6 Inspiriring Wes Craven Quotes

On Sunday, the master of scare Wes Craven died at age 76 after a long battle with brain cancer. While he was best known for creating the famed horror franchises for Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, Craven also inspired many with quotes on filmmaking and life. Fans and celebrities alike poured out their condolences to Craven's family and paid homage to his legacy in Hollywood.

Craven scared audiences straight both in the '80s and '90s with his Nightmare On Elm Street and Scream films, with Freddy Kreuger and Ghostface terrorizing people for generations. That's no easy feat. He showed that horror films weren't just trashy slasher films and could hold rank with big budget blockbusters. Nightmare On Elm Street effectively launched Johnny Depp's career, and Scream helped propel Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox into A-list stars. Other Wes Craven films included The Hills Have Eyes (both the 1977 original and 2006 reboot), Red Eye, and The Last House On The Left.

Craven is survived by his wife Iya Labunka, a producer and former Disney Studios vice president, according to The Hollywood Reporter. But as we say goodbye to the legendary director, let's remember the words he leaves behind.

On Mastering Horror Films

"The first monster you have to scare the audience with is yourself."

On Creating Nightmare On Elm Street

"I don't feel like I gave birth to Jesus."

On Returning To The Horror Genre With Cursed

"All of us have our individual curses, something that we are uncomfortable with and something that we have to deal with, like me making horror films, perhaps."

On The Theater Experience

"I think the experience of going to a theater and seeing a movie with a lot of people is still part of the transformational power of the film, and it's equivalent to the old shaman telling a story by the campfire to a bunch of people. That is a remarkable thing, if you scream and everyone else in the audience screams, you realize that your fears are not just within yourself, they're in other people as well, and that's strangely releasing. But on the TV, you can still watch it with friends. We watch films on so many different mediums now, that I think they'll complement each other for a long time."

On Looking Forward

"I try not to look back too much. I think the important thing about staying creative and staying sharp and original is not to look back too much, and to kind of look to where your vision is going now."

On Job Advice

"Take the 1st job you can in the industry you want to get into. The job doesn't matter, getting your foot in the door does. #MondayMotivation"

Bustle reporter Hilary Weaver contributed to this piece.