of which contains the brains that launched the Saw franchise, James Wann and Leigh Whannell. These two buddies met at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and the rest is box office history. To say that the Saw movies are graphic is the understatement of the century—there’s a reason that this duo is among “The Splat Pack.”

20. Rob Zombie, House of 1,000 Corpses, Devil’s Rejects, Halloween (remake). With a name like Rob Zombie, you know you’re not in for the feel-good comedy of the year. Zombie spent some time at the Pratt Institute before he launched his music career. The former frontman of the metal band White Zombie made his foray into film with the well-received House of 1,000 Corpses. These days, Zombie is into remaking classic horror films like Carpenter’s Halloween and putting his own bloody spin on them, which has earned him both praise and criticism from horror fans. Despite earning his place in Hollywood’s “Splat Pack,” Zombie claims that his favorite horror films are the virtually bloodless creations of the 1930s and 1940s.

~Barbara Bellesi

While health care reform is grabbing headlines, health care is one of the more secure job sectors.
Some professionals in hospitals and physicians offices are seizing the moment to earn degrees. If you’re a registered nurse, you may be considering a bachelor’s in nursing, which could lead to promotions or higher-paying jobs. You also could teach future nurses.

And there are plenty of choices for nurses, with more than 700 nursing programs offering degrees at the bachelor’s level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some are available online.
You’ll join a growing number of students – 145,845 as of 2008 – enrolling in baccalaureate nursing programs, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Here are three questions to ask when considering a nursing degree.

1. What additional skills will I acquire with my BSN?
Students can learn the skills to work in a range of clinical settings and provide comprehensive nursing care to patients and their families. Expect to gain knowledge to make decisions quickly in health care settings, collaborate with other professionals on issues of health and wellness, and develop management skills. Officials at Jacksonville University (FL) also report that a BSN degree can be beneficial for those seeking to enter into high-demand fields such as critical care, cardiology, dermatology, ob/gyn, and oncology.

2. How will earning a BSN impact my career?
It can. Jacksonville University, which offers one of the online bachelor’s of nursing programs, reports that the degree enables nurses to move from the technical level to a professional practice. It cites a 2007 earning survey in RN magazine that found salaries are increased from 50 cents an hour to $3.20 an hour. A nurse with a BSN also could receive a specialty pay differential, the university says.

3. Is a career in teaching possible?
There is a great need for nursing teachers. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing found 32,617 qualified applicants in 2008 were not accepted due to factors including the shortage of teachers. The association’s CEO and Executive Director, Geraldine “Polly” Bednash, says: “Increasing enrollment in baccalaureate nursing programs is a critical first step to correcting an imbalance in the nursing student population and reversing our nation’s diminishing supply of nurse educators.”

In short, there are many career roads for those with a BSN. Which one will you take?

-Lori Johnston

The 2009 Nobel Prize laureates who are U.S. citizens earned their degrees from a variety of schools. Their hard work has received attention this year, and check out the list below to see how their majors and college paths contributed to their research and efforts that received recognition from the Nobel Prize committee.

Even if you have no interest in these individuals’ fields, their education and focus could inspire you during your college search or career considerations.

Nobel Peace Prize 2009

President Barack Obama: Earned his bachelor’s degree Columbia College, part of Columbia University in New York in 1983, after transferring in his junior year from Occidental College in Los Angeles, and then earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.

Inspired? Consider this: Anyone can aspire to be a do gooder, no matter what career. You may want to consider a career in public policy, social work, education, or local government.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009

• Charles Kuen Kao: Earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering 1965 from the University of London, where he also earned his undergraduate degree.
• Willard Sterling Boyle: Earned his Ph.D. in Physics 1950 from McGill University, Montreal, Canada., where he also earned his undergraduate degree.
• George Elwood Smith: Earned his Ph.D. in Physics 1959 from University of Chicago; earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania.

Inspired? Consider this: Although not everyone can be a physics whiz, you can certainly apply your interest in how things move and work by seeking a career that requires hands-on technical skills. Those in fields like electrical engineering and aviation maintenance use their skills to build and fix.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2009

• Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: Earned his Ph.D. in physics in 1976 from Ohio University; did undergraduate studies in Baroda.
• Thomas A. Steitz: Earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology and biochemistry in 1966 from Harvard University, earned his undergraduate degree from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisc.

Inspired? Consider this: Figuring out chemical reactions was never your strong suit, but you do have “chemistry” when it comes to working well with others. Check out careers in public relations, hospitality management, or occupational therapy.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009

• Elizabeth H. Blackburn: Earned her Ph.D. in 1975 from the University of Cambridge; undergraduate studies at the University of Melbourne.
• Carol W. Greider: Earned her Ph.D. in 1987 from University of California, Berkeley; earned her bachelor’s degree at University of California in Santa Barbara.
• Jack W. Szostak: Earned his Ph.D. in 1977 from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.; earned his bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.

