23 Scary, Horrible Things That Definitely Ruined Your Childhood

The horror!!

1. It

Voltage Pictures

It is the most horrible thing that has ever been imagined by humankind. It is the furthest we have strayed from God's light. It ruined clowns for everyone, forever.

It also ruined sinks.

Voltage Pictures

You probably watched It at a friend's sleepover when you were 13. You all cried, and none of you slept, and for weeks you had to get your parents to run baths for you in case blood came pouring out of the drain. 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩

2. Goosebumps

Scholastic / bidorbuy.co.za

The Goosebumps books were insanely addictive but pant-shittingly terrifying. This one above is about a girl who buys a Halloween mask that gets stuck to her face and turns her into a monster. Look what happened to her eyes.

Here are some of the covers. Look how horrible they are.

Scholastic

You are still scared that one day a camera will reveal your death before it happens.

3. Nightmare on Elm Street

New Line Cinema

The film that ruined sleeping and dreaming for you.

4. Ghostwatch

BBC

This was a British programme, but if you haven't seen it watch it immediately because it's fucking terrifying.

One Halloween in the '90s, the BBC showed this supposed "documentary" about a family being haunted by a poltergeist. Even though it was fake, the whole thing was presented as real, with familiar presenters, live phone-ins, and jerky camera footage.

Horrific events unfolded involving two little girls and some sort of demon called Pipes. It was like the BBC version of The Exorcist aired at tea time on national TV with loads of children watching. There are rumours that people literally died of fear from watching it.

5. Chucky

Universal Pictures

Even if you didn't see Child's Play as a kid, the horror of Chucky filtered through to you and made you scared to be alone with dolls.

6. Dolly Dearest

Patriot Pictures

Never watch this film if you value being alone, as you will think there is an evil doll waiting for you in the shadowy corner of the room forevermore. I literally wet myself when I saw it as a 10-year-old at a friend's sleepover.

7. Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Nickelodeon

It was incredible, no-holds-barred horror for children, broadcast on Nickelodeon. Every episode was just that bit more scary than it probably should've been.

Like the episode "The Tale of the Dollmaker", for instance.

Nickelodeon

Which was about a little girl who gets turned into a porcelain doll. This is her halfway through her transformation. So fucking chilling.

8. Bambi's mum being shot and killed

Disney

This is something that should never, ever, under any circumstances happen in a children's film, for the sweet love of all that's holy.

9. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Stephen Gammell, Brett Helquist

The stories are creepy as hell, but the drawings are next-level horror. Look at her rotting flesh rendered in graphite with such detail and care.

10. McCauley Culkin, disfigured by bee stings, lying in his coffin in My Girl

Imagine Entertainment

They showed a child's corpse in a film aimed at 10-year-olds.

11. Dumbo crying because his mum has been locked away and everyone's bullying him

Disney

She holds him with her trunk and sings him a lullaby, and your heart rips in two, and FFS Walt Disney, why did you burden us with such sorrow?

12. The Usborne Book of Vampires, Werewolves and Demons

Usborne

There's something about the super-realistic textbook drawings that are so damn horrible. That guy lying in his coffin with blood on his mouth... *shudder*

13. The Witches

Hammer Films

Hahahahahaha!! This is what "children's films" were like in the '80s! What a time of sweetness and purity.

14. Through the Dragon's Eye

BBC

For some unknown reason all British children were forced to watch this surreal and horrifying programme at school. Like, was it meant to be educational?? At one point some characters got stuck in quicksand, which gave all British children a fear of quicksand, so I guess we learned something.

15. Judge Doom disolving in acid in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

Warner Bros.

It's the way his eyes bulge out. Yak.

16. The Groke from The Moomins

Tokyo Movie Shinsha

The Groke is a mysterious dark mound, and wherever she goes the ground freezes and all the plants die. So, you know, she basically symbolises the unstoppable march of death.

17. E.T. when he gets ill and goes all pale and papery

Amblin Entertainment

You can't make a generation of children fall in love with a cute homesick alien, and then throw him in the river like a piece of discarded salami, and expect those children to be OK. We are still not over this.

18. Michael Jackson transforming into a werewolf in Thriller.

MJJ Productions

The pointed, bloody nails forcing their way out of his fingertips. His evil yellow eyes. The look of fear on his face. 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩 😩

19. The Velveteen Rabbit

Avon

The precious little velveteen rabbit gets abandoned, thus teaching tiny readers early on that this is a cruel and heartless world.

20. Artax drowning in The NeverEnding Story

Warner Bros.

Just awful. Gave you a lifelong fear of your pets going anywhere near mud or water.

21. Jeff Goldblum turning into the fly

SLM Production Group

Maybe it came on TV one night when your parents were out, and you watched it, and good grief you were never the same again.

Especially that bit when his nails start to come off.

SLM Production Group

Waaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh.

22. The bit with the boy's lilo in Jaws

Zanuck/Brown Productions

A little carefree boy is happily playing in the sea on his yellow lilo, and the next thing you know there's a commotion in the water and then the lilo, tattered and torn, drifts to the shore in a plume of blood. It was nice when the sea was fun, and paddling was fun, and lilos were fun, but those times are over.

23. The Point Horror books

goodreads.com, amazon.co.uk

You know that bit in Friends where Joey shuts The Shining in the freezer? That was you with all the Point Horror books.