What's the scariest news you could receive?

[ccwaterback]

I would have to go with, someone has stolen your identity. You have cancer, would be a close second.

[Omnipresent]

Your child was abducted. Parts of the body were found.

[Queef Sniffer]

Bush has been re-elected.

[JohnT]

Your child was abducted. Parts of the body were found.

"... but nothing fatal if removed."

We win! :(

[Toddly]

I think it would have to be something like the kids and wife were abducted or the plane they were on crashed. The 2nd would be that a nuclear bomb exploded close enough to get the fallout radiation.

[RainGrowsBrite]

That alcohol, drugs and cigarettes no longer exist. :eek:

[rjung]

Personal: What Omnipresent wrote.

Non-personal: "George W. Bush has lost the 2004 Presidential election, and has started a nuclear war out of spite." Hey, some folks believed Nixon might've done the same thing...

[Revtim]

Death of my mother.

My city being nuked, and all my firends dead.

[SPOOFE]

I've already received it: "They cancelled Josta!"

[Kaotic Newtral]

I agree entirely with folks who posted above me. Any horrid act to my daughter is the absolute worst/scariest news I can imagine. Frankly, I don't have any idea how the mothers and fathers hold together during interviews where they've been through a tradgedy of a child being abducted or murdered. To me, it'd be a nightmare I'd never be able to wake up from.

Anything to myself, friends....sorry to say, even other persons of my family seems to pale easily in comparison.

As a disclaimer, I've only been through the deaths of very few close friends and family members. I've lived through such things, when I mention family members, one was a daughter that died in the hospital(in my arms) of an aneurysm. The only saving grace of this episode was that she wasn't in any pain...and everything medical science could do at the time...was done.

The loss and wondering of any childs last moments of what may be torture and fear, would be unbearable to me.



-K

[Blonde]

Since my husband is a firefighter, I guess the scariest news I could get would be from the police/fire chief....if I saw them in uniform at my front door, I don't know that I could open that door.

[SanguineSpider]

Losing my daughter in any way. That would be the end of me.

[Mr. Excellent]

"Representatives of the Food and Drug Administration testified before Congress today that incidences of prion-contaminated beef were common during the years 1983-1997 in New Jersey and New Hampshire. The Surgeon-General advises Americans to advise their doctors if they consumed beef products in those states during this period..."

Ooh! Ooh! Better one!

"We're hearing reports - not confirmed as yet - but it appears that there has been a release of some form of chemical agent in the West Bank settlement of Ariel..."

This is fun, in a sick and twisted way.

"Elements of China's People's Liberation Army Navy have been deployed near the coast of Taiwan, in what Chinese government sources have described as 'a police action to ensure the security of the Chinese people in Taiwan.' Senior PLAN officers have stated that it would be 'inadvisable' for ships to attempt to enter or leave Taiwanese waters, but have declined to confirm that this is in fact a blockade."

"Internal memos leaked by an anonymous American government source seem to indicate that somewhere between 2 and 6 tactical nuclear devices, designed to be fired by artillery, have apparently gone missing. President Bush is schedule to address the nation at two this afternoon..."

"Geogian President Mikkail Saakashvilli has been assassinated. Russian President Putin has urged calm in the fractured former Soviet Republic, but has declined to comment on a statement from his defense minister that Russia would feel obligated to intervene in Georgia if its own ethnic Russian minority were endangered in the current chaos, or if it seemed that the instability would spread to neighboring states..."

That's it for now - if any of these happen in the next year, I'm gonna look pretty damn spooky, won't I? :D

[ccwaterback]

I suppose a "War of the Worlds" scenario would be bad too. Like waking up in the morning to find UFO's have landed in major cities around the world and the aliens are attacking with unstoppable weapons. Or maybe even worse, taking everyone hostage, and then you hear your front door rattling.

As was mentioned, to have any family member abducted, by anyone, would be a horrible experience.

[Joe Random]

People have mentioned nuclear bombs having exploded, but I think that scarier by far would be:

News anchor: "Our sources have confirmed that several ICBMs armed with nuclear warheads have been launched by <country>. Preliminary telemetry indicates that likely targets are <list of cities including the city you are in>. Impact is estimated to occur in approximately 15 minutes."

[Ranchoth]

"We're hearing reports - not confirmed as yet - but it appears that there has been a release of some form of chemical agent in the West Bank settlement of Ariel..."

I'll top you.

