All I can say is I was 6 years old, hid behind my parents couch when they were watching it, and when the dude lost his glasses and got wrecked, I might have had a heart attack as a child lol. What about y’all?
What movie did you see way too young and scarred you for life?
The birthday party scene though
"Move children! Vámonos!"
The roof
The roof scene totally fucked me up
As someone who lived on a dead end road as a child that was also surrounded by forest with also no street lights jist litch black, i watched signs at my friends house and then left afterwards. It's normally a 5 minute walk home but that roof scene scared me so much I sprinted home. I kept thinking about them standing on the roof
They still do that from time to time. Have you checked tonight?
Some people from Brazil got so surprised seeing our country in that scene that they thought it was real footage, even by they speak a mix of portuguese and english
I don’t know why, out of the whole movie, that bit gets me the most. Just stomach dropping fear. I think maybe it just feels too realistic?
I dunno why that shit was so effective. Maybe because they built the suspense really well, cause it shows the video for a lot longer than they needed to before the alien is shown. Really it’s dumb when you think about it, why is this alien just strolling through the neighborhood in broad daylight? The whole movie is like that, it’s really dumb but it did a good job at building suspense
This is the perfect description of M. Night storytelling.
Really dumb but excellent suspense crafting.
That scene still fucks me up to this day 😭
This. Literally imagined those fuckers running around my house at night for way longer than id like to admit.
They were pretty creepy. i got to admit.
I used to live next to two large cornfields when I was young. Like very close to our house. After watching the movie in 2002, my older siblings would sometimes drag me out into the cornfield at night and ditch me. Emotional trauma unlocked.
I lol’d I’m so sorry that happened to you, kids are horrible
I was in 8th grade when Paranormal Activity came out. One of my friends had a sleepover where we stayed in his basement and we watched the movie. In the middle of the night I woke up to the class clown dragging me, still wrapped up in my sleeping bag, up the basement stairs.
You know what’s in cornfields besides corn?
Bugs.
Dude, ive spent SOOOO much of my life walking down dirt roads in the middle of nowhere in the woods with nothing but the moonlight to light the road. I've definitely thought some shit was following me.
My little sister was a co-sleeper with me until 8ish, with the occasional slip up where she would come sleep in my bed (I was 15-16). We saw Signs and she did not leave my bed again until I left for college… (I know now the whole thing was not healthy, but Signs was a huge setback for her)
Wow that's some trauma for real, whose bright idea was to let her as an 8yr old watch it?
Holy shit. Thank you.
I was 11. I lived with my grandparents in a small town in south GA.
I lived on a 20 acre farm with a pond and corn field.
I was already terrified of aliens.
My granny took me to see it in theater.
HOLY FUCK. Ruined me to this day. I have to take sleep medicine to sleep normally now because of how long I'd stay awake scared at night.
Now I live in a city in an apartment because I know aliens won't mess with me here.
Traumatized homie.
It's SO validating that Signs is on the list for so many people. People around me were absolutely not ruffled by it, I have always wondered what's wrong with me because it messed me up haha
I came here to comment this exactly. It didnt help my childhood home was surrounded by corn.
And aliens
The leg in the cornfield
Same. I was terrified of the tv fading to black or being turned off forever, because I was scared to look at the reflection lol.
I don't even think I was too young. It just legit spooked the fuck out of me, some of the most subtle scares I've ever seen.
I can perfectly recall the "there is a monster outside my room, can I have a glass of water" scene. I'm getting goosebumps thinking about it.
Imagine hearing your young kid saying that
I came here to say this. I was 12 and it made me start shampooing my hair with my eyes open.
The view of the barn roof in the night from her window in the night. That scene is wild
She would see them every night too. Wild. Growing up I used to be able to see the top of a hill outside my window and there was a black shape at the top. It was a lonely yucca tree,no biggie but at night it would look creepy AF.
Same lol. That movie scared the shit out of me. Couldn’t sleep normally for months.
