# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/21 "2002-06-15T02:45:11Z")
1. Freaks (1932 by Tod Browning) when I was 13 2. The Excorcist age 12 3.Nosferatu age 14 With the possible exception of the 3rd, I can say w/o hesitation all were entirely inappropriate _for me_ at that age & at my then level of understanding/maturity. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/22 "2002-06-15T03:11:23Z")
The original “The Blob”. I was just a youngun when I saw it first run. I remember making sure the windows were closed and there was a towel blocking the crack under the door. ---
**Author:** ![Balduran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cc9497/32.png) [@Balduran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balduran)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/23 "2002-06-15T03:59:15Z")
Another **Nightmare on Elm Street** vote. And what makes it worse is when you’re half asleep, the premise of the movie seems very reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![starkyld](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@starkyld](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starkyld)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/24 "2002-06-15T06:17:43Z")
only _the blair witch project_ made me feel uncomfortable-to-sleep in recent memory. i generally don’t have nightmares as such. however, no movie has disturbed me and made me feel as uncomfortable-to-sleep as did reading helter skelter. i literally slept with the lights on for 4 straight days. (i’m also the girl who isn’t squeamish about blood or death but _still_ won’t watch horror movies or go to haunted houses…i’m _very_ susceptible to cheese-terropr) ---
**Author:** ![BooBoo316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@BooBoo316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BooBoo316)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/25 "2002-06-15T07:03:46Z")
**Jaws** totally traumatized me as a child. Nightmare city for months. Thanks, Mom and Dad, giant killer shark movie for an eight year old kid. _Wonderful_ idea. :rolleyes: And then they wonder why I didn’t want to swim when we went to the beach. However, as an adult, I absolutely love the movie. It was the first DVD I bought and so far I’ve watched it about 50 times. Go figure. **The Howling** , **American Werewolf in London** , and **Alien** also provided me with several…um…interesting nights as well, but were nothing compared with Spielberg’s creation. [sub]I still don’t swim in the ocean[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![mkmiller99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9e5f3/32.png) [@mkmiller99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkmiller99)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/26 "2002-06-15T07:08:09Z")
I still love this movie even though it freaks me out to no end!!! Clown House (1988) - Two boys left at home, homicidal maniacs escape from a mental institution and kill clowns at a local circus, and find the boys at home…alone! I haven’t been a big fan of clowns ever, but this movie gave me horrifying dreams for a bit…okay, I first saw the movie when it came out…I was 16, but it still gives me the willies! Evil Dead will still give me creepy dreams after watching it. Scary enough, I have the best dreams ever…if only some terrific horror writer were there with me…they would have a New York Best Seller! ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/27 "2002-06-15T15:27:30Z")
I’ll second the Exorcist here. I also saw The Omen when I was pretty young and that was trouble. I just saw The Others which is EXACTLY the kind of thing that will do it. My husband had nightmares after the Sixth Sense and decided to tell me about them in detail, so I ended up with the heebie jeebies on the way to the bathroom at night for weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/28 "2002-06-15T15:42:08Z")
None for a while now. When I saw the Blair witch project I was okay but a couple of nights later I started having flashbacks to the scene where they’re in the tent and people are rushing by giggling. Gave me the heebie jeebies. Also, an episode of the X files where there’s these creatures and in the dark the way you see them is their glowing red eyes. Freaked me out for a while. Here’s a unique one: when I was 7 or 8 I saw a special effects show (how they did stuff, those things were so much more interesting before cgi). One of the effects they explained was the space suits in Alien. Got me curious about the movie so I asked my mum. She told me the basic plot and cause she hadn’t seen it for a while _got it wrong_! She said that the aliens got into people from eating the eggs they’d laid in their food. I couldn’t eat without thinking about it for months! ---
