# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![BigBertha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@BigBertha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigBertha)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/141 "2010-08-01T07:03:29Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > # It _wasn’t_ Tom Snyder? It was Tom. But Manson was demonic. imho ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/142 "2010-08-01T16:29:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Snuffleupagus scared the shit out of me. Oh, ditto. I was so sure that he lived under our sidewalk and was gonna grab me with his long snakey trunk and drag me down. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/143 "2010-08-01T16:49:21Z")
Monsters! Monsters from the id. Forbidden Planet was one of the first science fiction movies I had seen. A couple of years later I saw The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and the Harryhausen Cyclops scared the crap out of 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:** [August 1, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/144 "2010-08-01T17:05:27Z")
Snuffy creeped me out, too. The rolling eyes, the gruff voice of someone who starts drinking way too early in the morning…blech. ---
**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:** [August 1, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/145 "2010-08-01T20:02:35Z")
Oh, forgot to mention: **MOL** , did you chant Bloody Mary last night and live to tell about it? ---
**Author:** ![enigmatic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@enigmatic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigmatic)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/146 "2010-08-01T22:58:21Z")
No mention yet for the wolf thing from Neverending Story? Much worse because it was basically the same wolf that had stalked my nightmares since long before I actually saw the Movie :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Helena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c68b51/32.png) [@Helena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/147 "2010-08-02T05:12:21Z")
The Garthim in _The Dark Crystal_. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/148 "2010-08-02T05:25:39Z")
[The Watcher In The Wood](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Watcher_in_the_Woods). Tame now, I’m sure, but it scared the HELL out of me as a small child. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/149 "2010-08-02T09:53:51Z")
The [Moomins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomin). Or more specifically the whole universe surrounding the Moomins. The dark forests, the hattifatteners and the Groke. There is a weird feeling of loneliness, of insularity, in the Moomin universe that is quite discomforting - even for an adult. I still think the stories are wonderful, though! ---
**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 2, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/150 "2010-08-02T10:07:41Z")
UFOs and Alien Abductions. In the mid 70s there was a huge UFO craze when I was about 10 years old. I was scared to death of UFOs, alien, abductions, mysterious lights in the sky. I was terrified of an alien invasion, back then they were always in the news as well as TV specials, movies and magazines. In fact in our home town paper there was a sighting and I still remember shaking in fear at the picture in the paper, just a fuzzy image of what looked like Vs in the air something like this ^^^^ I was sure my town was ripe for invasion! Watch the skies! ---
**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:** [August 2, 2010, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/151 "2010-08-02T14:27:18Z")
To add to **Sampiro’s** excellent examples of horrifying movie commercials, this one for [Suspiria](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwA_58KIEcs)had me running out of the room every time. After seeing the movie many years later, I still don’t know what the heck the commercial had to do with it but boy, they sure don’t make commercials anymore like those that have been mentioned in this thread. There was also a Sunday afternoon horror show called “Chiller” (not to be confused with the Chiller network). There must have been a host, sort of like Elvira but not as campy and I don’t really remember any specific movies but just before the show would resume after the commercials they’d show a still photo with this hideous shrunken skeletal head with long black hair and evil smile with the word “Chiller” written in traditional horror movie style drippy letters. Does anyone remember this? This would have been around 1970 and I think my local station was KTTV but I have no idea if it was shown in any other markets. I’ve searched and can find lots of things called “Chiller” but not this specific series. ---
**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:** [August 2, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/152 "2010-08-02T14:45:25Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I had the same reaction to the toy snake thing. Aw. Plush fangs. Ha! I actually thought about that this morning. I thought, “Oh crap, I keep forgetting to do the Bloody Mary thing!” I think my mind is so subconsciously terrified, that it would let me try. Or I was too busy and/or drunk. Maybe all three. