# What fictional things scared you as a child? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 29, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480 "2010-07-29T17:27:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/21 "2010-07-29T19:21:45Z")
> [@evilbeth](#): > > When I was really little, Sam the Eagle from the Muppets really scared me. He looked so mean. Oh yeah. I wasn’t really scared but I didn’t like him. The frowning face. He seemed so angry. I like him a lot more now. Also didn’t like Sweetums. To be honest, Sweetums is _still_ creepy. I guess that’s bringing it back to Jim Henson, since he also worked on the Witches… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/22 "2010-07-29T19:23:20Z")
> [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](#): > > Bloody Mary. > > You know. You go into a bathroom at night with the lights off at midnight, and all your friends chant “BLOODY MARY BLOODY MARY” and you look in the mirror and YOU SEE HER FACE INSTEAD OF YOURS!!! > > I still don’t like going past a mirror in a darkened room. Oh hell yes. I have still never said Bloody Mary thrice before a mirror in a dark room. I’m going to see if I have the balls to finally do it tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/23 "2010-07-29T19:25:00Z")
The picture of Tash in _The Last Battle_. Freaked me out, couldn’t look at the page. Terrifying. Did anyone else read John Bellairs when they were kids? I think all of his books frightened the heck out of me, but there’s one scene from (I think) _The Mommy, the Will and the Crypt_) where the main character is walking down a windy, moonlit street, and sees leaves and something white blowing across the ground. He gets closer, and realises it’s a death mask scuttling towards him. This is the sound of me hiding under the bed. ---
**Author:** ![antonio107](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7ea924/32.png) [@antonio107](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antonio107)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/24 "2010-07-29T19:25:39Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > > [@antonio107](#): > > > > I was 1 when the first Ninja Turtles animated series came out. I pretty much obsessed about them until the point when I was 7 or 8 or so. And yet for most of that period, I was intensely afraid of the mousers. If I had nickel for every nightmare induced by those robotic little monsters…then there was metalhead, the one and off villain who was an evil robotic turtle. > > > > Basically, robots scare me. ☹ > > That’s because robots are everywhere, and they eat old people’s medicine for fuel. Sounds like you need to purchase some _Old Glory Insurance_: > > > [@](#): > > > > **Sam Waterson** : And when they grab you with those metal claws, you can’t break free…because they’re made of metal, and robots are strong. Now, for only $4 a month, you can achieve peace of mind in a world full of grime and robots, with Old Glory Insurance. So, don’t cower under your afghan any longer. Make a choice. ["WARNING: Persons denying the existence of Robots may be Robots themselves.] Old Glory Insurance. For when the metal ones decide to come for you - and they will. I hadn’t watched that skit in ages. Thanks for reminding me of it, lol! ---
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/25 "2010-07-29T19:28:48Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I know a lot of you hated Large Marge from Pee Wee’s Big Adventure. +1 I was also scared of the “Scary Stories” book series. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/26 "2010-07-29T19:30:50Z")
Oompa Loompas. From the Gene Wilder Willy Wonka movie. Except they scare me as an adult. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2010, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/27 "2010-07-29T19:36:40Z")
Sharks (from seeing _Jaws_ at the age of 7 while living in Hawaii and going to the beach every weekend) and vampires. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/28 "2010-07-29T19:39:55Z")
Also, the Wicked Witch of the West. And the “daDUMP. daDUMP. daDUMPDUMPDUMP” music from Jaws. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/29 "2010-07-29T19:42:02Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > **Darby O’Gill and the Little People** is a delightful Walt Disney movie about a lovable old man’s adventure among charming leprechauns. Oh, yeah, it also has a freakin’ [banshee](http://the-haunted-closet.blogspot.com/2009/03/happy-st-patricks-day.html). Oh God, yeah. Also, the Daleks in the original Dr. Who. _Exterminate! Exterminate!_ The evil Queen as the apple-bearing, old lady in Snow White! ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/30 "2010-07-29T19:50:59Z")
