# Scariest scene from a movie
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [December 6, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385 "2000-12-06T21:54:30Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McMurphy)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/1 "2000-12-06T21:54:30Z")
The three scenes which have scared me the most are probably
1. The Alien bursting out of the Stomach of John Hurt in Alien
2. The dinner round the table in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
3. The ‘Spider Walk’ in The Exorcist
What are yours?
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### Author:  [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/2 "2000-12-06T22:15:19Z")
The “Spider Walk”.
I thought my days of being scared by a movie were over, but that scene freaked me out.
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### Author:  [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/3 "2000-12-06T22:51:01Z")
Friday the 13th when the mother killed the dude on the bunkbed by grabbing his head then shoving a arrow through his neck.(i still look under bunk beds.
Texas Chainsaw Massacre when that dude walked up the ramp and he whopped with the hammer and then the guy having spasms on the ground before he died.
Serpent and the Rainbow when he awoke in a coffin.
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### Author:  [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/4 "2000-12-06T22:52:07Z")
oh, what is a “Spider Walk”?
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### Author:  [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/5 "2000-12-06T22:53:19Z")
A few good ones:[ul][li]The closet scene in **Halloween** [/li][li]The scene in **Halloween** where Myers escapes from the asylum, attacks the doctor’s car[/li][li]Harry Dean Stanton buys the farm in **Alien** [/li][li]The whole alien space ship scene in **Alien** was pretty creepy[/li][li]From **Salem’s Lot** , the scene where the kid comes up out of the coffin and the scene where the vampire appears in the kitchen[/li][li]The subway scene from **American Werewolf in London** [/li]The end of **Trilogy of Terror** where Karen Black is sitting calmly and repeatedly punching the knife into the floor, and then she smiles and she has those pointed teeth, and you realize…[/ul]
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/6 "2000-12-06T23:05:18Z")
That brief scene in **The Amityville Horror** where the dad, I think, looks out the window and sees that pig with the glowing eyes looking up at him. Oooh, it just creeps me out.
Or the “Red Rum - Red Rum” scene in **The Shining** too.
Or how about vomiting ghost girl in **The Sixth Sense**?
It’s the psychologically creepy things that get to me more than gore.
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### Author:  [@lucie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucie)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/7 "2000-12-06T23:20:47Z")
The scene in John Carpenter’s “The Thing” when the blood leaps out of the petrie dish. For some reason, that freaked me out worse than anything else in the movie.
The rape scene in “The Entity”. Haven’t seen it in 20 years, but it really bugged me at the time.
A scene in “Arachnaphobia” where they were looking for the main spider nest, and go up into the loft and it’s filled with spiders. I am not afraid of spiders, but I was for a few days after seeing that film.
I didn’t get to see the re-released “Exorcist”, so I haven’t seen the spider walk scene yet.
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### Author:  [@Bottle\_of\_Smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bottle_of_Smoke)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/8 "2000-12-06T23:22:22Z")
What – nobody mentioned Harvey Keitel’s nude scene in _The Piano_? Jesus, I had to sleep with the light on for weeks.
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### Author:  [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/9 "2000-12-06T23:27:32Z")
The Spider Walk, and the scene in The Sixth Sense when the mother who had killed herself walked by in the background. I couldn’t pee with the lights off for weeks. ☹
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### Author:  [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/10 "2000-12-06T23:33:42Z")
Hannibal Lector’s first interview with Clarice Starling. Good example of a scene with no gore that can still scare you silly.
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### Author:  [@Ranma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranma)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/11 "2000-12-06T23:40:01Z")
In fact, the scenes without gore are probably the most traumatizing. Scenes with gore usually look so fake that it’s laughable, not freightening. But I guess I don’t scare easy either.
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### Author:  [@Stric-9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stric-9)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/12 "2000-12-06T23:47:18Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> Friday the 13th when the mother killed the dude on the bunkbed by grabbing his head then shoving a arrow through his neck.
> \*\*
If it’s been a while since you’ve seen this movie, rent it again. The guy who dies on the bed is our old pal Kevin Bacon…
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> The rape scene in “The Entity”. Haven’t seen it in 20 years, but it really bugged me at the time.
> \*\*
That was my favorite scene. I loved watching the chick’s boobs move by themselves. Wonder how they did that…
**Mine:**
There’s one scene in **Exorsist 3** where the camera is looking down a long hallway in a hospital. A nurse walks from one room, across to another, and suddenly the guy with the “clippers” comes across after her. Don’t know why but I almost jumped out of my shorts.
The shower scene in **Arachnaphobia** where the spider jumps on the girls face.
**Halloween** , where Jamie Lee Curtis has “supposedly” knocked out Michael. She sends the kids to call for help, has her back to Meyers (big mistake) and he sits up.
