# Origin of the anguished cry, "It burns! It burns!" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 27, 2008, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788 "2008-05-27T17:55:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/21 "2008-05-28T01:15:29Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] …the MP goes to see what Horrible Secret the company they’re investigating is keeping in its pressure tanks (and which is supposed to be some sort of futuristic food). He comes down covered with smoking black stuff… [/QUOTE] Yep. He comes down the staircase, leaning against the tank and leaving a trail of goo… :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/22 "2008-05-28T02:47:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m pretty sure the phrase “The Googles, they do nothing” is not an original Simpsons quote I tried doing an online search, but well… ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/23 "2008-05-28T04:44:24Z")
[QUOTE=yojimbo] You’re thinking of [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfV_ENR5IZE). The clip From The Exorcist can be seen in the next link at 4min 20secs. It’s a highlight reel of the movie. It’s The Exorcist folks so its **NSFW** or for the easily shocked. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvhl4At6AX8](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jvhl4At6AX8) [/QUOTE] :eek: Holy crap! :eek: Evidently I haven’t seen the uncensored movie in a very long time, if ever. Thanks a bunch for posting that. I will definitely rent the DVD soon. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/24 "2008-05-28T15:25:47Z")
[QUOTE=plnnr] I’m most famliar with it from The Exorcist. Given the campiness and excesses of the demonic scenes, I’d suspect that’s what gives the phrase all the play. [/QUOTE] I’m pretty surprised to hear you say this. For my money **The Exorcist** is still the scariest movie of all time, and the demonic scenes are incredibly well done and not dated at all. Is this “campy” POV a widely held view in anyone else’s experience? I’m feelin’ all old and lame… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/25 "2008-05-28T15:35:28Z")
Re: The goggles. First, it’s _goggles_, not _googles_. Second, the [SNPP](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F17.html) page for that episode does not cite the original Simpsons line (“My eyes … the goggles do nothing!”) as being an allusion to anything else, and they usually don’t miss stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![plnnr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@plnnr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plnnr)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/26 "2008-05-28T16:17:52Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] I’m pretty surprised to hear you say this. For my money **The Exorcist** is still the scariest movie of all time, and the demonic scenes are incredibly well done and not dated at all. Is this “campy” POV a widely held view in anyone else’s experience? I’m feelin’ all old and lame… [/QUOTE] Like you, my wife swears that the Exorcist is the scariest movie of all time and she refuses to watch it. I don’t know if it is just me, but it doesn’t have the same impact. I’m 44, she’s 53. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/27 "2008-05-28T16:52:59Z")
> [@](#): > > First, it’s goggles, not googles. I’m aware of that. It was a typographical error. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/28 "2008-05-28T17:51:36Z")
[QUOTE=Quint] I’m pretty surprised to hear you say this. For my money **The Exorcist** is still the scariest movie of all time, and the demonic scenes are incredibly well done and not dated at all. Is this “campy” POV a widely held view in anyone else’s experience? I’m feelin’ all old and lame… [/QUOTE] That clip was HILARIOUS! Well, the first half was. The second half was endlessly repeated boring nonsense. More flying furniture, that’s what I say! People find this drivel scary? Why? I’m completely serious. You’re fighting evil with water chanted over by a priest and I’m not supposed to fall out of my seat laughing? Smearing a child’s face with makeup while another voice swears is supposed to make me wet my pants? How can any of this affect you? Are you reverting to your childhood upbringing? I wasn’t brought up this way, so maybe it’s not hitting any atavistic memories in me. As an adult, though, that was pathetic rather than frightening. It’s like an anti-religion propaganda flick. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/29 "2008-05-28T18:15:25Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] I’m aware of that. It was a typographical error. [/QUOTE] Nothing personal, just housekeeping. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Barking\_Dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Barking\_Dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barking_Dog)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/30 "2008-05-28T18:21:17Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] People find this drivel scary? Why? I’m completely serious. [/QUOTE] I don’t know, The obvious answer would be religion I suppose. Far less then such a graphic depiction of demonic possession has incited muderous panic is a lot of deeply religious folk through history. But I think that, outside of religious belief, the idea of possession itself creeps people out. The idea of losing control of your body or your mind or both, of being forced to do something you don’t want to do can be very scary. Sure scares me. I know it’s what keeps me from watching the Exorcist the whole way through. Of course, I’m a horror movie wuss, but still. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/31 "2008-05-28T19:35:58Z")
