My kids dropped by the house last night and… after dinner… we watched one of my fave movies of all time, Raiders of the Lost Ark — my daughters haven’t seen it in a while and were both like, “You let us watch some scary shit when we were kids.”
Scary? I mean, their grandparentstook my grammar school-aged ass to see stuff like Earthquake,The Towering Inferno and Poseidon Adventure in theaters and… well… I’ve never actually been on a cruise because that rogue wave is gotta hit some time — not on my watch!
Not to mention some of the creepy kids’ shows we grew up with in the 70s and 80s, right? I mean, there’s something about H.R. Pufnstuf that really creeped me out as a kid… but I’d still watch it, religiously.
How about you? What movies or shows scared you as a kid?
Omg I had forgotten about Poseidon Adventure - I was 8 years old and traumatized! Wizard of Oz was terrifying - the witch and those monkeys. I remember being very upset by Grizzly Adams, but no memory of the film at all. I've repressed something!
Every year when The Wizard of Oz was on I would have to leave the room when the trees were mean to Dorothy. They really mocked her and then threw apples at her! Also, once on vacation with our kids, the original Willy Wonka came on and there was a psychedelic scene of boats flying in the air. My kids were like this is weird and we agreed.
I idly turned on the TV after school in around 1977 and the movie The Fly was on, and it got me so scared that I ashamedly turned it off. Later I went to the Jeff Goldblum version by myself at a local theater and it was so nightmarish that you still couldn't pay me to re-watch it.
When I was eight or so, the opening credits of Star Trek reruns, when the Enterprise "comes at you," I couldn't look at that.
The snake in Rikki Tikki Tavi; the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz; Arnold’s burning down in Happy Days; Snoopy going back to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm; and, generally, Hee Haw.
Lady Elaine Fairchild on Mister Rogers scared the shit out of me. Also the “I eat children” child catcher guy on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The witch on HR Puffenstuff. What were we watching?!?
The Last Unicorn is, I believe, singlehandedly responsible for my lifelong depression. What a dark, sad movie that is. Also the bloody bunnies of Watership Down and the animal testing scenes in the Secret of Nimh were all nightmare fuel for me.
Tom Cruise and the red demon thing (Tim Curry!) is Legend (with Mia Sara). The Last Unicorn is the stuff of nightmares. Horrifying animated bull terrorizes animated-MiaFarrow-unicorn. I'll never be over it. So much weeping. (why so many Mias in our unicorn movies?)
So much weeping, also a horny animated tree, animated unicorn genocide, and a slit your wrists soundtrack by America. How did that thing ever get made???
Yes to the older people taking tiny us to see legitimately scary shit! A baby sitter took me to see Gremlins and the bubbling microwaved scene, so gross, so horrifying, but bc of Gizmo, Gremlins was marketed directly at kids... My much older brother "let me" watch Poltergeist and dude pulling off his face at the sink is never leaving my scarred brain.
Okay, so I had my niece sleepover and we watched Jurassic Park together... she was 8... and her mother paid me back years later by allowing my kids to watch Blazing Saddles... they were 12 and under.
Late to the conversation... but how about those 1970's Disney movies? Child of Glass (1978)? Watcher in the Woods (1980)? TERRIFYING. Shown as part of their 'family friendly' Sunday night movie series. Nope nope nope.
Right? Who in the world thought these were appropriate movies? Look what happens when you go out to play, kids - you might fall into a well or get trapped in an alternate dimension.
When I was very little the abominable snowman in the Rudolph claymation Xmas movies scared me to running and hiding .
Serious nightmare fuel. Claymation also reminds me of another show... Gumby also weirded me out.
YES!
I had Aliens nightmares every night from 10 to 16. Fun! Also the Gmork in Neverending Story 🙈
Oh wow, the death of Artax was traumatizing!!
Oh the worrrrrrrrrst!
I was coming here to cite this exact scene
I still can't watch it.
