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Things that terrified you as a child... that you can laugh at as an adult


Marcus Impudite

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Since the season for spookiness is upon us, tell us about something that had you crawling under the bed as a child but you can now laugh about as an adult.

 

For me, definitely the horror movies from the days of my youth. In many cases, the special effects didn't age well, the characters pick up the Idiot Ball and run with it right into the in zone, etc. In one scene in Galaxy of Terror, they were actually using a Scooby Doo slurping sound effect in a scene that was supposed to be frightening. I rolled on the floor laughing my demonic arse off when I watched it again after so many decades.

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Here's a particular quirk of mine: the MGM lion, the one that roars from inside the studio logo at the start of one of their pictures. When I was little and an MGM movie came on television, I was scared that lion would somehow come out of the screen and eat me. I always ran out of the room until it was gone.

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Hmm, I always liked animals, so I liked the MGM lion. :lol:  (except sheep, due to a speak and say as a baby, my dad found out I'd cry whenever the "sheep goes baa".  He thought that was funny, and would put the arrow on the sheep-I still had residual apprehensiveness till age 7 or so.

 

Anyway for me, I like the Headless Horseman now,  but it did scare me the heck out as a kid.  Enough so, that I still have to deal with him coming for my head in dreams 2-3 times a year to this day.

 

In Superman 3, when the woman got cyborged, unnerved me.  For the next 2 weeks I was afraid to go into my backyard (why my backyard I cant figure out).  The back corners of my house was like an impenetrable boundary I dared not cross.  When a ball would go past that point.  I would run it down like a madman, turn on a dime, and run back to safety.

 

Tom Petty/Alice in Wonderland, no other description needed.

 

And clowns still bother me, though fear is replaced with loathing of them.  (I thought the twins from James Bond Octo(edit) were good because they killed the guy dressed as a clown.

 

When Bill Bixby turned into green Lou Ferrigno. That was some terror for a couple of months.

 

Edit: And while fear is a bit strong, I wasn't too comfortable seeing Vincent Price on the TV screen.

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Snow White's Adventures at Walt Disney World. I was about 3 or 4 at the time, and the dark ride consists of a "mine car" that goes through the attraction. What I remember from it was being presented with poisoned apples from the witch at several turns. What my Mom remembered is that when the car exited the ride, I was frozen in place, with all of the color drained out of my face. They apparently had to pry my fingers from the bar and then physically lift me to remove me from the ride car. I wouldn't eat apples for almost a year after the event.

 

I've recently found this video talking about the history of the ride at both parks, and it shows the original version that I saw back in the early 1970s (WDW version starts at about 4:30).

 

 

 

 

 

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You reminded me of one Halloween.  One of our neighbors dressed up as a witch, to give out candy from her porch.  Took me 5 minutes to get the nerve up to come up to the porch, and as soon as the candy went into my bag (and probably before it hit bag bottom) I was off at full speed.

 

 

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My grandma used to keep a shrunken head on a shelf all year round as you walked up and down her stairs.  Creeped me out till I was about 12.

 

The first movie that really scared me was Trilogy of Terror and that psycho Zuni doll.  That was horrifying... now when I see him I just gigg- wait...nevermind that thing is still scary.

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When I was in preschool I would watch Scooby Doo on TV.  At night I'd be terrified of whatever the villain of the week was, and I'd crawl in bed with my parents.  Once I was also afraid to go to the bathroom by myself, because I'd flipped through a Disney book and the picture of the Tyrannosaurus from Fantasia scared me so badly.  I was going to pee my pants if my dad wouldn't come to the bathroom with me (like 20 feet away from the living room).

 

Another time I saw an ad for the movie Terror Train in the weekly TV guide that came with the newspaper.  I think it was this picture:

 

220px-Terrortrainposter.jpg

 

I was maybe 4 years old, and my mom had set me on the kitchen cabinet.  Then she went to the bathroom.  The newspaper was on the cabinet with me.  I saw the picture again, threw it on the floor and started screaming.  My mom rushed into the kitchen to see what was the matter, and all I could say was "Terror Train!!!  Terror Train!!!"  She had to throw the newspaper in the trash can before I would calm down.

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I saw the movie Jaws at too young an age.

Good movie. Bigger Boat, yadda yadda

 

And yet, when the public pool ( a large one) was nearly empty, and one could see the blue of the Deep side... some part of my young mind just knew KNEW that some @@$#  shark had slipped through some pipes all the way from the ocean, and somehow slipped in there ... 

and it was waiting.

Oh yes.

Nevermind the physical impossibility. Never mind the pool was was chlorined and not sea water! I could no help but feel building trepidation every time I got too far into the deep end and soon got back to the shallower side.

 

Dun nah dun nah..du nah nuh ... I'm almost SURE it's waiting on the other side of that grate there....

 

 

Now, of course as an adult, I know better. Sharks do not worm their ways into swimming pools through pipes far too small for them.

 

No, tornadoes CARRY them there

 

 

 

 

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