# According to the movies, the scariest thing in the world is . . . **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 5, 2006, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921 "2006-12-05T09:13:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Swallowed_My_Cellphone)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/61 "2006-12-07T16:44:20Z")
Drains. Blood swirls into drains. Monsters come out of drains. Drains. ---
**Author:** ![bat312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@bat312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bat312)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/62 "2006-12-07T17:01:09Z")
Shutting the refrigerator door. Whenever you shut the refrigerator door there is a large guy with a knife standing behind it. I always see this coming and think that just once, there should be a large guy with a knife in the refrigerator. The only thing you ever find in the refrigerator is a severed head. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/63 "2006-12-07T17:19:25Z")
[QUOTE=bat312] Shutting the refrigerator door. Whenever you shut the refrigerator door there is a large guy with a knife standing behind it. I always see this coming and think that just once, there should be a large guy with a knife in the refrigerator. The only thing you ever find in the refrigerator is a severed head. [/QUOTE] Along these same lines: one should never shower in a movie unless there’s unambiguously sensual musical accompaniment, in which case it’s probably okay. But for heavens sake, DO NOT, under any circumstances, wipe the condensation off the bathroom mirror. Also, while checking your appearance in the medicine cabinet or full-length bathroom mirror, NEVER EVER reach out and shift the mirror’s angle sideways by about 30 degrees. And if you’ve been given any reason to suspect that you may be in a Charles Band film, don’t use the toilet either, because there will be evil puppets in it. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/64 "2006-12-07T17:24:08Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] And if you’ve been given any reason to suspect that you may be in a Charles Band film, don’t use the toilet either, because there will be evil puppets in it. [/QUOTE] Before or After? ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/65 "2006-12-07T20:42:28Z")
[QUOTE=WOOKINPANUB] Creepy little girls. Dead, undead, possesed; it’s all bad. [/QUOTE] Yeah, like “Family Man.” What? ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/66 "2006-12-07T21:04:20Z")
Puppets. Puppets are the most evil there is. ---
**Author:** ![Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e79b87/32.png) [@Boulter\_s\_Canary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boulter_s_Canary)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/67 "2006-12-09T23:38:45Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] I thought it was being a person in a moderately dangerous job (such as e.g. cop) who is due to retire/get married/become a parent/switch to a safe job/attend their child’s wedding/etc. [/QUOTE] Nah, it’s being a soldier in a war movie and showing the hero a photograph of your wife and kids. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/68 "2006-12-10T05:51:02Z")
[QUOTE=Boulter’s Canary] Nah, it’s being a soldier in a war movie and showing the hero a photograph of your wife and kids. [/QUOTE] And let’s not even mention being a minor character in a war movie who is also a minority (Black, Asian, Christian Missionary, etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/69 "2006-12-10T05:56:52Z")
[QUOTE=simster] Before or After? [/QUOTE] I was chuckling along pretty heartily with this thread until this… then I just lost it outright. My new pet name. ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/70 "2006-12-10T16:23:00Z")
How about your car stopping dead in the middle of nowhere and you can’t get it stared again. Say, out where there’s cornfields. And weird lights in the sky. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/71 "2006-12-10T16:46:23Z")
[QUOTE=Emily Litella] How about your car stopping dead in the middle of nowhere and you can’t get it stared again. Say, out where there’s cornfields. And weird lights in the sky. [/QUOTE] You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of these movies. So why do I love things like the _South Park_ episode “The Wacky Molestation Adventure” (which parodies _Children of the Corn_, _Logan’s Run_, _Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome_ (the only one in this whole list that I’ve seen), the _Star Trek_ episode “Miri”, and several other movies?) Is it because the cliches are so well-known in popular culture? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/72 "2006-12-10T19:21:05Z")
[QUOTE=Emily Litella] How about your car stopping dead in the middle of nowhere and you can’t get it stared again. Say, out where there’s cornfields. And weird lights in the sky. [/QUOTE] And a cropduster dusting crops where there are no crops. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/73 "2006-12-10T20:45:02Z")
Nah. Scariest thing is secret conspiracies to spread untruths. Y’know, Fnord of the Lies kinda stuff. ---
**Author:** ![toto\_dies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@toto\_dies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toto_dies)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/74 "2006-12-10T20:50:48Z")
A barking doggy An abandoned house A hitch-hiker… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/75 "2006-12-10T21:06:27Z")
A bad haiku… ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/76 "2006-12-10T22:39:43Z")
[QUOTE=SenorBeef] That “it’s coming from inside the house!” cliche doesn’t even make sense, does it? It originated before the days of cell phones, so how the hell is someone calling from inside the house? It’s not like you could use a phone in the bedroom to call a phone in the kitchen that used the same line/number. [/QUOTE] In the house I grew up in, you could dial your own number, hang up the phone, and when someone picked up you could pick up and talk to them. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921/77 "2006-12-10T22:40:44Z")
That should have been: “In the house I grew up in, you could dial your own number, hang up the phone, **and the phone would ring**. When someone picked up you could pick up and talk to them.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/according-to-the-movies-the-scariest-thing-in-the-world-is/382921.md?page=3)