What Constitutes Scary?

As I try to figure out what is really scary, I find myself completely stumped. I know what I think is scary, but there is no way to come up with a universal concept of "really scary"; and without an idea of what is truly scary, how can I possibly find that truly scary movie?

For some people, the scariest movies are those about the psychotic nobody who takes it upon himself to punish the wicked in really gruesome and horrifying ways. Movies like Saw and Seven come to mind. I cannot deny that such stories make me squeamish, but they don't frighten me as much as they revolt me - and more often than not, I become so aggravated by the infuriating and self-deluded logic behind the antagonist's actions, it becomes impossible for me to get anything else out of the story; especially that scary feeling I'm looking for.  

I also can't stand these movies because they pander to this idea of bigger and better - what can we do to one-up the other guy - rather than focus on quality film making. What disturbs me the most about these movies is the sick pleasure we seem to get from human suffering. Being infatuated with the horror genre myself, I can't say too much about this without being hypocritical, but let me just say that humanity hasn't come very far in terms of entertainment. We might hem and haw at the idea of public executions being a form of entertainment, but how is it any different from Saw? Because it's not real? The methods portrayed in these movies were real enough back during the crusades. That's enough to turn me right off thank you very much.

Serial Killer, Albert Fish

This is where I get myself backed into a corner, because while I hate Saw, I am extremely interested in serial killers. How can I justify my unfailing interest in serial killers when I make a big deal about fake murderers? It just doesn't make any sense. But that's the way I feel, so there ya go.

Anyway, the point behind all this is: in my personal search for that truly scary movie, the scariest thing I have found is not a movie, but a television series: "In Cold Blood". I get absolutely, down to the bone chills, when I watch true crime documentaries, and this is a good one. So if you are looking for that creepy, exhilarating feeling, watch Investigation Discovery's "In Cold Blood" on the Discovery Channel while you're alone at night; try not to focus on the cheese ball reenactments too much, and watch more than one. It's freaky.