The little devil doll that had the soul of an african warrior trapped in it. Specifically, the shot of it rising out of the bath tub at the end of the hall. I was going to mention a certain bug based movie, but remembered that such creatures are not fictional. Damn. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/31 "2010-07-29T19:55:41Z")
> [@Shark\_Sandwich](#): > > _ **Ahem.** _ > > When I was a kid, I used to hide behind the couch whenever The Bumble showed up on _Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer._ > > It feels so liberating to admit that. OOOOh yes. He was scary. So was the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. I had to run from the room. I’m quite surprised my parents let me watch them in view of their dislike of me watching westerns and stuff which didn’t bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/32 "2010-07-29T19:58:37Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > I was also scared of the “Scary Stories” book series. Oh, tell me. Those were intense. Those pictures. Remember the lady with stringy hair and no eyes? Blech. The Thing still gets me, too. The stories by themselves were a bit creepy but they’d never have stuck in my mind but for the illustrations. And the scary black font…those books always made me shudder. I actually re bought them as an adult and they still get me. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/33 "2010-07-29T19:58:50Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > The little devil doll that had the soul of an african warrior trapped in it. Specifically, the shot of it rising out of the bath tub at the end of the hall. “Trilogy of Terror” with Karen Black. Yeah, it freaked me out when the thing started cutting through the suitcase she had it trapped in. I don’t have any idea what the other two parts of the trilogy were, but that doll sure made an impression. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/34 "2010-07-29T20:01:42Z")
Wanda the witch from Sesame Street scared the crap out of me. But everytime it came on I had to watch it. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/35 "2010-07-29T20:01:43Z")
> [@Meatros](#): > > I was also scared of the “Scary Stories” book series. Oh, yeah. That’s what I stopped to mention. Not the stories, so much, you know. Just those goddam, soul-destroying, pants-wetting [illustrations by Stephen Gammell](http://www.thefleshfarm.com/scary1P.html). And I now see that reprints will be coming out, newly illustrated by Brett Helquist. Fie, I say! He does nice work, but he doesn’t horrify. ---
**Author:** ![Fritz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c57346/32.png) [@Fritz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fritz)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/36 "2010-07-29T20:06:07Z")
> [@TWDuke](#): > > I’m sure this is laughable to anyone who wasn’t traumatized by it as a kid, but [the space ants that killed Bruce Dern](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX2jT3-e3P4) still freak me out. Yup. The original Outer Limits creeped me out for years. Still does, a little. The one that really got to me was [_“Warm Hands, Cold Heart.”_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlS5VkNIJOc) ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/37 "2010-07-29T20:06:51Z")
The child catcher in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. ‘Ice-cream, lollipops, all free today’ Shudder. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/38 "2010-07-29T20:11:36Z")
**filling\_pages** , newly illustrated? That’s absurd. I’m the last person to judge a book by its cover, but honestly, these books were defined by their pictures. And those pictures were wonderful. Every person I meet who has read the books comments on the illustrations. They were incredibly powerful and Stephen Gammell was incredibly talented. He could make the simplest things seem so incredibly unwholesome. Even simple things like black cats seemed intensely evil when he drew them. ---
**Author:** ![Rrose\_Selavy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bcef8e/32.png) [@Rrose\_Selavy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rrose_Selavy)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/39 "2010-07-29T20:15:06Z")
Might have been early teens: The Salt Vampire from Star Trek TOS (Man Trap) and even worse, the weeping woman who had her face removed in “Charlie X” ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/40 "2010-07-29T20:15:09Z")
Movies, mostly. The original “Invaders from Mars” (1953, but I saw it on TV a few years later, maybe '57 or '58). I was alone in my grandmother’s house during the afternoon, broad daylight, but it really got to me. Why? You can’t even trust your parents! Two movies I saw on a double bill , presumably shortly after they were released in 1959. I would have been probably 10 at the time, and I had to cover my face so as not to see certain things - “House on Haunted Hill” and “Horrors of the Black Museum”. Roddy [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480.md?page=3)