Cool. Thanks, everyone! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/32 "2008-05-28T19:56:19Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Re: The goggles. First, it’s _goggles_, not _googles_. Second, the [SNPP](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F17.html) page for that episode does not cite the original Simpsons line (“My eyes … the goggles do nothing!”) as being an allusion to anything else, and they usually don’t miss stuff like that. [/QUOTE] Just a thought- “X- The Man with the X-Ray Eyes”? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/33 "2008-05-28T20:03:34Z")
I don’t see anything promising in IMDb’s [Memorable Quotes](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057693/quotes). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/34 "2008-05-28T20:07:38Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] Just a thought- “X- The Man with the X-Ray Eyes”? [/QUOTE] The Man With Colitis Goes By. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/35 "2008-05-28T20:10:28Z")
> [@](#): > > Just a thought- “X- The Man with the X-Ray Eyes”? I don’t recall anything like “the goggle—they do nothing” in **X-The Man with the X-Ray Eyes** Stephen King, in **Danse Macabre** , reports a rumor that originally that film ended with: Ray Milland’s character, having (as the Biblical injunction says) torn out his offending eyes, cries “I Can Still See!” Roger Corman says it’s not true, although it was discussed: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057693/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057693/trivia) ---
**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:** [May 28, 2008, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/36 "2008-05-28T20:37:34Z")
Could have been **Man with the X-Ray Eyes**. It would fit when Ray Milland was sitting at the table and Don Rickles was nagging him, but I vaguely remember it (and only vaguely) it from **Flareup** with Raquel Welch in the early '70s. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/37 "2008-05-28T21:30:07Z")
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow] Second, the [SNPP](http://www.snpp.com/episodes/2F17.html) page for that episode does not cite the original Simpsons line (“My eyes … the goggles do nothing!”) as being an allusion to anything else, and they usually don’t miss stuff like that. [/QUOTE] Definitely not a reference to [Horrors of the Black Museum (1959)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052901/). In that case, the goggles (well, binoculars) _did_ do something and it wasn’t pleasant ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/38 "2008-05-29T06:25:19Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] It’s like an anti-religion propaganda flick. [/QUOTE] William Peter Blatty, who wrote the novel and wrote and produced the movie, is a devout Catholic. (How Catholic? Seven children.) ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/39 "2008-05-29T12:03:14Z")
I still think it started with **The Wizzard of Oz** , in a “Play it again, Sam” kind of way. ---
**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2008, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788/40 "2008-05-29T15:43:22Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] People find this drivel scary? Why? I’m completely serious. You’re fighting evil with water chanted over by a priest and I’m not supposed to fall out of my seat laughing? Smearing a child’s face with makeup while another voice swears is supposed to make me wet my pants? How can any of this affect you? Are you reverting to your childhood upbringing? I wasn’t brought up this way, so maybe it’s not hitting any atavistic memories in me. As an adult, though, that was pathetic rather than frightening. It’s like an anti-religion propaganda flick. [/QUOTE] Hmmm, I suppose for me it’s got something to do with suspension of disbelief. I am not a religious person at all, but I have no problem turning off the skeptical part of my brain and enjoying the movie as intended instead of debunking the religious aspects. If you can’t accept the “unrealistic” premise of demonic possession and need to be rational about what’s happening on screen then I would assume that most “scary” movies make you laugh. “OOOOH these lurching wrecks are supposed to be the “undead”? That’s ridiculous!” “Werewolf? Bah, there’s no such thing!” For me, **The Exorcist** is very much like a werewolf flick, except it involves a different kind of mythical transformation. I don’t view it as a religious movie at all, it’s a monster flick that takes itself and its’ audience a little more seriously than most. Not necessarily a good thing and obviously our mileages vary. Sorry for the hijack everyone, but thanks to all those who answered my question. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-anguished-cry-it-burns-it-burns/450788.md?page=3)