# Things in media that scared you as a kid. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 20, 2018, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890 "2018-08-20T00:16:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/81 "2018-08-22T00:17:14Z")
Another one of the few things I found creepy when I was a kid was the mind-control monster on Uranus in _ **Journey to the Seventh Planet** _, and the illusions he created (except for the hot Swedish babes with the big boobs :o ). Had I seen\*\*\* Interview with the Vampire\*\*\* when I was a kid, I would have run screaming from the theater when the statue in the graveyard came to life. Even as an adult, I was thoroughly creeped out! :eek: ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/82 "2018-08-22T00:20:45Z")
> [@Lorne\_Armstrong](#): > > The Venus Probe from The Six Thousand Dollar Man. It scared the living hell out of me. > > Even worse was the Disney LP Three Little Pigs. I actually had three separate nightmares in my childhood from that and I remember each one vividly. They were horrible. Little pigs is good to eat!!! ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/83 "2018-08-22T01:11:28Z")
> [@blob](#): > > Down here, it was on at 6.30, right before the 7pm news. I don’t remember anyone being scared of daleks, we’d play them at school, “exterminate! exterminate!”. Maybe really little kids were frightened by it? In the BBC dramatization of the origins of _ **Doctor Who** _, the creators knew the series was a hit the morning after the first episode aired, because the London tube and buses were full of little kids on their way to school going “_Exterminate! Exterminate!_” And yeah, I remember watching it late at night out of Chicago when I lived right across the border in Indiana. Those were the John Pertwee days. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/84 "2018-08-22T01:32:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > were full of little kids on their way to school going “_Exterminate! Exterminate!_” I think one reason they might not have scared (older?) little people is that they were so crappy. They just looked “pretend”, not real. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/85 "2018-08-22T01:44:02Z")
> [@](#): > > In the BBC dramatization of the origins of Doctor Who, the creators knew the series was a hit the morning after the first episode aired, because the London tube and buses were full of little kids on their way to school going “Exterminate! Exterminate!” Daleks weren’t in the first episode (or first story at all). They were in the second serial (starting with episode 5) and I’ve heard that the Daleks got tons of fanmail. Can’t remember if there was a cliffhanger end before the first “Exterminate” (and us seeing Daleks) or if the Dalek was the last thing we saw at the end of first episode of that serial. Haven’t rewatched in a while. ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/86 "2018-08-22T02:08:23Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Daleks weren’t in the first episode (or first story at all). They were in the second serial (starting with episode 5) and I’ve heard that the Daleks got tons of fanmail. Can’t remember if there was a cliffhanger end before the first “Exterminate” (and us seeing Daleks) or if the Dalek was the last thing we saw at the end of first episode of that serial. Haven’t rewatched in a while. I’m pretty sure that’s what was in the dramatization. Maybe the time was compressed. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/87 "2018-08-22T02:13:27Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > There was an _Outer Limits_ episode that scared me to death. I don’t remember much except for some crablike creatures chasing people and when the people fell down, the crabby thing would get on their back and the person would shriek. Freaked me right out and gave me nightmares. “The Invisibles”? For me it was the movie “Fiend Without a Face”, a black and white cheapie with disembodied brains with their eyes on stalks that would creep around using their “spinal” cords. Go to about 1:03:15 Oooh, and some sicko made a model kit of it. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/FIEND-WITHOUT-A-FACE-GeoMetric-Designs-1990-JOHN-DENNETT-Model-Kit-PRO-BUILD-UP-/261370293566?\_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131230161411%26meid%3D8124238954985656745%26pid%3D100012%26prg%3D20131230161411%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D261421220067&\_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=s86552YLmeu3ouOFnpoDQvN3jwA%253D&orig\_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc](https://www.ebay.com/itm/FIEND-WITHOUT-A-FACE-GeoMetric-Designs-1990-JOHN-DENNETT-Model-Kit-PRO-BUILD-UP-/261370293566?_trkparms=aid%3D444000%26algo%3DSOI.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131230161411%26meid%3D8124238954985656745%26pid%3D100012%26prg%3D20131230161411%26rk%3D6%26rkt%3D10%26sd%3D261421220067&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=s86552YLmeu3ouOFnpoDQvN3jwA%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc) ---
**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:** [August 22, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/88 "2018-08-22T02:17:28Z")
The scene in, “The Tingler,” where they scare the deaf-mute lady to death. C’mon, I was six. ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/89 "2018-08-22T04:05:31Z")
I didn’t like the Vietnam footage on TV. I didn’t know what happening but I knew people were being hurt or killed. Hated Willy Wonka and still do. Something wasn’t right with his eyes. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/90 "2018-08-22T10:30:02Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In my area _Doctor Who_ played on Saturday late nights on PBS just before _The Star Hustler_ and station signoff, so no kids up. In Aus repeats played on schoolday afternoons, probably for high-school students like me. I was already old enough to not be scared, but my little sister didn’t like to have it on. Although there were cliff-hangers, I think it was the music that made the only-slightly scary plots terrifying to kids. ---