IT (the TV miniseries in the early 90‘s). Absolute nightmare fuel.
Oh, man. I watched this when I was 10 in my basement (which was basically a couch with a tv in front of it surrounded by darkness and boxes) during a thunderstorm. The electricity went out right as the credits started to roll. My parents were gone and I was alone. I basically shit my pants and spent the next few hours in a pillow fort I had built until my folks got back. Couldn’t go down there by myself for awhile.
Damn, that's rough. I couldn't look at the shower drain for weeks after watching that film. Couldn't imagine having the power cut right when the credits roll while alone in a dark basement... some traumatizing stuff there
I watched this in the middle of the day on a Saturday, when I probably should have been outside playing. Scared the hell outta me. Shit, im 43 and am still weirded out about shower drains.
I was always too scared to finish the end so for years I never knew he was just a big bug, might have saved a lot of sleepless nights in my childhood.
the ending is famously lame
This is one of the reasons why Part 2 of the film version sucked. First of all, the kid story is way more interesting than the adult story. The miniseries did this the correct way by cutting back and forth. But by splitting the stories in two, you basically have Part One which is all of the interesting parts, and then Part Two which is the boring adult stuff AND the terrible ending. Rough.
I remember I saw it on ABC Family when I was 9 and i didn’t get a good nights sleep again til a year ago basically
I watched it when I was 6. I have loved Stephen king since.
He's the undisputed king of horror
I think it's what gave me a fear of sewer drains... or really any kind of dark space that might reach out and grab me lol.
Ugh, I was 5 when I saw it. The scene where pennywise comes out of the shower freaked me out. I would only shower in my parents shower while one was in the attached bedroom. And anytime I had to close my eyes I stopped on the drain to make sure nothing came out.
Same!! Saw that with the slightly older neighbor kids when I was like 7 or 8 and couldn’t sleep for days.
Ben's skeletal dad at the swamp fucked me up.
Even the book I had to come downstairs to read it among people lol. Tim Curry was too creepy.
I read and watched a lot of horror movies far too young.
I still hate clowns to this day because of this.
Same. Still have a phobia of Clowns 30+ years later.
The Fly
I was just thinking of the fly. It’s so dam gross lol. Remember when he’s telling Geena Davis he’s going to merge the 3 of them into one weird fly body? Yikes
Damn the Goldblum one??
Yep. That and American Werewolf in London. Saw both probably before I turned 5. My dad really didn't have a good sense of what movies I should or shouldn't be watching😂
Wow this is similar to me. I was about that age when it was randomly on the TV, and my dad said oh watch this bit, and it happened to be by the arm wrestling scene.
Let’s just say my poor 7 year old eyes watered in horror.
That was really R rated too
Yeah, that one and Howard the Duck really fucked with me for a long time.
The Thing with Kurt Russell
Yup...watched it with the family dog. Big mistake.
Me as well. Let's just say me and the dog both looked at each other weird that night.
This is the one. Scared me for such a long time, like many, many nights of not being able to sleep well, that I haven’t been scared of any other movie since. It is now definitely one of my favorite movies.
Watership Down😰😰😰
The rabbits getting buried alive, I still get flashbacks.
Saw the book in the kids section of my local book shop while looking for a new book for my daughter. Just reading the name Watership Down made me feel a sense of terror 😅 can't believe it's a kids story.
I was hoping Watership Down would be on here. PBS used to run this on Easter sunday because it was a kids movie.
Oh wow, that original animated film was true nightmare fuel.
Creepshow, Poltergeist
I'm still scared to death of clowns because of Poltergeist. I'm 41
Another Poltergeist trauma victim here. The face-peeling scene still sticks with me.
I watched it with my cousins when we were 7 or 8 . My cousin had a creepy clown doll that always sat in a chair in his room, it's bed time and I lay on the floor, aunt mostly closes the door to their bedroom, and thanks to light from the cracked open door I look straight in front of me and that fucking clown is staring at me with his head to the side. No sleep what so ever.