**The Prince of Darkness** - Guy jumps out of window. Zombies (including Alice Cooper) start walking toward him. Creepy.
> [@](#):
>
> \*\*
> The scene in John Carpenter’s “The Thing” when the blood leaps out of the petrie dish.
> \*\*
I agree. MAJOR startle factor there.
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### Author:  [@OrcaChow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OrcaChow)
#### Post date: [December 6, 2000, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/13 "2000-12-06T23:57:52Z")
The one that gave me the worst momentary heart attack was in **Carrie** , when her hand shot up from the rubble.
The most tense I felt was in **Alien** , when Tom Skerritt (sp?) ventures into the ventilation shafts and the other crew are watching the two signals on their tracker.
For some reason, the chest-burster scene didn’t frighten me. It was a fascinating scene nonetheless.
The barn in **Arachnophobia** scared me for days. I _am_ afraid of spiders.
The most unnerving scene was the one Baker mentioned, in **Silence of the Lambs**.
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/14 "2000-12-07T03:08:25Z")
In “Angel Heart” there is a scene where Robert DeNiro and the hero are having a chat over lunch. DeNiro (aka the devil) holds up an egg and mentions that, in some cultures, the egg is the symbol of the human soul. Then he eats the egg.
No blood, no violence, and it’s still the scariest scene in the whole movie.
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/15 "2000-12-07T03:23:15Z")
> [@](#):
>
> _originally posted by OrcaChow_
> The one that gave me the worst momentary heart attack was in Carrie, when her hand shot up from the rubble.
Me, too. That scared me soooooo much!
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \*
> \*\*That brief scene in **The Amityville Horror** where the dad, I think, looks out the window and sees that pig with the glowing eyes looking up at him. Oooh, it just creeps me out.
> \*\*
Me, too. I couldn’t pull down my own window shades for weeks.
Also, the clown doll scene at the end of “Poltergeist.” I have always been afraid of clowns and that scene REALLY freaked me out.
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### Author:  [@hypergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypergirl)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/16 "2000-12-07T03:56:36Z")
_sigh_
Am I the only one here who was actually scared seeing the shower scene in Psycho?
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### Author:  [@Skelji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skelji)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/17 "2000-12-07T04:08:07Z")
When I saw **Carrie** in the movies, that scene at the end where her hand pops out of the ground just scared the shit out of me (and the rest of the theater).
**Jaws** , when Ben Gardner’s head pops out of the boat hull.
And the night after I saw **Dawn Of The Dead** , I was pretty creeped out.
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### Author:  [@Mofo\_Rising](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mofo_Rising)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/18 "2000-12-07T04:45:00Z")
**Prince of Darkness** , the scene where the guy is standing outside the window calling out in a low, gargly voice: “Hello? Hello? I have a message for you, and you’re not going to like it. _Pray for death._” Then, being made of insects, he falls apart. Good God Almighty that was creepy.
Also, the scene in the cornfield in **Children of the Corn** where the bump is rolling through the rows is pretty scary, but only because it was the first horror movie I ever saw.
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### Author:  [@Chocobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chocobo)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/19 "2000-12-07T05:11:05Z")
There were a few scenes in What Lies Beneath that scared the crap outta me.
(Background info: Throughout the movie, this woman’s front door has been swinging open, even when she was sure it was closed, locked, and bolted)
The scariest was probably when her husband was gone to a conference, and the wife thought that their neighbor neighbor had killed his wife…sort of a ‘Rear Window’ thing. So she’s sitting at her window with all the lights out, looking through this telescope at this guy’s house. She sees him sit down to dinner, then gets up and walks out of sight. So she looks, and looks, and looks, then snaps to another window where he’s staring directly at her. She’s startled away from the telescope, and then looks again through all his windows and doesn’t see him. So once again she looks away, then looks down at her front yard, where she see’s muddy footprints leading up to her front door. She’s scared to death at this point and spins around, to see another person standing behind her, who grabs her. Then we see it’s her husband. Nothing drastically scary, just incredibly suspensful, all leading up to her spinning around…oooh, gives me the chills just thinking about it.
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### Author:  [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)
#### Post date: [December 7, 2000, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/scariest-scene-from-a-movie/44385/20 "2000-12-07T05:37:36Z")
Well, these scenes aren’t “scary” in a supernatural sense. More like… _disturbing_…
…but the scene in _Cape Fear_ where Robert DiNiro’s character is on the family’s houseboat and he has the gun pointed at the mom and the 15-year-old girl, and he keeps shouting at them to take off their clothes and get on their knees. :shudder:
…and then there’s the scene in _The Good Son_ where the movie suddenly went from dreadfully cerebral to Ohmigod tense. It’s the scene where SPOILER AHEAD SPOILER AHEAD SPOILER AHEAD Macauly Culkin’s character breaks out Mr. Highway. The whole time you’re thinking “He’s not gonna do it. He’s not gonna do it! **He’s not gonna do it!!!** ” And then he does it!!! :shudder:
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