# Once-scary childhood memories of pop culture **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2012, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783 "2012-07-10T12:34:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/61 "2012-07-11T00:27:53Z")
Large Marge freaked me out, too. I re-watched it a few years ago, and while unsettling, it’s not nearly as freaky as it seemed at the time, mostly because it’s Claymation. Not so much the theme from _Unsolved Mysteries_, but the stories on Bigfoot, ghosts and UFOs scared the crap out of me. Ridiculous now, but Robert Stack in a trench coat made that shit legit. This one’s kind of a gimme, but that damn clown doll from _Poltergeist._ A neighbor kid had one similar to it and loved to terrify me with it. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/62 "2012-07-11T02:25:53Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > The chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins scared the hell out of me. They’re filthy, they’re dancing, and they’re _in the walls!_ And those horrible phony Cockney accents! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/63 "2012-07-11T02:48:57Z")
> [@lew\_cody](#): > > From reading comments on YouTube (very scientific, I know), it seems that quite a few people were skeeved out by various “Sesame Street” segments–the orange singing Bizet, the I-beam in the steel mill, the song with the toys and robots. I didn’t especially mind any of those, but there was one I hated. > > The little film showing how saxophones were made. Yikes. When that one came on (and I recognized it within a few seconds) I was out of the room. I thought the saxophone noises that accompanied the images were creepy and made it seem like the instrument was _alive_ in some way. The letter ‘H’. Ominous voice booming “AIICH! AAAIIICH!” And my little girl just absolutely freaked out over a stop-motion Mr. Potatohead-type orange. An orange. A singing orange. Scared the bejesus out of her. The insert in the Who’s Tommy, an ominous blue building with dark windows at night. It looked like the kind of place the secret police would drag you into and you would never get out. The insert in a Ringo Starr album. An alien woman with a horrible triangular head. I literally could not look at that picture for years. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/64 "2012-07-11T02:59:55Z")
There is a Tom & Jerry episode where a white mouse escapes from a lab and… blah, blah hijinks ensue… until the end when Tom hits the mouse and it explodes. In the rubble of the house, the radio says “It turns out the white mouse is NOT dangerous” and Tom pops his head up from the debris and intones in some deep echo-y voice “Doooon’t yooooooouu beliiiiiieeeeveeee iiiiiiitt…” That voice used to make me feel deeply unsettled when I was a kid and I always tried to change the channel before the end of that episode. ---
**Author:** ![enomaj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@enomaj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enomaj)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/65 "2012-07-11T03:05:51Z")
[http://www.anyclip.com/movies/the-wiz/attacked-at-the-yellow-brick-subway/](http://www.anyclip.com/movies/the-wiz/attacked-at-the-yellow-brick-subway/) The Wiz(1978) Do-do, doo-do, doo-do. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/66 "2012-07-11T03:23:45Z")
The window scene from _Salem’s Lot_. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eC5HZzjjI9Y/hqdefault.jpg "Salem's Lot - Tobe Hooper") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eC5HZzjjI9Y) ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/67 "2012-07-11T03:28:39Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > There is a Tom & Jerry episode where a white mouse escapes from a lab and… blah, blah hijinks ensue… until the end when Tom hits the mouse and it explodes. In the rubble of the house, the radio says “It turns out the white mouse is NOT dangerous” and Tom pops his head up from the debris and intones in some deep echo-y voice “Doooon’t yooooooouu beliiiiiieeeeveeee iiiiiiitt…” > > That voice used to make me feel deeply unsettled when I was a kid and I always tried to change the channel before the end of that episode. Oh man, that reminds me of the Tom & Jerry episode that massively freaked me out when I was a kid. It was the one where Tom dies and he’s ascending this giant staircase to Heaven, but then it turns out that he can’t get in because he was mean to Jerry, and he can only get into Heaven if he gets Jerry to sign this forgiveness letter; otherwise he goes to Hell. The whole thing was creepy and scary and surreal. ---
**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:** [July 11, 2012, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/68 "2012-07-11T03:41:26Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > The frowning Alien face at the end of the Star Trek credits scared me when I was very young. I loved the show but would avoid the credits for years. Oh Hell yes! I only ever see Star Trek once in a blue moon and I still dread that stupid face (yet I always stay tuned and watch it through my fingers). In the same vein, there was a scary movie series in the '70s called _Chiller._ I’ve looked it up many times and it isn’t the one with the many listings on the internet, but anyway, it was that same type of series and before the commercial break there would be a still photo of a shrunken head, fanged, evil looking face with the Chiller logo. Holy crap, that thing horrified me. I don’t even remember any of the movies from the series, just that evil, grinning face. Does anyone else remember that? This would have been mid to late '70s on(in SoCal) channel 11 or 13. I’d love to see it just to get it out of my system. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/69 "2012-07-11T03:56:08Z")
I didn’t read every post but I did do a search, and I can’t believe nobody’s mentioned [**Kindertrauma**](http://www.kindertrauma.com/) yet! ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/70 "2012-07-11T04:11:05Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > While I think the intent of this thread was to list things that weren’t necessarily supposed to be scary, this is EXACTLY what I thought of! I swear this movie ran every Saturday for half a year…and I watched it every time even though it scared the crap out of me. > > If we’re listing scary things being scary, it would be a movie called “The Legend of Boggy Creek.” The TV previews for **The Legend of Boggy Creek** terrified me when I was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/71 "2012-07-11T04:29:19Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > There was a Sunday School film I saw when I was 6 or 7, telling the story of the Crucifixion with Jesus as a clown, being killed on marionette strings by an evil ringmaster. Eventually the ringmaster realized what he had done, put on greasepaint and continued Clown Jesus’ work. It was my first association with clowns and creepiness, although now it seems like a cool idea. Wish I knew the name of it. [Parable](http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=6&mid=3410), which [supposedly inspired _Godspell_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Forsberg). ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/72 "2012-07-11T04:39:45Z")