"AP: SAUDI GOVERNMENT PRAISES ISRAEL NERVE GAS ATTACKS.

'We must begin the final cleansing of the subhumans from the face of the Earth,' says newly coronated King Hasim."

Or even...

"For those of you just tuning in, CNN has confirmed that the two seperate, yet coordinated terrorist attacks in Moscow and Washington have claimed the lives of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and President—*signal cuts off*"


Anyway, my *personal* fears would be, in order...

1) Something (bad) happening to a family member or loved one.

2) Nuclear war. (Or things of that ilk. Not so much "U.S. vs. Russia" anymore, but more like "Israel gets nuked/starts nuking someone.")

3) Something (bad) happening to me. ("Mr. Gaston, we have the results from your CT scan...I'm afraid it's not very good news...")

[pepperlandgirl]

Well, mine's pretty lame in comparison of everybody else's. Maybe I'm just petty and small minded.

1) My husband is was in a horrible accident and is dead/maimed/etc.
2) Angel is cancelled. Oh wait. *sigh*
3) Bush wins 2004

[ccwaterback]

To have a man with a beard wearing a white robe appear before you and say, sorry your time is up and you lost.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

The death of my parents; or the release of a smallpox-base biowarfare weapon on US soil, with no vaccine available.

[Shodan]

Announcement; The Straight Dope is going to paid subscriptions.

Uh - never mind.

Regards,
Shodan

[Eve]

"My name is Talking Tina, and I don't like you."

[flamingbananas]

Bush has been re-elected.
*snort*

I think that is all of out worst fears

*runs and hides from republicans that like Bush*

[flamingbananas]

Bush has been re-elected.
*snort*

I think that is all of our worst fears

*runs and hides*

[flamingbananas]

Whoa. Sorry about that. I didn't even type the first one. *mutterers damned computer mutters*

[DeVena]

For my husband to say "Honey, there's just nothing else we can do. My mom has to move in with us."

[Big_Norse]

Something really vague like: "Something terrible has happened, but I can't give you details right now."

So I have time to stew and let my imagination run through all the horrors it could possibly be.

[Missy2U]

If anything happened to my son it would kill me. For example, when someone says something about a school shooting, I remember that next year, Mini2U will be in High School - and I'm not one of those types of people that think "it can't happen HERE". Him driving soon - there's another one that gives me the willies.

I live in fear of getting a phone call from the police or someone that something has happened to my husband, too.

Yes, I'm one big bundle of raw nerves that plays these little scenarios out in my head - probably one contributing factor in my sleep problems. :rolleyes:

[panache45]

Turning on the TV at about 9 am, and seeing the World Trade Center on fire; checking today's date, and it's 9/11/01 – again.

There's a knock on the door. I open it, and the man standing there is Rod Serling.

[ivylass]

1) Your child is missing. (I get a horrid feeling in my stomach just typing this.)

2) November 3, 2004...President Kerry.*

*Yes, I know I'm in the minority on this one, and no, I'm not going to debate it.

[pestie]

I can't believe nobody's mentioned this one yet:

"Honey, I'm preganant!"

[yellowval]

"You're pregnant!"
(Translation: The Anti-Christ shall soon arrive.)

[Nutty Bunny]

Personal: Besides the obvious, like something terrible happening to my husband or family, the scariest news I could receive is from my doctor, telling me I'll never have children of my own or that I need a hysterectomy before I can have a child.

Global: Because "The Day After" scared the shit out of me when I was 13*, I'd have to say news of a nuclear attack would have me pretty damn scared.

*Not so much now that I've seen it again in the last couple of years. It's really a bad movie. Almost funny, actually.

[ccwaterback]

There's a knock on the door. I open it, and the man standing there is Rod Serling.

Substitute John Turturro for Rod Serling (i.e. Secret Window).

[kunilou]

The scariest things I've ever heard personally:

"Our daughter's in the emergency room and I think you should come right away."

"There were complications with your father's operation."

"As you know, our client has announced a significant budget cut..."

(From my ex-wife) "We need to talk."

[dwc1970]

Even though I have no children or a spouse, I'm sure any news concerning their death, disappearance, abduction, etc. would be most horrifying.

My biggest global fear is seeing World War III or some other global skirmish involving nuclear weapons break out. I also saw The Day After and at the time (age 13 or 14) this intensified my already big fears of a nuclear attack. Seeing Coldfire's link to a site with photos of Chernobyl (thread in MPSIMS that I don't have its URL handy) further made me realize how devastating and widespread a nuclear accident could be.