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/153 "2010-08-02T14:51:25Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > . . . There was also a Sunday afternoon horror show called “Chiller” (not to be confused with the Chiller network). There must have been a host, sort of like Elvira but not as campy and I don’t really remember any specific movies but just before the show would resume after the commercials they’d show a still photo with this hideous shrunken skeletal head with long black hair and evil smile with the word “Chiller” written in traditional horror movie style drippy letters. Does anyone remember this? This would have been around 1970 and I think my local station was KTTV but I have no idea if it was shown in any other markets. I’ve searched and can find lots of things called “Chiller” but not this specific series. Oh, it was being shown before the seventies. I remember seeing the intro and turning the channel when I was a kid. I knew that my tolerance for that kind of thing was low. I also remember being scared by a B movie called “The Crawling Eye.” I think that was made worse by being sent to bed in the middle of it. From there to the end (or when I fell asleep, whichever happened) I could hear the show but not see it. Imagination has much better effects than old B movies. I saw it again as an adult, and it was laughable. ---
**Author:** ![SoulFrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f07891/32.png) [@SoulFrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SoulFrost)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/154 "2010-08-02T22:34:09Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > UFOs and Alien Abductions. In the mid 70s there was a huge UFO craze when I was about 10 years old. I was scared to death of UFOs, alien, abductions, mysterious lights in the sky. I was terrified of an alien invasion, back then they were always in the news as well as TV specials, movies and magazines. In fact in our home town paper there was a sighting and I still remember shaking in fear at the picture in the paper, just a fuzzy image of what looked like Vs in the air something like this ^^^^ I was sure my town was ripe for invasion! Watch the skies! Reincarnation was big when I was about that age. Dad had the book _Audrey Rose_, and if the book cover wasn’t bad enough, take a look at the [promo poster for the film](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Rose_(film)). I’m not sure how or when my younger sister and I saw the movie–maybe on TV?–but for a long while afterward, all she had to do to get her big brother back for whatever petty torment I was inflicting upon her was to tell me, “Ivy’s coming to get you!” Of course, years earlier–when the book first came out–my sister had also freaked my dad out. She was about five, and we were driving from Louisiana to Texas. Passing through Lake Charles, she said, “I like Lake Charles. I used to go to school there.” ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/155 "2010-08-03T23:01:25Z")
I saw [The Blob](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051418/)sometime as a young child. I was okay with the whole theme of the movie until the scene where the guy is at the barber’s and going to have his hair washed. When the guy has his head leaning into the sink and the blob comes out of the faucet and eats the guy’s face, I just about lost it. To this day, I still don’t trust plumbing, and won’t put my feet anywhere near the tub drain while taking a shower. Don’t get me started on sinks. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/156 "2010-08-03T23:35:38Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > The little shrunken apple headed people in the made-for-TV movie “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark.” This is the thing I came in to mention. There’s a brand-new review of it at [http://www.braineater.com/dbaotd.html](http://www.braineater.com/dbaotd.html)(with a photo of one of the little creepy guys near the bottom of the page). I was reading that earlier today and felt a chill run up my spine. I saw “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” when it first aired, when I was 8, and still had an occasional nightmare related to it up into my late teens. I’ve seen it once or twice as an adult as can see how cheesy some of the effects are, but the memory of those wrinkled little gnome faces still creeps me out. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2010, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/157 "2010-08-03T23:39:49Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > I also remember being scared by a B movie called “The Crawling Eye.” I think that was made worse by being sent to bed in the middle of it. From there to the end (or when I fell asleep, whichever happened) I could hear the show but not see it. Imagination has much better effects than old B movies. > > I saw it again as an adult, and it was laughable. That was the very first movie that MST did on Comedy Central. (It’s a pretty terrible episode as they were all so amateur.) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/158 "2010-08-04T16:04:54Z")
I remember one day in fourth grade where we were discussing African-American folklore w/r/t the slavery era. Mention was made of some mythical demon called (and I may be totally getting this wrong) “plateye.” I remember the teacher saying that they could take the form of a snake with two heads. At any rate, I was home by myself for a couple of hours (latchkey kid) and I remember sitting _ **perfectly** _ still on the couch that afternoon until my parents got home, lest I alert the plateye to my presence. I was terrified. :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 4, 2010, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/159 "2010-08-04T16:10:15Z")
> [@](#): > > I saw “Don’t be Afraid of the Dark” when it first aired, when I was 8, and still had an occasional nightmare related to it up into my late teens. I’ve seen it once or twice as an adult as can see how cheesy some of the effects are, but the memory of those wrinkled little gnome faces still creeps me out. Is that the one with Kim Darby? ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480/160 "2010-08-04T17:14:55Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > > [@Shoeless](#): > > > > “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. > > Very few people do remember anything of the two other stories. I vaguely remember one about twin sisters but no details. But Lord, the African Zuni Fetish Doll has become legend. Yay for Dan Curtis! A homage to the Zuni Fetish Doll appears as a [major monster](http://www.diablowiki.com/File:Fetish_%28Diablo_II%29.gif) in the Diablo II computer game; one of the game’s 5 acts is themed around it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-fictional-things-scared-you-as-a-child/548480.md?page=9)