35 years later and I still fucking hate clowns.
Poltergeist scared the crap out of me! Where I lived TV broadcasts just ended at midnight and there was nothing on until 6am.
Get up too early for Saturday morning cartoons and turn on the TV to static.. AHHHH! MOM!!!!!!!
Anyone under 30 will not understand.
The Exorcist. At 9. Horror movies are just a comedy to me now.
I was waiting to see if some unfortunate person saw this as a kid lol. That’s some real shit
I couldn’t sleep without the tv or radio on and needed a light, not a night light, the main room light on, and had to keep the door open, and my legs could not ever hang over the edge( I thought they would snap off when, not if, the bed would shake) for a good 3 weeks.
The Ring
It really fucked with me and it peaked horror for me at age 8. Nothing has even come close to being as scary since
Same. My mom would pull her hair down in front of her face and come into my room to scare me.
The chick in the closet ruined me for years.
Yup this movie literally broke my scary bone. I saw it in theaters probably 11 years old and it scared me so badly for like a year or two I was petrified of being home alone and tv static and phone calls from unknown numbers. No movie has even come close to scaring me like that since.
That closet scene 😭
I used to have a decent sized CR TV in my room, and it used to take all my kid strength, but I turned it to face the wall before bed every night for a year!
I don’t know why more people aren’t saying this - that movie was straight up terrifying with its imagery and sounds….and the twisted faces… I couldn’t walk past the TV at night for weeks lol
The Ring is consistently one of the top comments in threads about this subject. Loads of people say this!
I used to run out of the room after turning the TV off lol. If it had turned to static I’d have probably assumed I was gonna die
Same! Every towel/hoodie hung on a door became extremely frightening in the dark after that
Everyone was too young for Samara.
It
Bruh the Tim curry vhs set watch horrific to watch as a child but I couldn't stop.
While I'm I am in no way scared of clowns, I don't seek them out either.
Kids - I was maybe 11-12 when I saw it.
That one is rough no matter the age. I haven’t watched it since I was 22yo.
seconded. watched it once and that was more than enough for me.
I hated the two main guy characters - Casper and Telly (I think it was). Pieces of shit.
Legit scared me about sex, I was 13 and my gf was 15 and wanted to, I had bought condoms in preparation.
Noped out of a skip day and she broke up with me because of it.
Jeepers Creepers
To this day the first 10 mins of jeepers creepers to me is the best horror set up. It was absolutely terrifying watching him dump bodies down the drain and u absolutely (despite your brain telling you to run) want to find out what's down that drain.
Oh god you too.
I made the mistake of watching it late at night when I was like 9-10.
Shit haunted me for years afterward.
Jaws. Took me like twenty years to work up the courage to rewatch it as an adult
This was the one for me too. Incredible film! And terrifying.
My dad told me that when he was a teenager. He was told to bring home a horror movie for a date, and he chose Jaws. Her reaction: you choose Jaws?!?!
Killer clowns from outer space.
There's a video game of it coming out soon. Or has come out. Whichever lol
I kinda wanna try it.
The episode of the xfiles where the mutant lives in the portapotty and gets dumped into the sewer. I was 5 or 6 I can remember being terrified of portapotties for years
Oh hell nah, anything x files as a kid was terrifying, the theme song still creeps me out lol
My mom used to be a big X-files fan. I don't remember what was on before X-Files but we used to watch that together then my brother and I would go to bed and she would watch X-Files. Just the opening song for that show creeped me out. It would be a sprint from the time our show ended to get into the bathroom brush my teeth and get into bed before I heard the theme song. Still to this day that song gives me the heebee geebees.
Ernest Scared Stupid. That troll is fucking horrifying. And it eats children IIRC
In hindsight it's such a silly movie, but when I was like 7 years old this movie traumatized me. I could never sleep on my side out of fear that when I turned back over, that troll would be on my bed.
The original hellraiser.
Watched it late at night when I was a little kid. Was not a good time.