[sj2]

"Well the doctors made us decide and we picked girl" -Your Parents

[NinjaChick]

"Dear NinjaChick,

We regret to inform you, that, due to an unfortunate clerical error, you were mistakenly sent a letter of acceptance. Unfortunately, after careful evaluation of your application, we are unable to admit you to the class of 2008..."

If an Air Force officer were to come to our door someday with news about my sister.

I honestly think that the scariest thing I could ever be told would be either that I had some sort of fatal, untreatable disease, and would be slowly dying over the next few days/weeks/months/years.

[Mangetout]

waking up in the morning to find UFO's have landed in major cities around the world and the aliens are attacking with unstoppable weapons. Or maybe even worse, taking everyone hostage, and then you hear your front door rattling.
It's a cookbook! It's a cookbook!

[BonoVox]

Aliens land, and state that I am now the Grand High Poobah of earth, and have 1 year to convice everyone to get along with each other, otherwise they destroy the planet.


God says, "You know what? I'm bored, you have my power now."

[Vlad Dracul]

"In today's top story: Air Force spotter planes have confirmed that Great Cthullu has, in fact, awakened, risen from the sea, and is shambling ashore on the East Coast of the US. Thousands have already been driven insane by his mere proximity, and the water through which he wades is turning to pus.

The dead are rising from their graves to consume the flesh of the living. Millions of demons are running amok all over the world, driving all who gaze upon their incomprehensible hideousness into a state of terrified madness.

Animals of all sorts are descending upon helpless humans to tear their flesh from their bodies, leaving only tattered skeletons which, horribly, continue to walk among us, moaning in agony and pleading for help.

Religious leaders confirm that God is, in fact, dead, and Lucifer even now feasts on His divine flesh. Two plus two now equals five, and east has swapped places with north. Chaos and madness run rampant, and astronomers report that thousands of stars are going supernova simultaneously, while the cosmic background hum has become a bloodcurdling shriek of terror.

The End is at hand. And you heard it here first! I'm Dirk Squarejaw, saying "Rl'yeth moraht Yog-Sothoth, pahsch Cthullu gahg!"

[elfkin477]

1)
2) November 3, 2004...President Kerry.*


Seconded.

Bad news involving my parents would be really hard to take, even worse my brother.

The most stunning news would be something along the lines of " We can't quite explain it, but this [they drag in small child] is your biological child. Did you ever donate eggs? Or experience missing time? Either way, the kid is now your problem." :D

[DocCathode]

"Oh, you're awake! You may be disoriented. Do you remember being in your apartment with your family? There was an explosion. They're all dead. All your worldly possessions have been destroyed. We had to amputate both arms at the shoulder, and both legs at the hip. You'll be hideously scarred for life. We had to remove both testicles. But there is good news. We were able to save an entire half inch of your penis!"

[Alias]

"My name is Talking Tina, and I don't like you."

I literally LOL'd when I read this. You're right, Eve. It would be scary news.


Seriously though, I'm with Sanguine Spider. If anything happened to my daughter, I would be ruined.

[ccwaterback]

Your Ex calls, says she needs to move back in with you until her husband is released from jail, and she's bringing the 6 six kids she has from 6 other relationships.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

"In today's top story: Air Force spotter planes have confirmed that Great Cthullu has, in fact, awakened, risen from the sea, and is shambling ashore on the East Coast of the US. Thousands have already been driven insane by his mere proximity, and the water through which he wades is turning to pus.

The dead are rising from their graves to consume the flesh of the living. Millions of demons are running amok all over the world, driving all who gaze upon their incomprehensible hideousness into a state of terrified madness.

Animals of all sorts are descending upon helpless humans to tear their flesh from their bodies, leaving only tattered skeletons which, horribly, continue to walk among us, moaning in agony and pleading for help.

Religious leaders confirm that God is, in fact, dead, and Lucifer even now feasts on His divine flesh. Two plus two now equals five, and east has swapped places with north. Chaos and madness run rampant, and astronomers report that thousands of stars are going supernova simultaneously, while the cosmic background hum has become a bloodcurdling shriek of terror.

The End is at hand. And you heard it here first! I'm Dirk Squarejaw, saying "Rl'yeth moraht Yog-Sothoth, pahsch Cthullu gahg!"