**Author:** ![Valentine\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/76d3ee/32.png) [@Valentine\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valentine_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/91 "2018-08-22T22:09:22Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > OK, going way back, back in the mid to late 50s I happened to be alone in my Grandparents’ house, watching TV, and saw Invaders From Mars (1953). I was maybe 8 or 9 years old, and of course the scariest part was > > where the kid’s parents were taken over by the Martians and started acting mean and strange and evil. Where’s a kid to turn? Lucky for me it was daytime. Fuck yeah!!! That’s the one where they drill things into the back of peoples heads, and that octopus thing in the fishbowl, and the police come and get sucked into the sand pits . . . Then the kid wakes up and it was all a dream, and then sees the “meteor” crash into his back yard and it all starts over again!!! ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/92 "2018-08-22T22:48:14Z")
> [@Valentine\_Smith](#): > > Fuck yeah!!! That’s the one where they drill things into the back of peoples heads, and that octopus thing in the fishbowl, and the police come and get sucked into the sand pits . . . Then the kid wakes up and it was all a dream, and then sees the “meteor” crash into his back yard and it all starts over again!!! I was house sitting and well into my 20’s. I watched ‘Invaders From Mars’ on the Creature Feature, and when I went to bed I was scared. spitless. all alone in the house. I had every light in the house on. Similarly, 5 Million Miles to Earth creeped me out more than I would have ever believed, reading a synopsis. ---
**Author:** ![Valentine\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/76d3ee/32.png) [@Valentine\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valentine_Smith)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/93 "2018-08-22T22:53:51Z")
Yanosh the projector!! John Zacherley was the host! ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2018, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/94 "2018-08-22T23:56:38Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > I watched ‘Invaders From Mars’ on the Creature Feature, You reminded me of one that creeped me out as a kid. I think it is called “The Invaders” and had this guy trying to convince everyone that there were these aliens. Ellen Corby was in it, and she really freaked me out. I can’t even remember the details, but I know it was awful. ---
**Author:** ![oliversarmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/eb8c5e/32.png) [@oliversarmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oliversarmy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/95 "2018-08-23T02:32:28Z")
Three things that freaked me out when I was a kid: “Superman and the Mole Men” “It! The Terror from Beyond Space” “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” on NBC ---
**Author:** ![vperry1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ee7513/32.png) [@vperry1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vperry1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/96 "2018-08-23T03:30:08Z")
That evil, nighmarish grin the Grinch does in the cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas scared the shit out of me as a kid. To this day it freaks me out. [Scary Grinch.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oehGtcW6BU) ---
**Author:** ![edspellman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@edspellman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edspellman)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/97 "2018-08-23T12:00:27Z")
Hitchcock’s The Birds. Couldn’t sleep for 3 nites after seeing that movie on TV. Also nukes, still do. Watch any Twilight Zone or other SF about nukes, and I’m sure you’d feel the same, for good reasons. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/98 "2018-08-23T12:41:59Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > In 1979 when I was 7 years old, before a kid-friendly movie they played a trailer for a movie called _Prophesy_. I had nightmares about it for months or longer afterwards. [This](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsJZeAWS7U) may or may not be the version I saw. I clearly remember [the poster that was in the lobby](http://cdn3-www.comingsoon.net/assets/styd/assets/uploads/2016/03/70poster1.jpg) to this day. (The movie itself sounds much lamer than the trailer or poster.) Yeah, I saw that movie as a kid and it scared me. IIRC there was a scene where a family was camping outside and a teenager was zippered up in a sleeping bag when the creature shows up. The kid panics and tries to hop away still zippered up in the bag and the monster hits the kid so hard that he/she flies into a tree and the sleeping bag exploded into feathers. I think I found it so scary because a kid died in a movie! Christ, found that scene… [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxBQZPkdQMM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxBQZPkdQMM) What really scared me when I was 7-9 years old was the first _Jaws_ movie. You see, I lived in Hawaii at the time when I first saw it, and my family and I went to the beach every Saturday and Sunday. Needless to say, I was pretty scared about getting back into the ocean after that, especially since once again, a little kid gets killed in the movie in a raging fountain of blood no less. I also had nightmares from _Jaws_ where I’d “wake up” in my dream and find myself floating on my bed in the middle of the ocean somewhere at night, with the moonlight illuminating a large triangular dorsal fin circling my bed. I couldn’t hang my hands or arms off the side of my bed forever! ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/99 "2018-08-23T13:14:06Z")
This is mild compared to some, but I was five when I saw Disney’s _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ for the first time. There’s a scene where the prince is in the witch’s dungeon and passes a cell with a skeleton reaching for a water pot that’s just out of reach… Same movie a little later after the witch has her Fall from a Great Height, the two vultures sitting on a branch nod at each other, then jump off to glide down into the abyss as it fades to black. \ ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2018, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890/100 "2018-08-23T13:53:34Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > This is mild compared to some, but I was five when I saw Disney’s _Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs_ for the first time. That was another one that scared me. That talking mirror, awful stepmother and especially when Snow White is in a dark forest and there’s all these scary trees and things. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-in-media-that-scared-you-as-a-kid/819890.md?page=6)