> [@enomaj](#): > > [Transform Your Business with AI-Powered Video Solutions](http://www.anyclip.com/movies/the-wiz/attacked-at-the-yellow-brick-subway/) > > The Wiz(1978) Do-do, doo-do, doo-do. Exactly! So nightmarish! Even without the clip, I would’ve known exactly what you were referencing. Your doo-dos were dead on! ---
**Author:** ![Sateryn76](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Sateryn76](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sateryn76)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/73 "2012-07-11T04:44:28Z")
The General Cinema opener clip. What the hell is that in the background? Who designed that and thought it was a good idea? [Still creepy…](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F_tv1XNoCc&feature=youtube_gdata_player) Still creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Gerald\_II](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Gerald\_II](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gerald_II)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/74 "2012-07-11T04:52:24Z")
I have to 2nd Thriller. Saw it when I was 4. That was some scary stuff, especially Michaels mid-transformation when his eyes are yellow, fangs are protruding from his mouth and he yells “Get AWAY!!” Koffy Channel 20. In between shows a clip was shown of a small room (at night?) with a small TV showing the Koffy 20 logo, and a white couch with a small dog sitting on it. For some reason I thought that was very strange. It didn’t help that during the day strange shows aired like one about a family that had a robotic daughter, and at night Freddy’s Nightmares, and Tales From The Darkside. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/75 "2012-07-11T06:18:33Z")
Two Christian shows scared me the most: [Davey and Goliath](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_and_Goliath) (which I swear inspired both the Son of Sam and _Wilfred_ [though I quite like Wilfred) and an animated Christian dot drawing called [Jot](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTN0VW86jyA) (which I just watched for the first time in decades and can totally understand why it freaked me out- it’s like the personality changing music from freaking SIBYL). Of the non-Christian variety, the Gossamer from Bugs Bunny cartoons and Charles Nelson Reilly’s [Hoodoo](http://coveofsolitude.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/lidsville-hoodoo-on-the-hat-hotline.jpg) from Lidsville, who was the main character in the first nightmare I can remember. ---
**Author:** ![Pixiesnix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/898d66/32.png) [@Pixiesnix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixiesnix)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/76 "2012-07-11T09:06:17Z")
> [@lew\_cody](#): > > From reading comments on YouTube (very scientific, I know), it seems that quite a few people were skeeved out by various “Sesame Street” segments–the orange singing Bizet, [This](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ch-R1aIM-C0) clip didn’t scare me so much as entrance me in an unsettling kind of way. It’s still kinda hypnotic to this day. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/77 "2012-07-11T10:34:32Z")
The early 1970s UFO craze. It was in the papers and the news every day and I was afraid of being abducted, attacked or invaded by aliens. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/78 "2012-07-11T11:10:25Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > One other thing I’ve posted before: I was scared of “[Wild Honey Pie](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr7wD3NRcUI)” on the Beatles’ “White Album” for a long time. > > ) For my fellow five-year-old Beatles-fan friend and I, it was “Here, There, and Everywhere,” off _Revolver_. Fast forward 35 years, I read recording engineer Geoff Emerick’s book, and I realize it’s because he “broke the rules” by close-miking Paul’s voice so much that it sounds like he’s in the room with you. No wonder it scared my friend and I (though we played the rest of the album over and over until it wore out). ---
**Author:** ![MickNickMaggies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/59ef9b/32.png) [@MickNickMaggies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MickNickMaggies)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/79 "2012-07-11T11:45:09Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > I remember in the 80’s, Time Life used to advertise for things like Stonehenge tapes or books, but managed to do it in a creepy way. Like this? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zBYh2PUyk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zBYh2PUyk) (see now someone else got there first) I am part of the traumatised by Mr Yuk/A Current Affair/Unsolved Mysteries/Tales from the Darkside generation. The musical cues were just easy ways to identify programming that was nightmare fuel. So eventually the terror was transferred onto the music itself. I didn’t need to hear about the sextuple rape/murder- I was already screaming two bars into the theme song. ---
**Author:** ![MegaBee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f0a364/32.png) [@MegaBee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MegaBee)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783/80 "2012-07-11T12:27:55Z")
The album cover of “America Eats Its Young” by Funkadelic, featuring that horrible Statue of Liberty actually eating people. Terrifying! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/once-scary-childhood-memories-of-pop-culture/627783.md?page=5)