"And all the Coca-Cola Classic has turned into New Coke. Pepsi is Tab."

You forgot that. :) :p

[emekthian]

This just in: ailens are sucking up the Earth's atmosphere. The air pressure will fall below the ammount needed for human survival in approxamantly 3 hours.

[notquitekarpov]

Scariest news - not the worst (which would be deaths in the family etc)

"We are interrupting all Channels to make an annoucement. Today armed rebellion broke out in Luanda, and is spreading downtown. Naturally there is no truth in the rumours that President dos Santos has been assassinated. However UNITA have repudiated the Peace Treaty. They will be dealt with by the harshest measures possible. Effective 18:00 today until further notice a total Night Time Curfew has been declared - anybody on the streets after that time will be liable to be shot on sight without warning. The Aeroporto de Fev 14 has been closed until further notice and all civilian use of telephone networks has been cancelled. Further annoucements will follow shortly."

:eek:

It would be in portuguese naturally - and so I would catch only 20% of it at best - the rest would be filled in by wild rumour.

[Dogzilla]

I don't have kids. Scarier than dying, nuclear annihilation, or anything else, to me:

"That car accident severed your spinal cord. You are paralyzed from the neck down. You cannot take care of your pets. You cannot drive yourself to work. You cannot even go upstairs in your own house to take a shower standing up. You will never walk again and your mother is moving in to take care of you. Or, you have to abandon your life in Florida and move back to Ohio where your family will take care of you. Because without use of your hands, you can't even work to earn your own living." (I'm a writer/editor -- I could be paralyzed from the waist down and still figure out how to do for myself but lose the hands and arms and I'm screwed.)

And then I would spend the next six months trying to figure out how to off myself. Seriously. I'd rather be dead than lose my independence and my ability to take care of myself and those around me. Nevermind the costs of around the clock nursing that's required for quadriplegics (sp?), it's the loss of independence that terrifies me.

Funny, my biggest fear used to be being alone. . . Now that I'm used to being alone, my biggest fear is not being able to be alone. Hmmmm....

[ccwaterback]

I don't have kids. Scarier than dying, nuclear annihilation, or anything else, to me:

"That car accident severed your spinal cord.

This exemplifies the courage of a Christopher Reeve.

[Gorgon Heap]

Without a doubt that something happened to my wife. I don't know what I'd do.

[Dante]

"That car accident severed your spinal cord. You are paralyzed from the neck down.
Mine's the exact opposite. I figure I can do without my body (wouldn't want to, but probably could), but my biggest fear would be to hear "You have Alzheimer's". To know that slowly but surely your mind will erode is abhorrent.

[sperfur]

Scary? That's easy.

'Mrs. withaK, your husband has been captured by enemy forces. We don't know where he is or even if he's alive.'

Only 14 more months to worry about that. I am a terrible Army wife. :(

[Ooner]

As a twist on the whole "dead relative" theme, I'd have to say:

"We're sorry, but it seems YOU left the gas on and caused a fire that killed your family."

I think it's fairly normal for people to die, so I expect to have to deal with the news of the death of a relative someday. Taking blame/responsibility for it is a whole 'nother issue. A much worse one, I'm sure.

[RandMcnally]

"After extensive research, it turns out that yes, you will turn out just like your father."

I'd probaly kill myself (I'm not kidding, you don't know my father).

"War has just been declared on the United States of America. President Bush has declared a state of emergency and all male, ages 18-45 are to report to the nearest selective service board for enlistment. As of now, the U.S. is being overrun in all theaters. If this war fails, I fear for the continued independence of our country."

I also fear the Air Force knocking on my mother's door with a folded flag (probaly not how they do it, but you get the drift), or a newsreport saying that I am M.I.A. or had been captured.

[DocCathode]

"Come towards the light. Come towards the light."

No, that isn't the frightening part.

"I am the Lord, thy God. And thou standest in judgement."

Still, not the frightening part.

"Thou hast rejected my prophet and art condemned. No, not Jesus. No, not Muhammed. Thou hast shut thine ears to the truth of my prophet Phelps."


Fred Phelps, the true voice of God on earth. That's true terror.

[dublos]

Hmmm.. The Yellowstone Caldera just erupted.. North American will be a desert starting in.. ohh 26 minutes when the ash cloud reaches this part of the country.

Oh.. you didn't realize? You actually did die. about 30 years ago. childhood illness you know. This is Purgatory. There is no end to it. But now that you know we have to send you downstairs.