Pet Sematary. I was like 5 or 6 and my older siblings put it on while my parents were gone.
The sister Zelda still gets me to this day. I’m cool with literally every scary movie except this and the shining.
Yikes that’s a rough one to see early on for sure. The ankle stabbing scene tho
Event Horizon
“We’re leaving.” One of the best delivered lines in sci-fi!
Hell in Space. Seems like such a family friendly story.
Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
"Tell them Large Marge sent ya"
Fire in the Sky
Man good choice and also sorry lol, this movie was great, it walked so Dark Skies could run
The flashbacks were F'ed up! and of course HBO played it on daily or weekly repeat for like a whole year and that was one of the only channels we had so of course I watched Fire in the Sky like 12+ times
Salems Lot
I can imagine seeing that kid knocking on the window being terrifying f
Fritz the Cat
People totally forget this isn't just a " tee hee dirty horny cat" cartoon...there is genuinely fucked up shit in this movie..
Jaws. I was 10 years old and we saw it in the theater a few weeks before we went to the beach. Needless to say, I didn’t swim in the ocean then and have only been in the ocean three times since.
This movie ruined swimming in the ocean for at least two generations of people.
Yes it did. I cannot think of another movie that messed with me my entire life. I did have about a decade of being scared to shower, even with the door locked, thanks to seeing Psycho when I was nine but I got over that one.
Was this during its first run? Y’all probably didn’t even realize how terrifying that movie was going to be I suppose back then!
Leprechaun…. I had nightmares for weeks of that little freak chasing after me
I actually still remember a nightmare I had. Hell this was probably all the way back when it was airing on the premium channels. So 90s? Anyways he had like scissors and I was having to jump and dodge as he kept nicking my flesh. You know... those nasty V cuts you can get with a scissors? I can still feel the brush of the near misses as I danced around...
Seriously... I STILL remember it. Talk about scarred :P
Jurassic Park. Those raptors were on their way to hop right through my window.
Edit I must admit I was not scarred for life. It scarred my parents who had to endure watching JP pretty much constantly for years after.
The bit in the car with the spitter dinosaur got me.
I remember seeing Jurassic Park at a drive thru when I was 8 or 9 and I could not handle the T-Rex scene at all.
Saw Casino in theaters when I was 8. My brother and I were supposed to see another movie, but there was an issue with the projector or something. So, we went with my dad and uncle to see Casino since that's what they were seeing.
Head clamp scene?
That, and the Hand vs Hammer, and Cornfield.
Arachnophobia. I was terrified of spiders for 30 years. Still not a fan
I have arachnophobia too but it was Harry Potter and the chamber of secrets that really fucked me up as a kid, that scene in the forbidden forest I still can’t watch today
The Shining. The whole shit was weird man. Who in the right mind puts their kid and acts in this movie. So many screwed up parents in this world.
If it makes you feel better, they didn't tell that kid he was in a scary movie. He had absolutely no idea of the plot, and he never saw anything scary. Kubrick would just tell him "look scared!!!" Or whatever direction was needed.
I watched the shining when I was about 8 from a drive in with my parents. We should have been asleep but I watched the whole damn thing
Watched it when I was young. Still watch it to this very day, trying to extract all of the hidden meaning. It’s messed up.
I think it all symbolizes King’s own addiction and his internal struggles he had with it. He was fucking wrecked on shit during that time period but wrote like a madman
Chucky. I had no business seeing that at a young age lol
Child’s play 1 and 2 were on repeat at my House like it was a child’s movie or something. Real entertaining and wicked funny though. Brad doriff was born to voice Chucky
"The Gate" 1987
I’ve gotta add this movie to the list
The Deep, candy man, Jacobs Ladder, leviathan. Thanks mom n dad. Not traumatizing or anything
Nope, Candyman was on the AMC channel and I don’t even think I could finish it as a kid lol, horrifying
Candyman. lol I just scrolled until I found it. I knew I would! No movie has ever f*cked me up like this one. I was maybe 8 years old? I have never rewatched it and I don’t think I ever will.
