# Movies or TV that Terrified you as a kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 28, 2015, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964 "2015-10-28T14:15:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/141 "2015-11-19T12:54:00Z")
> [@GrumpyBunny](#): > > My 5-year old brain confused the \*\*gorilla \*\*soldiers in _The Planet of the Apes_ with \*\*guerrilla \*\*soldiers I’d heard about on the news. Don’t feel too bad about it. A classmate of mine in college didn’t know the difference either! (“But my Spell-Check said it was all right!” :smack: ) ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/142 "2015-11-19T14:53:30Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > British people always make a horror film more horrifying. I caught one from the late Seventies or early Eighties about an American couple vacationing in Britain who come across a country house party that consists of famous, wealthy and successful people, all of whom achieved such by selling their souls to Satan. He begins to collect - people start dying in mysterious ways (a rock star chokes on a chicken bone…while eating a steak). > > The one that creeped me out, though, was the beautiful young woman who was swimming when the top of the water turned to glass. I can still recall the scene - the swimmer desperately hammering at the glass, then slowly drowning. That, I’m sure, is _The Legacy_, with Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott as the American couple. The rock star who chokes on the chicken bone was none other than Roger Daltrey of The Who! ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/143 "2015-11-19T16:52:25Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > That, I’m sure, is _The Legacy_, with Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott as the American couple. The rock star who chokes on the chicken bone was none other than Roger Daltrey of The Who! I think I remember the commercial for this. I can definitely picture Kathrine Ross (in a black evening gown, maybe). Does she turn really old and scary looking or is there an old scary looking woman in it? I can vaguely picture a scene with a jump scare that has old hands with long finger nails(?) Not sure if I’m thinking of the same movie but there was a commercial that, if the movie is half as creepy, could be worth a watch. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/144 "2015-11-19T17:02:34Z")
The Amityville horror scared the shit out of me as a kid. Re-watching it a few years ago, I noticed that it had a lot of fairly long shots with no sound and maybe just some barely audible creepy music in the background. That’s something you don’t see much in horror movies now, and it’s a shame because those quiet bits were some of the scariest and most tension-inducing scenes I’ve seen in a movie. The other one I don’t remember the name of. It was a probably late 70’s or early 80’s movie about a serial killer that would chain women up and hang them from a hook in the center of a room, then go in with a flame thrower and flame resistant suit and burn them to death. I remember that a priest stumbled into the murder room and was burned to death, but I think all the other victims were females. I don’t remember any further details but I had nightmares about that movie well into my teens. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/145 "2015-11-19T17:13:06Z")
Being scared by Dr Who and basically watching it from behind the sofa is a right of passage for all British children. It is just about the only thing we all have in common and is the glue that holds our society together. ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/146 "2015-11-19T17:41:11Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think I remember the commercial for this. I can definitely picture Kathrine Ross (in a black evening gown, maybe). Does she turn really old and scary looking or is there an old scary looking woman in it? I can vaguely picture a scene with a jump scare that has old hands with long finger nails(?) Not sure if I’m thinking of the same movie but there was a commercial that, if the movie is half as creepy, could be worth a watch. I think I saw this - was there a scene where a creepy hand (the Devil?) puts a ring on her finger, reaching out from behind a curtain? I also remember a bit of a movie with a man in an asylum and he’s in a padded room and people are biting him (?), later there is a scene with him (bloodied from being all bitten) in a hospital hallway, and a woman is coming toward him, holding a baby. They saved the baby from being poisoned, and you can hear the babies still in the nursery starting to cry… it’s very disjointed, as you can tell (hey, I was young and probably peeking out from the stairs when I was supposed to be in bed)…anyone recognize it? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/147 "2015-11-19T18:01:43Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Being scared by Dr Who and basically watching it from behind the sofa is a right of passage for all British children. Nitpick: “Rite,” not “right.” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/148 "2015-11-19T18:09:42Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > I think I remember the commercial for this. I can definitely picture Kathrine Ross (in a black evening gown, maybe). Does she turn really old and scary looking or is there an old scary looking woman in it? I can vaguely picture a scene with a jump scare that has old hands with long finger nails(?) Not sure if I’m thinking of the same movie but there was a commercial that, if the movie is half as creepy, could be worth a watch. Yeah, I think that’s it. Katharine Ross does wear a lovely black evening gown at one point, and there is a scene where a gruesome, gnarled old hand reaches out and puts a ring onto her finger (as **Poysyn** remembers). The film is dated in many ways–Sam Elliott’s hair and mustache, circa 1979, are something to behold–and from a grown-up point of view, there are some dull stretches and some silliness. But it’s an entertaining enough film for what it is. In many ways, it’s a much a murder mystery as it is a horror film. It’s also the film where Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross met. They remain married to this day. ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/149 "2015-11-19T22:43:21Z")
I wasn’t terrified by this as a child, but I remember seeing it when I was older and saying to myself, “I’m glad I never saw this when I was young!” It was **The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T."** And it was by Dr. Seuss for heaven’s sake. If I were young when I saw this, the name alone would have sent me hiding under the bed. As I remember it had suspended stairways and arms sticking out of pianos and stairways that went on forever. And it had Hans Conreid talking in a weird accent. OK, OK, Hans always talked in weird accents…but it was scary. And the main kid character wore one of those beanies with a propellor on it. That’s pretty perverse, too. ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/150 "2015-11-25T19:18:28Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Nitpick: “Rite,” not “right.” 🙂 Bad spelling is a right of passage for all British children. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/151 "2015-11-25T19:36:12Z")
Return of the Living Dead. Not because it was a zombie movie, but because they said that being death was painful for ever. ---