Nukes have launched.. impact to your area.. 12 minutes and counting. All phone lines are jamed you can't say goodbye to anyone.

My neice(s) have been harmed, kidnaped, been in an accident, no further information known.

[ccwaterback]

After we have landed and have come to a complete stop, proceed to the nearest exit in an orderly manner. Do not take time to retrieve your carry on luggage or personal belongings. Proceed to the nearest exit and follow the orders given by our flight attendants.

The flight attendants will now instruct you on the correct position to assume for our landing.

[DocCathode]

ccwaterback

Millenium?

"Drop your handkerchief. Wiggle your bottom. You're the woman, Louise."

[O Desfibrador]

Someone set us up the bomb!
.
.
.
.
.
.
.

.
All Your base are belong to us!

[Starguard]

Bush has been re-elected.

ROFL - :D

[ccwaterback]

ccwaterback

Millenium?


Not familiar with Millenium. Just thinking about the announcement you might get on a doomed flight.

[ccwaterback]

Since no one is available to bail you out tonight, you will have to spend the night in jail. Normally we wouldn't force anyone to have Bruno as a cell mate, but the jail is full tonight.

[picunurse]

Since my husband is a firefighter, I guess the scariest news I could get would be from the police/fire chief....if I saw them in uniform at my front door, I don't know that I could open that door.
Mine is a firefighter too. He's had close calls, and each has been harrowing. Blonde's post brought instant tears to my eyes. I wouldn't be able to answer that door either.
I lost my only child to suicide. That was and remains the worst, I couldn't bear losing the other love of my life.

[Dogzilla]

Mine's the exact opposite. I figure I can do without my body (wouldn't want to, but probably could), but my biggest fear would be to hear "You have Alzheimer's". To know that slowly but surely your mind will erode is abhorrent.

Yeah, well, that's probably my second scariest possible news, But.

Once my brain starts to go, I'll never have any idea I'm a drooling idiot. While that might be painful for my family and friends to watch, I'd worry more about having to watch that happen to an SO, parent, child, loved one in general.

And yes, ccwaterback, every time I see a Christopher Reeve on tv, I look around and say, "damn. I'd have to off myself." To which my friend replied, "How?

And frankly, I'm stumped. Not to denigrate any paralyzed person's courage, but let us not confuse courage with lack of ideas on how to off oneself. Just sayin'.

[NoClueBoy]

"God called. He said the Fundies were right after all."

:eek:

[Cinnamon Girl]

My husband announces that he's been having an affair for the past three years with George Bush and he's leaving me just as soon as he accomplishes his mission to off Laura.

[ccwaterback]

And frankly, I'm stumped. Not to denigrate any paralyzed person's courage, but let us not confuse courage with lack of ideas on how to off oneself. Just sayin'.

If you get a chance, leaf through one of his books. He's definitely a poster boy for a positive mental attitude.

[Mr. Excellent]

And frankly, I'm stumped. Not to denigrate any paralyzed person's courage, but let us not confuse courage with lack of ideas on how to off oneself. Just sayin'.

*shrugs* It'd be tough, but probably doable. For example, if you have a motorized wheelchair and you're near some sort of cliff or really steep hill, just drive off and hope you sustain enough injuries to be fatal. Probably wouldn't be that painful - you'd only feel the injuries to the head, and those would knock you out in short order. Alternatively, just ride out on a cold night and let hypothermia do its work. Or ride out into traffic. Basically, the trick is to just put yourself in a situation where something else - gravity, weather, cars - will administer the coup de grace for you.

Point being - a quadriplegic could kill him/herself if he/she really wanted to. And it's easy to figure that out - so a non-suicidal paralyzed person isn't so simply for lack of ideas.

[DocCathode]

ccwaterback Millenium is (no spoilers. This is the basic premise shown in the trailer and ads) an sf film about time travelers from the distant future. They know what planes will crash and travel to them minutes before the disaster takes place. A rescue squad impersonates the flight crew and ushers the passengers to a time portal. I thought your post was a reference to the instructions "Please remain calm. Follow your stewardess' instructions. Walk towards the light."

[summer_lavender]

"HI MY NAME'S FRAN. Guess we're partners, huh?"

[DocCathode]

summer_lavender I don't get it. Which Fran are you referring to? The first Fran who pops into my mind is Fran Dresher (of The Nanny). I can think of many activities she'd make a wonderful partner for :D