Halloween just passed, so it’s only fitting that you learn the crucial steps to surviving a horror film. Let’s face it; if you’re an independent teenager in a modern or not-so modern horror movie, you’ll be facing some problems. Whether there’s a creepy little girl with blood on her dress chasing you down a hallway or a pale-faced maniac staring back at you through the upstairs window of that house you just bought, these 5 tips will ensure your survival.

1. Don’t be the wild one

More often than not, there’s an arrogant, obnoxious teen in your unfortunate group of horror movie friends. Make sure that isn’t you. These types of fired-up pals don’t last long in the face of a deadly campground killing spree or a ghostly possession atop an Indian burial site. Most horror movies use guys and girls like these for early killings, setting up scares and shocks for later. Sex-crazy, drug-addicted, dishonest, and boastful are all easy traits to avoid taking part in.

2. Utilize your phone

One of the most common tropes in horror movies is when characters can’t access help from their phone. The two most frequently shown reasons are that the battery is dead, or the cell signal is too low. So obviously, charge your phone before visiting those old catacombs with screaming banshees or that ridiculously sinister house on the hill. And watch out for that cell signal, of course. Your phone is a life-saver, and if the various teens in these horror movies were actually smart with them, the movies would last about ten minutes at most. Scary psychopath has you all trapped in the abandoned asylum? “911, what’s your emergency?”

3. Anything creepy is a red flag

This is a no-brainer. In many horror films, characters will take or buy some of the creepiest antiques, property and toys for no good reason. Whether they see an evil-looking clown doll in a shady store or a run-down mansion in the middle of the woods, these purchases and findings never turn out well. So stay away from them at all costs. In addition, if you’re living in a place that starts acting up with furniture moving around and bloody messages popping up, stop recording it during the night like a weirdo. Just get out, the place is haunted. Case closed. You should also leave if your neighbors act like they want to harvest your flesh and make masks out of it. Obvious reasons.

4. Fight back… or don’t

Depending on what you’re up against, either one of these tips can be considered idiotic. Let’s say you find an old tape, and you decide to put it in that VCR you have for some reason. About a week later, a kid crawls out of the TV to kill you. Should you run? Well, of course; that’s terrifying! But you could also do the next logical thing: fight back. From insanely slow-walking chainsaw maniacs to scary little kids singing old nursery rhymes down a hallway, there’s no shortage of opportunity to take your own weapons out. Get a machete so that it’s a fair battle. Take out a gun if you have to. Don’t sit there just waiting to be stabbed with a screwdriver; take some action! However, if you have a demonic spirit taunting you with black figures across the room, or maybe an axe-wielding dude who literally won’t die for some reason, book it. Run like you’re in a marathon.

5. Get away properly

In the likely event in which you simply can’t fight back without getting brutally killed, you need an escape. Unfortunately, everybody, even the radical jocks, turn into complete klutzes when faced with running away. From tripping over random objects that shouldn’t have been there in the first place to suddenly not knowing how to start a car, this trope will damage your chances of survival. For starters, if you’re being chased in a house, don’t run upstairs. Get out the way that smart people would do it: through the door. This is because running upstairs and barricading an easily destructible bedroom door is a very dumb idea. Also, avoid trying to escape in your car. You’ll be sitting in that seat for minutes fidgeting with the keys, and when you finally do start the car, the killer will have had enough time to buckle himself in next to you. Once you’re out of the house, don’t run into the forest like every other idiot nailed to a tree with his/her guts hanging out. Head to civilization. There are actual people there to be afraid with you, hundreds even. It’s not that hard, especially since half the time, the guy chasing you is carrying a super heavy chainsaw, or wearing an uncomfortable boiler suit with a poorly-made mask to boot. You actually have quite the upper edge in this scenario.

Let’s hope that your month of horrors wasn’t in vain. Now if you’re trapped in your own house (even though that spirit hypocritically wants you to ‘get out’), you’ll have these crucial tips to refer to!