Omg I had forgotten about Poseidon Adventure - I was 8 years old and traumatized! Wizard of Oz was terrifying - the witch and those monkeys. I remember being very upset by Grizzly Adams, but no memory of the film at all. I've repressed something!
Yup, and like Pam mentions below... talking trees throwing apples at Dorothy while mocking her... ugh.
Every year when The Wizard of Oz was on I would have to leave the room when the trees were mean to Dorothy. They really mocked her and then threw apples at her! Also, once on vacation with our kids, the original Willy Wonka came on and there was a psychedelic scene of boats flying in the air. My kids were like this is weird and we agreed.
Agreed! And the remake with Johnny Depp was super weird, I think.
The tornado was what scared me!
Oh the witch. Too scary to even look at her. I have to remind myself. “It’s the nice Folgers coffee lady, it’s the nice Folgers coffee lady...”
I idly turned on the TV after school in around 1977 and the movie The Fly was on, and it got me so scared that I ashamedly turned it off. Later I went to the Jeff Goldblum version by myself at a local theater and it was so nightmarish that you still couldn't pay me to re-watch it.
When I was eight or so, the opening credits of Star Trek reruns, when the Enterprise "comes at you," I couldn't look at that.
I found the original Fly scary and Jeff Goldblum version totally gross.
The snake in Rikki Tikki Tavi; the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz; Arnold’s burning down in Happy Days; Snoopy going back to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm; and, generally, Hee Haw.
Yes to ALL of this but I don't remember about the time Snoopy went back to the puppy farm — not sure I want to Google it, either.
Lady Elaine Fairchild on Mister Rogers scared the shit out of me. Also the “I eat children” child catcher guy on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The witch on HR Puffenstuff. What were we watching?!?
Now I have lady Elaine's voice in my head...GAH!! No wonder I'm a mess, LOL!!!
The Last Unicorn is, I believe, singlehandedly responsible for my lifelong depression. What a dark, sad movie that is. Also the bloody bunnies of Watership Down and the animal testing scenes in the Secret of Nimh were all nightmare fuel for me.
Oh man, was The Last Unicorn the one with Tom Cruise and that demon thing? BLECH!
Tom Cruise and the red demon thing (Tim Curry!) is Legend (with Mia Sara). The Last Unicorn is the stuff of nightmares. Horrifying animated bull terrorizes animated-MiaFarrow-unicorn. I'll never be over it. So much weeping. (why so many Mias in our unicorn movies?)
So much weeping, also a horny animated tree, animated unicorn genocide, and a slit your wrists soundtrack by America. How did that thing ever get made???
Sleestacks from Land of the Lost. All the way!
Dr. Who. OMG. The old ones with Tom Baker as the Doctor.
It happened to come on TV as soon as I got off the bus and to this day I can barely watch that show.
But the theme song? Hell yeah!
Yas!! There’s a more recent Dr. Who with Matt Smith — the episode with Vincent van Goh and the art critic — that had me in tears.
Yes to the older people taking tiny us to see legitimately scary shit! A baby sitter took me to see Gremlins and the bubbling microwaved scene, so gross, so horrifying, but bc of Gizmo, Gremlins was marketed directly at kids... My much older brother "let me" watch Poltergeist and dude pulling off his face at the sink is never leaving my scarred brain.
Okay, so I had my niece sleepover and we watched Jurassic Park together... she was 8... and her mother paid me back years later by allowing my kids to watch Blazing Saddles... they were 12 and under.
I still find the vampires in Omega Man so creepy and scary. I was a big horror movie fan even as a very young kid but that movie stuck.
OMG! The Omega Man... *shiver*
Late to the conversation... but how about those 1970's Disney movies? Child of Glass (1978)? Watcher in the Woods (1980)? TERRIFYING. Shown as part of their 'family friendly' Sunday night movie series. Nope nope nope.
GAH! Why did I read this comment right before bed? What was I thinking??
Right? Who in the world thought these were appropriate movies? Look what happens when you go out to play, kids - you might fall into a well or get trapped in an alternate dimension.
The super freaky, evil wolf from “Never Ending Story”!