Inspired? Consider this: If the site of bodily fluids is too much for you to handle, there are many health care positions that involve patient care minus the blood, like being an x-ray technician or working in medical billing or as a hospital technician.

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2009

• Elinor Ostrom: Earned her Ph.D. in political science in 1965 from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she also earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
• Oliver E. Williamson: Earned his Ph.D. in economics in 1963 from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh; received his bachelor’s degree from MIT and MBA from Stanford University in California.

Inspired? Consider this: If you’re known for your number-crunching prowess, careers in financial planning, bookkeeping, and accounting are attainable with just a couple of years or less of schooling.

-Lori Johnston

If you haven’t seen the prolific public service announcements yet, you will. This month, be on the lookout for TV stars like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Masi Oka, and Rainn Wilson singing the praises of service and volunteering through a new Web site, iParticipate.org. In fact, all sorts of celebs are offering up personal stories on the impact of service, including former bad-boy Mark Wahlberg, who wrote an essay on making a difference for troubled youth.

Why the spotlight on service? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate at which Americans volunteer is around 26 percent, and it hasn’t increased in 40 years. Talk about a sad stat – especially when everyone has something to give.

So the long-range, multifaceted iParticipate campaign, led by the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) – the leading charitable organization of the entertainment industry – seeks to promote a new way of thinking about service and persuade millions more Americans to volunteer regularly. After all, they say, great change begins with small choices, and one decision to change leads to others.

If you don’t know where to serve, click into iParticipate.org, which simplifies the process of finding volunteer opportunities in your local community. Opportunities are categorized in one of five key areas of service: children and education; community health and wellness; environmental conservation; financial security; and support for veterans and military families. You can register a project for Make a Difference Day, October 24, or you can volunteer any day of the year. EIF has even provided grants to key organizations in order to help build capacity to accept, train, and deploy volunteers.

Once you decide where you’ll volunteer, the site enables you to recruit friends to join you in service. After all, reports the BLS, nearly half of all people who volunteer started because they were asked by someone they know.

Benefits of Service
Though the people you’re serving are the obvious beneficiaries of your commitment, they’re not the only ones who receive a reward. When you get involved and enrich the lives of the people in your community, you strengthen your own wellbeing. Doing good for others enables you to live a longer, happier, healthier life. After all, studies show that those who volunteer early in life experience greater functional ability and better health outcomes later in life.

And volunteering doesn’t need to exist independent of your current activities. In many organizations, employees are actively involved in company-sponsored community service. Corporate community service is a great way to forge bonds with co-workers and supervisors as you become united toward a common, higher goal. Helping the less fortunate can bring a level of compassion and empathy that’s often missing in the workplace. Plus, volunteering can make you a more focused and motivated employee, which always pays dividends in your professional life. You may even decide to take it a step further, and explore a career that gives back.

If you want to change the world, this is one place to start. I participate. Do you?

-Robyn Tellefsen

Going to college after years away, or for the first time as an older student, can seem daunting, but it’s possible to juggle papers and exams with family, work, and other time-consuming obligations.

A friend of mine has been doing just that, pursuing her master’s while holding down a full-time job, and the duties of a wife and a mom of two young kids. She’s put in the hard work, sacrificing sleep for school at times, but has received the rewards of gaining knowledge about a passion that should lead to a new career or career advancement.

As she and many other adult students can tell you, succeeding in a back-to-school endeavor is no easy accomplishment. That’s why we’ve turned to Joyce M. Stern, dean for Student Academic Support and Advising at Grinnell College in Iowa, for her tips on tackling school when you’re out of your 20s. For starters, find out how your work experience could assist you in getting a jumpstart on school, then try these strategies once you’re back in class…

Get organized.
On the first day of class, grab the course syllabus and mark down any test or assignment deadlines on your calendar or planner, suggests Stern. That can be on your computer or on paper, depending on your preference,  “Determine what can get done now, what can get done tomorrow and what you need to do later in the week,” she adds.

Take it step by step.
Create interim goals or due dates for parts of a project, whether it’s a 10-page research paper or a midterm, Stern recommends. That way, you won’t cram the night before or put all of the pressure on one day. She points out that scheduling blocks of time – and sticking to them – will help minimize the intensity of a project.

Just get started.
If you’re unmotivated by the task or subject matter, don’t procrastinate. Stern says it’s OK to give yourself permission to work in small segments (for example, stop after 10 minutes) if you continue to have a hard time. “Often starting on a project is the hardest part, and you may find it’s not as unpleasant as you anticipated,” she says.

Push aside those perfectionist tendencies.
Stern points out that perfectionist students, or those facing “writer’s block,” sometimes can be helped by composing their thoughts in a different manner. She recommends taking a notebook to a coffee shop or library and write out all your ideas long hand, or typing on the computer without the screen lit (turn off the monitor).  When all else fails, write, “Done is better than perfect” and tape it to your computer. “Repeat it the next time you are tempted to make another change,” she says.

What are your best school tips? Share them in the comments.

-Lori Johnston