# What movies have given you nightmares? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 14, 2002, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998 "2002-06-14T07:17:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Atreyu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@Atreyu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atreyu)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/1 "2002-06-14T07:17:15Z")
For some reason, I was unusually resistant to potentially nightmare-inducing material. I watched movies like **Poltergeist** and **Aliens** without suffering any tortured, disturbed dreams the following night. There was one conspicuous exception when I was a kid. After I saw **The Exoricst** for the first time when I was about 12, I had a horrendous nightmare afterwards. Several years later, as a young adult, I saw **Arachnophobia** on video. The unique quality of the spider-based nightmares that I had afterwards was enough for me to vow never to watch that movie again. I still haven’t seen **Arachnophobia** a second time, and I have yet to see **The Exorcist** in its entirety a second time. Any dopers out there like to name the movies that gave them some really bad dreams afterwards? ---
**Author:** ![dasmoocher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dbc845/32.png) [@dasmoocher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasmoocher)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/2 "2002-06-14T07:32:41Z")
The first rated R movie I saw was ‘The Howling’; at 11 years old, I found it pretty spooky. I didn’t turn the lights out that night when I went to bed. Even as an older person, I think it holds up for what it is. ---
**Author:** ![MyFootsZZZ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/myfootszzz/32/12580_2.png) [@MyFootsZZZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyFootsZZZ)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/3 "2002-06-14T07:37:55Z")
“Jurassic Park” for some reason. I haven’t seen it in a while, but recently I had a dream about it. It was cool though, because it was like a puzzle getting away from the dinos. Like some people and I would be in a certain room, and there’s one specific way to get out of the room without getting eaten. We would send some people out to go one way, and then some to go another, there would be corners and small nooks in the room the dino couldn’t get at. Each room would be set up different, and there was always a way out depending on the room, and the type of Dino in that room. It was as if I planned all of it out prior to the dream, because everything was so ellaberat and complicate. It’s like I’m smarter and more inventive then I ever thought I was in dreams. “E.T.” gave me nightmares. So did “Sweet November”. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/4 "2002-06-14T07:50:16Z")
I don’t think I’ve ever had nightmares _because_ of a movie, but I have had nightmares that just involved one. One of the odder instances was a particularly freaky nightmare I had just after watching the George Burns comedy **Going in Style**. The dream had nothing to do with the movie (which wasn’t scary), but featured several of the characters. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/5 "2002-06-14T08:18:53Z")
When I was… hmmm… six or seven, the flodmother and my sister were out for the day, leaving me in the care of the flodfather and my much older brother. They decided they wanted to go downtown and see **Close Encounters of the Third Kind**. Well hey, let’s just take little flodnak along! She likes outer space stuff, she’ll love it! I think I had nightmares every night for a week :eek: I’ve been told it’s not a particularly scary movie, but when you’re a little kid who doesn’t understand what the damn thing is about, it’s terrifying… ---
**Author:** ![smoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@smoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smoke)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/6 "2002-06-14T12:19:02Z")
As pat an answer as this may be, **Nightmare on Elm Street** gave me many nightmares. Didn’t stop me from watching it over again, or pursuing other horror movies. I actually LIKE a good nightmare (one that has a horror element to it). It’s like a free movie, only more realisitic to you at the time. -j ---
**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:** [June 14, 2002, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/7 "2002-06-14T13:08:14Z")
The original 1951 version of **The Thing** , directed by Christian Nyby (and, some claim, Howard Hawks). Saw it on TV one Sunday afternoon when WCBS out of New York was into running sf movies on Sundays. I was a kid, and it was the first time I ever saw it. I had an explicit nightmare that night of James Arness as The Thing coming after me. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/8 "2002-06-14T13:19:13Z")
The Howling made me feel… excited in that… way. Ahem. I watched Event Horizon and Devil’s Advocate in the same night once. I woke up every half hour that night. It took me a week before I could sleep straight through again. ---