Eyes Wide Shut when I was 10.
Sixth sense.
Dude yes! Another one I saw too young lol. The scene where the kid needed to use the restroom at night horrified me
The Wizard of Oz.
I can see that, my mom showed that to me around 5, and the monkeys were horrifying, and honestly f the apple trees too
It from the 90s. I couldn’t even watch “ are you afraid of the dark “ on nick anymore. I still hate that movie and clowns
I agree! My big sister and I were terrified of just the opening credits of are you afraid of the dark lol, I’d wait until they ended before I started to watch the episode
The original Nightmare on Elm Street when Kruger said “This is God…” I about sht my pants. 40 years and still can’t get that image out of my mind
“PUT HIM IN THE BOO BOX SMEE!”
Bruh great choice, I loved Hook as a kid but that was horrifying
Jaws. Used to have dreams that a shark would come out from under the floor of my bed and eat me whole. Worst fear to this day is still being lunch for some animal
In the mouth of madness.
Hellraiser 5 yrs old
Sometimes it’s best to stay in bed and not bother the adults.
The Exorcist. Me and a friend snuck in to a theater while in 6th grade. We’re both scared for life.
Faces of Death
Definitely The Mummy (I think I was…nine?) I vaguely remember finally calming down when Mom told me he wouldn’t dare become sand and drop through my keyhole because I have a stuffed cat lol.
Cloverfield did me in (but I was like, 14🤦♀️). I compulsively checked my ceiling corners for the parasite for weeks
The Mummy was one of my all time favorite movies but I was a few years older when it came out.
Hey Benny, Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the RIVEEEER! LOL so good.
Candyman
Event Horizon, I was 12... saw it in theaters even
Dressed to Kill.
Flowers in the attic and The doom generation come to mind. But I’m an 80s kid..our parents held movies in the highest regard possible. They let me watch anything waaaay too young.
How old were you when you saw the Mummy? It's been a long time but I seem to recall it being pretty tame.
I was the youngest in a group of five siblings/cousins, and my uncle wasn't the most responsible guy. I think the worst for me was Predator 2, I would have been around six.
I've got 2. Alien and Mars Attacks. I saw Mars Attacks in theaters when it was released and I still can't watch it. I'm 37 years old now haha.
It's pretty badly reviewed and it's kind of a cult comedy and a parody of a lot of alien movies at the time. Plus I've never seen a movie with such a stacked cast for the time flop so hard. Personally I love it.
Darkness Falls
Glory
Oh man, it was congo for me. Those fuckin white gorillas. That scene at night with the tracking lasers still fucks me up.
I had to convince myself there wasnt one running past my bedroom door at night. Honestly, i could hear it breathing in room.
Mars Attacks
As silly as it sounds, Starship Troopers. The scene pretty early in the film where they are getting massacred by the bugs shook me.
I was 11 and I saw Se7en in the theaters 😳
Blood Sucking Freaks… random kids sleep over, messed up mother looking back as an adult for letting kids see that crazy shit
“Return of the Living Dead” at 6.
It’s probably not as scary as I remembered but to this day I still haven’t rewatched it.
I know these is a goofy one but seed of chuck 😭
My mother took me to see the Exorcist when I was 5. I think we were both scarred for life.
Jurassic Park 3
The parasailing scene was terrifying as a kid no doubt
Sixth sense fucked me bad
This did scare me but that's when I realized it wasn't real and started seeing the movie as badass more then anything
Dr. Strangelove in the theater in 1964. I was 6. I have a constant nightmare of Slim Pickens riding an A bomb aimed at the top of my head.
Return to Oz, specifically for this seen 😭 (I know it’s a kids movie but wtf) https://youtu.be/WM0RFE3QGAU?si=Ej6FtsP9SnrACTWv
The thing
Batman
I'm still scared of centipedes because of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.
Love that movie though
Original IT!
Signs.