PSYCHO. I was much too young to go see it when it came out, but one of my uncles thought it would be amusing to describe the plot to me in great detail.
The Wicked Witch of the West used to scare the crap out of me when I was a kid.
The end of The Little Mermaid where Ursula turns into a giant used to also terrify me.
I remember watching the original Omen when I was 14 and being unable to sleep at all that night.
The guy in the painting in Ghostbusters II who would take control of people was another one.
More recently, I saw the first Paranormal Activity film at night while at my grandparents' old house. Afterwards every little random house sound made me jump.
I feel like I was a chicken sh*t when I was real young but Return to Oz never scared me. I watched that movie dozens of times when I was a kid. I don't know what I watched more; Return to Oz, Wizard of Oz, My Girl, or The Little Mermaid......
What DID scare me was THE WITCHES. When Angelica Huston takes her face off.... ahhh!
When I was like IDK 9? I went and saw SERIAL MOM and that gave me nightmares for months. It took a while before I would use a Urinal again.
Others were: The Exorcist, The Shining, Candy Man, and Childs Play. I saw them all before I was probably 7 and didn't see another Horror film until Scream came out when I was in Middle school.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ud8JDmgeY1w
Terrible movie that I saw on cable sometime around five or six. It was my first exposure to the idea that parents could hurt their children. Traumatic!
The wolf and other parts in The NeverEnding Story bothered me
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/28/07
Looking back, the Flying Monkeys, the Twister, and the Wicked Witch of the West (appearing and disappearing in a pillar of fire & her face showing on the crystal ball when Dorothy was locked up) in 'The Wizard of Oz' scared me too when I was younger. But I still loved the movie as a kid and it is one of my all-time favorites to this day.
Belle exploring the West Wing in 'Beauty and the Beast' was a little scary for me when I was younger.
Actually the kids turning into donkeys in Pinocchio scarred me for life as well!
Now I remember one. I think there was a scene in The Princess Bride where the horse gets stuck in the mud or something? I don't remember much except for that scene.
You're thinking of THE NEVERENDING STORY.
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
I'm trying to figure out what it says about myself that none of the children's movies that have been named so far bothered me. I always loved both of the Oz movies, The Dark Crystal (which I haven't seen show up here yet, but I know a lot of people claimed to be freaked out by the Skeksis), The Witches, The Never Ending Story, etc.
However, I do remember one movie that gave me a nightmare once (at least one nightmare that I can vaguely recall some 26 years later). That would be Mister Boogedy, which was a Disney TV movie. And looking at Google image searches, I can remember just what was so scary about that movie. Who at Disney did not think that this face would not give children nightmares?
Stand-by Joined: 9/11/12
The Wizard of Oz. I love the movie, but every time Bert Lahr showed up I cried.
Nosferatu. I believed in vampires for YEARS afterwards.
You're right, Jordan. It's been so long since I've seen either movie.
And I totally just gave myself something else to be scared of tonight. I remember watching the Babes in Toyland movie with Drew Barrymore and Keanu Reeves in school once. All I can remember from that is a scary ass brown 1 eyed bird thing. I don't even think I saw the whole thing. I think we had to stop it with that thing attacking them or whatever it did. I think I did have nightmares from it. And of course I'm dumb and looked it up again tonight to see it in all it's scary glory.
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/4/04
Ha, I was also terrified by Ursula in The Little Mermaid when I was little - I think that was the first movie I saw in a theater, so when she turned huge she turned huge. Then again, I also cried in terror when I watched Beethoven because I thought the bad guys were burning the dogs, so take that as you will. :P
Batman Returns - My aunt took me to see in theaters and when Catwoman was killed or left for dead and the cats were surrounding her - I screamed and cried until we left.
Ugh this thread is bringing back so many bad memories. The guy int he painting in Ghostbusters II freaked me out, as well (which confused me as a kid, because I remember being proud that nothing in the first Ghostbusters scared me--though the cartoon show spin off did, I remember one episode with the boogie man who would terrorize kids via travelling in some supernatural realm where all the closets were connected to each other). Speaking of the Boogie man--the two Disney made for TV Boogedy movies scared me too, but more the first one.
The first Care Bears movie terrified me as a kid--that spirit with a green face in the book terrified me so much (maybe I have a thing for people with green faces) that i remember throwing out an Archie comic hat had an advertisement for the movie in it.
For me, the one film that terrified me was the black and white Lord of the Flies. Between the music and the kids fight for power I had nightmares for quite a long time.
The only thing that scared me about Ghostbusters II was when Peter Macnicol's character was dressed like a granny, flying through the air with a baby buggy to get the baby.
"Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" with Kim Darby, circa 1973. It's also when I fell in love with Jim Hutton.
Magic, The first Aliens movie.
Killer Clowns From Outer Space and It. Clowns didn't scare me, just those two movies. Also the Thriller video scared me but the Thriller view master scared me more.
The Wizard of Oz
The Exorcist
The Omen
Jaws
Jaws 2
Don't Open the Door
The Fearless Vampire Killers
The Poseidon Adventure
And from TV:
Salem's Lot
Dragon's Domain episode of Space: 1999
That episode of Space: 1999 gave me nightmares for WEEKS. I was horrified, but intrigued. I even had the lunchbox with the creature on it.
Just the commercials for The Exorcist scared the crap outta me. It was a few years before I actually saw it...scared me all over again.
Salem's Lot...Danny Glick at the window.
Nosferatu.
Piper Laurie in Carrie.
Most of the really scary movies have already been mentioned. I remember a few TV movies that scared me.
The Bermuda Depths
The Omen tv movie with Patti Duke
Trilogy of Terror
Some of the earliest I remember --
The "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence from Disney's Fantasia
My parents unwittingly recorded "Halloween II" on the same videotape as "The Wizard of Oz" (which I was left unattended to watch at will) -- so I was introduced to Michael Myers at a young age. Although it gave me nightmares - it hooked me on horror movies.
John Carpenter's "The Thing" was another one...
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