**Author:** ![crazy4chaucer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@crazy4chaucer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy4chaucer)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/9 "2002-06-14T14:59:47Z")
Probably sounds dumb, but when I saw The Fifth Element, I had horrible nightmares about those bull-dog faced bad guys. The other movie that would have given me nightmares had I been able to sleep that night, was Blair Witch Project. I’ve always been more terrified of the suggested things, things that you don’t see but are there . . . My nephew was visiting us, and he and I went to see it together. That night, my husband was the only person in the house who was able to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/10 "2002-06-14T15:08:11Z")
We were just talking about this last night. The only one I can think of is… **Return to Oz** The heads! The wheelies! Pumpkinhead! Ahhhhhh!!! ---
**Author:** ![DemonSpawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@DemonSpawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonSpawn)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/11 "2002-06-14T15:11:46Z")
When “American Werewolf” was first released in Germany (ca. 1983) it was advertised as a horror-comedy. Being scared shitless of werewolves I went to see it, thinking it would cure me of my irrational fear. Boy, was I wrong… I was 12 at the time and have still not overcome the werewolf-phobia. ---
**Author:** ![Judith\_Prietht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b19c9b/32.png) [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/12 "2002-06-14T15:15:33Z")
**Fright Night** gave me the whim-whams, with the glowing eyes at the end. Everytime I closed my eyes to try to go to sleep, I’d see the glowing eyes behind my lids. If I opened my eyes, I’d see little points of red light in dark corners in my room. I had to go sleep with my parents, and even then I was scared. This isn’t quite related, but **Event Horizon** was the only movie I’ve seen where I felt physically ill from watching it. Actually, that was a pretty freaky movie I haven’t been able to watch all the way through again. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/13 "2002-06-14T20:21:17Z")
I was in 2nd grade when my dad took me to see **Jaws**. It took me 2 weeks until I could sleep with the lights out and 10 years before I would set foot in the ocean. ---
**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:** [June 14, 2002, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/14 "2002-06-14T20:50:50Z")
I saw this made-for-TV movie when I was 8: Kim Darby opens a sealed-up chimney in her old family home, and these little gnome-like creatures get out. They terrorize her, and eventually drag her back into the chimney and make her into one of them. It scared the hell out of me, and I must have had at least a dozen nightmares featuring those little gnome guys over the next 10-15 years. When I saw this movie again as a grown-up, I realized how cheezy some of the special effects were–paper-cut-out shadows, rubber masks with mouths that didn’t move–and that really helped me get over it. ---
**Author:** ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/15 "2002-06-14T20:54:12Z")
**Silence of the Lambs.** I didn’t sleep for a week. In addition, the following movies for some reason caused me to feel intense nausea: **Posse The Doors High Art Boogie Nights** 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/16 "2002-06-14T21:40:40Z")
Trilogy of Terror. That last story. With the little native warrior-thing chasing her around the apartment, attacking from under the furniture. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![kiffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/d78d45/32.png) [@kiffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiffa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/17 "2002-06-14T21:50:29Z")
Circus of Horrors… I’ve hated circus and clowns ever since. ---
**Author:** ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2002, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/18 "2002-06-14T23:38:08Z")
The City of Lost Children (or _La Cité des enfants perdus_) gave me some really freaky dreams. They weren’t exactly nightmares, but they did scare me. The setting was just creepy. I make a habit of not watching horror movies. I wouldn’t have any nightmares, but that’s because I wouldn’t be able to sleep for seeing creatures in the shadows. jessica ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/19 "2002-06-15T01:50:54Z")
I second **Jaws**. I saw it as a kid, and it wigged me out for a week. What the hell were my parents thinking to take me to that? Hire a babysitter, for chrissakes! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/20 "2002-06-15T02:01:46Z")
When I saw _Titanic_, that night I had a dream I was on the _Lusitania_ during her infamous last voyage and I was in a lifeboat trying to row away from her. If I watch documentaries about shipwrecks, I’ll have nightmares where I’m in my room or something, look out my window and see the ocean floor and the wreck of the _Titanic_ or the _Andrea Doria_ or something about five feet away! Let’s see, when I was younger, Stephen King movies gave me nightmares a-plenty! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998.md?page=2)