**Author:** ![bibliophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@bibliophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophile)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/29 "2002-06-15T15:47:16Z")
**Pet Cemetary** between the creepy giggling kid, Fred Guinn, and Pascow, I didn’t sleep for days. ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/30 "2002-06-15T18:46:54Z")
As a child: Mere _commercials_ for _American Werewolf in London_ gave me nightmares. Of course, I was no more than 6, so it was extra scary for someone not fully capable of understanding. _Poltergeist_ kept me from hours of sleep, as did _The Day After_. As an adult, there’s been just one (although I was a young adult, 18): _Silence of the Lambs_. Hannibal Lector haunted my sleep for literally weeks, if not months. When I first saw the film, I walked out of the theater shaking–and didn’t stop for about two hours. That flick seriously disturbed me. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/31 "2002-06-15T20:23:09Z")
The “normal” nightmare inducing stuff didn’t bother me much. _Poltergeist, Silence of the Lambs, The day After, Nightmare on Elm Street, Cujo_…none of them kept me from sleeping. What did? _Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory_. I had nightmares about Oompa-Loompas, about the giant fan in the ceiling, about that darn boat…pretty much every bit of it. I can watch it now, but I don’t _like_ to. ---
**Author:** ![Nightingale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@Nightingale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightingale)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2002, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/32 "2002-06-15T21:08:19Z")
It’s always been particular _scenes_ in movies that got me. The tree grabbing the little boy in **Poltergeist** springs to mind; I happened to turn on the TV when I was 7 or 8 and that movie was on, and I had nightmares that night. I was a teenager before I got the nerve to watch the whole thing. Also, there’s one scene in **Wolfen** where the camera focuses on a dark patch of shadows, and suddenly you see two big eyes glowing at you. That gave me bad dreams for months! And since movies about demonic possession always scare me to death, I have to confess that I only watched **The Exorcist** for the first time last year. It was the first time I managed to screw up my courage enough to sit through it.:o ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/33 "2002-06-16T00:21:00Z")
I wouldn’t know…or it doesn’t really matter. I’ve had nightmares every night from the time I was 12 until well…now. If movies have contributed to them, I haven’t really noticed… ---
**Author:** ![bluecrayola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@bluecrayola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecrayola)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/34 "2002-06-16T10:16:23Z")
The Omen ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/35 "2002-06-16T11:03:04Z")
**The Day After**. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/36 "2002-06-16T12:14:54Z")
I’ve had reoccurring zombie dreams since I was about 8, so anytime I watch a zombie flick, I get bad dreams for a few nights. I recently watched a Japanes movie (I believe) called **Uzumaki** which just had some pretty fucking creepy images of people mutating that really stuck in my head in that moment right before sleep. **Ring** another Japanese movie, also really fucking creeped me out. **Killer Clowns From Outer Space** gave me the willies for a good many nights, and if I dwell on it too long before going to bed, that definitely has an effect on my sleep patterns. People have already mentioned **the Exorcist** , but more specifically, the scene where the little girl comes running down the stairs bent over backwards on her hands and feet and screams blood everywhere. GOD that image freaked me out. **Caligula**. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/37 "2002-06-16T12:26:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by starkyld \* > \*\*only **The blair witch project** made me feel uncomfortable-to-sleep in recent memory. \*\* Yeah that one got me too. I saw **alligator** (i think that was the title) when I was 11. Lots of blood, little sleep ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/38 "2002-06-16T13:04:02Z")
Showgirls 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BooBoo316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@BooBoo316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BooBoo316)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/39 "2002-06-16T13:51:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pushkin \* > \*\* > I saw **alligator** (i think that was the title) when I was 11. Lots of blood, little sleep ☹ \*\* I forgot about that one. The scene that really freaked me out was the one where the kid jumped into the unlit pool and … :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/73ab20/32.png) [@Caesar\_s\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caesar_s_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2002, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998/40 "2002-06-16T21:21:52Z")
I saw the original ‘Jurassic Park’ when I was eight and none of the scenes affected me too badly–except for the scene with the kids in the kitchen and the raptor chasing them. It gave me recurring nightmares where I’m trapped in a relatively small space (like a small store) with a raptor on the loose. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-movies-have-given-you-nightmares/113998.md?page=3)