**Author:** ![monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monster)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2015, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/152 "2015-11-25T19:45:21Z")
Does anyone remember an 80s made for TV movie called “This House Possessed”? There was a scene where a mirror “breathed” and then exploded, killing the lady who was looking into it. That terrified me. > **[This House Possessed (TV Movie 1981) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083192/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_47)** > > This House Possessed: Directed by William Wiard. With Parker Stevenson, Shelley Smith, Slim Pickens, Joan Bennett. After having a nervous breakdown, a rock singer has to spend some time in hospital. A private nurse is hired, and with her he buys a... Also, the aforementioned Tom & Jerry cartoon with the white mouse. The Blob, particularly the scene where they poked it with a stick. I don’t remember the whole scene, but the Blob on a stick always stuck in my mind. There was an episode of Fantasy Island (one of the darker ones) that had Mr. Roarke battling the devil. I just remember someone opened a door on a party where the people had on masks and were chanting, “Yes, yes yes” and that was so scary to me. I’d love to see that episode again to relive the creepiness. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/153 "2015-11-26T00:20:39Z")
I just remembered that creepy Harveytoon where Herman the Mouse threatens to have Katnip the Cat thrown into “The Fiery Furnace” (i.e., Hell). Scared the daylights out of me when I was five or six years old! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/154 "2015-11-26T01:06:17Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Yeah, I think that’s it. Katharine Ross does wear a lovely black evening gown at one point, and there is a scene where a gruesome, gnarled old hand reaches out and puts a ring onto her finger (as **Poysyn** remembers). The film is dated in many ways–Sam Elliott’s hair and mustache, circa 1979, are something to behold–and from a grown-up point of view, there are some dull stretches and some silliness. But it’s an entertaining enough film for what it is. In many ways, it’s a much a murder mystery as it is a horror film. > > It’s also the film where Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross met. They remain married to this day. I think(?) this is the film I remember. Does it end up with Katharine Ross somehow surviving everyone else to become the Devil, or his handmaid, or something like that? I seem to recall a shot at the end of the film, of the American woman walking away from the country house with a slightly sinister smile on her face. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2015, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/155 "2015-11-26T22:23:56Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I think(?) this is the film I remember. Does it end up with Katharine Ross somehow surviving everyone else to become the Devil, or his handmaid, or something like that? I seem to recall a shot at the end of the film, of the American woman walking away from the country house with a slightly sinister smile on her face. She inherits the titular “legacy”, which is magical powers and leadership of the coven. > **[The Legacy (1978 film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legacy_(1979_film))** > > The Legacy is a 1978 horror film directed by Richard Marquand, in his directorial debut, and starring Katharine Ross, Sam Elliott, Roger Daltrey, John Standing, and Margaret Tyzack. It follows an American couple who are summoned to a British mansion while visiting England for a work obligation, where they stumble upon its family's curse. > A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, The Legacy was released in the United Kingdom in September 1978, and one year later in the Uni... > **[The Legacy (1978) ⭐ 5.7 | Horror](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079450/)** > > 1h 42m | R ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/156 "2015-11-27T23:54:17Z")
_Where the Red Fern Grows_: they showed this every damn year in my elementary school as a film day “treat.” I have always been very sensitive about animal abuse/death and after I went home hysterical a few times after watching the dogs die, mom gave me an excuse slip to go home early on film day. (Funny aside: Wilson Rawls, author of WRFG, gave a guest speech at my school and I won an autographed book in the raffle). _Darby O’Gill and the Little People_: Disney strikes again: coach hearses drawn through the sky and deeply frightening shrieking banshees. I hid under my theatre seat. _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_ (the original): this was my first theatre experience (fours-years-old) and the bad kids getting punished (killed?) in gruesome ways scarred me. _Lassie_ (TV and film form): see above, re: animals in trouble. I would get so hysterical that mom eventually banned me from watching Lassie. _Bambi_: Mom also banned. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/157 "2015-11-27T23:58:42Z")
> [@missred](#): > > For me, it was _Jaws_. The beach was a much scarier place for a few years after that. Oh yes! I freaked out when the female diver’s severed head floated out of the shipwreck (that did happen, didn’t it? I had an active imagination). I grew up in Utah, many miles away from sharky waters, but I wouldn’t even wade in a creek for a long time after that. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/158 "2015-11-28T00:04:13Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Oh yes! I freaked out when the female diver’s severed head floated out of the shipwreck (that did happen, didn’t it? I had an active imagination). > > I grew up in Utah, many miles away from sharky waters, but I wouldn’t even wade in a creek for a long time after that. That was Ben Gardner’s head (he was the harbor master). It seems Bruce came up and took all of Mr. G–plus some of the gunwale–but missed the head, which Hooper found. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/159 "2015-11-28T00:15:01Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > That was Ben Gardner’s head (he was the harbor master). It seems Bruce came up and took all of Mr. G–plus some of the gunwale–but missed the head, which Hooper found. Yeah, you’re right. I remember it now from re-watching it a few years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2015, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964/160 "2015-11-28T00:23:37Z")
> [@Mr.Lebodnik](#): > > For me it was an old B&W British movie called “Village of the Damned” (not the 1995 remake). > IMDB link: [Village of the Damned (1960) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054443/) > I was about 9 or 10 and was watching the movie on tv. I was alone in a dark living room (only light was from the tv) and had to leave the room when the movie got to one of the scenes where the kid’s eyes start to glow. > Really creeped me out; had to leave that room and go elsewhere in the house to get away from those eyes and be around another person. Came here to post this one–one summer night in the 70s, my cousins (the oldest of us wasn’t much more than 11) were visiting. My mom (what the HECK was she thinking?!!) was the only adult present and let us stay up to watch a “late show” movie that turned out to be this… Creepy creepy creepy glowing eyes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movies-or-tv-that-terrified-you-as-a-kid/735964.md?page=9)