"Titanic" Gave Me Recurring Nightmares For Years, And 25 Other Times Kids Were Terrified By Classic Movies

"It's like watching a nightmare unfold in front of you."

As a parent, it must be hard to decide when to let your kids watch certain movies, and when to introduce them to the concepts of tragedy, violence, and jeopardy.

MTV

Well, sometimes these "introductions" don't go very well and kids end up terrified! We recently asked the BuzzFeed Community about the films that scarred them for life — here are 26 of the best responses:

1. E.T. The Extraterrestrial

Universal Pictures

"I was 5 years old when my big sister made me watch this movie, and when E.T. pops out of the bushes screaming, it terrified me. Add in the men coming after him in biohazard suits, finding E.T all dried up and white in the river, and watching his flower die as he did — it was all very, very traumatising. I still won't watch it!"

—elliedarling12

"I was probably a preschooler at the time, and the scene where the government catches up with Elliott and E.T. and they start experimenting on them messed me up! I've only watched it all the way through that one time!"

—leslies22

Here's E.T.'s sudden bush appearance:

youtube.com

2. The Princess Bride

20th Century Fox

"I watched it at the ripe age of 6, and I was convinced that the torture/death scene was actually real! I was afraid of being anywhere alone for months."

—rileymacdonald

Here's that scary torture scene:

youtube.com

3. Titanic

Paramount Pictures / 20th Century Fox

"I watched it at a friend's house when I was 8. For years — I'm not joking, literal years — I had a recurring nightmare that my parents were going on a ship and I received a phone call to say that they'd drowned. I still hate going near the sea to this day, and I'm 32 now!"

—lottie12

"I was 6 years old when I watched it, and I honestly didn't know it was a romantic movie. I freaked out when the ship started sinking, and it made me never ever want to go on a cruise!"

—alysaurus688

Here's the infamous sinking scene:

youtube.com

4. Jumanji

Sony Pictures Releasing

"The quicksand floor had me super afraid of people getting sucked into the floor! Weirdly though, I think the thing that bothered me the most was the kid turning into a monkey. I really don't even know why, it was just so disturbing to me."

—anonmymouse

Witness the monkey transformation here:

youtube.com

5. Mulan

Buena Vista Pictures

"I was around 5 when I first saw this, and I was absolutely terrified of Shan Yu and his falcon! It would eventually become my favourite film, and it feels silly to remember cowering behind my sister when we first watched it!"

– casualgem30

6. Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark

Paramount Pictures

"The scene in the beginning when the dude double-crosses Indy then gets impaled on a booby trap was too much. Then there's the monkey dying from the poison dates! My parents kept telling me it would be fine and that nothing else was gonna happen, and then the face-melting...LIARS."

—hannahm32

That face-melt moment:

youtube.com

7. Superman III

Warner Bros.

"Particularly the scene where the woman falls into a computer and becomes a computer zombie. I was 4 when it came out and am still traumatised by it to this day."

—bmw1138

Here's that zombie-robot scene:

youtube.com

8. Speed

20th Century Fox

"I only saw the part where they rescue the people trapped in the elevator. I'm 24 now, and I still absolutely refuse to ride in an elevator. If I'm somewhere where I have no choice, I zone out until I can get out."

—miahburns1

The elevator scene:

youtube.com

9. West Side Story

United Artists

"I still remember seeing it on TV when I was 4 or 5 and being devastated at Tony's shooting. I hid behind the sofa and cried my eyes out. I still remember that my distress had more to do with feeling Maria's sadness than him dying."

—jennyporterw

Here's that distressing moment:

youtube.com

10. Gremlins

Warner Bros.

"Messed. Me. Up. I was 5 years old, and I slept on the floor in my parents' room for weeks because I was so frightened. Did you know that Gremlins is rated PG? They literally created the PG-13 rating because of Gremlins."

—houdinisbox

11. Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"I was fine with the innuendo, the cartoon deaths, and a steam-rollered villain, but the bit with the happy little cartoon shoe (you know the one) UTTERLY traumatised me. I have a vivid memory of huddling on the sofa, crying my eyes out, and yelling at the TV. I love the film, but I HAVE to skip that bit even now."

—emazinggrace12

Take a look at that happy little carton shoe scene, but know you won't ever be the same again:

youtube.com

12. The Witches

Warner Bros.

"I saw it in the theatre for my 5th birthday. Anjelica Huston was incredibly convincing and TERRIFYING as the Grand High Witch! When she removed her mask to reveal her true witch face, I completely lost it. We had to leave the theatre. People don't believe me when I say I still have dreams about the Grand High Witch. No joke...I, an adult woman in her 30s, still have regular nightmares about a PG-rated film."

—littlebunnytoofuu

13. Bridge to Terabithia

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"I thought it was going to be another fun Disney movie, but then the twist hit me so, so hard. That movie ignited a lot of death anxiety for me, and has stayed with me for years."

—hiitsnicetomeetyou

14. Jurassic Park

Universal Pictures

"I saw it when it first came out for rental — I was 9, I think — and it definitely messed me up. I remember we lived in a two-story home at the time, and after I saw that movie, I had recurring dreams of a T-Rex at my window!"

—twoh7

"I watched it when I was 8 in the theatre. Once that T-Rex showed up for the first time, I spent the rest of the movie in my dad's lap. It's still one of my all-time favourite movies though."

—abechtel

15. Watership Down

Nepenthe Films

"This movie has traumatised countless generations of kids, and it's all down to clueless parents drawing the terrible conclusion that a cartoon film about rabbits must be child-friendly. The song 'Bright Eyes' still makes me unbelievably sad."

—claire79

"There's a scene where the rabbits are trying to escape their warren but can't, and they end up killing each other in their frenzied panic. It's a really disturbing storyline coupled with animated graphic violence that's also super trippy. It's like watching a nightmare unfold in front of you."

—glitterysun23

Here's the scene that's "like watching a nightmare":

youtube.com

16. Saving Private Ryan

DreamWorks Pictures

"I must have been around 12. It wasn’t the opening Normandy scene that got me, it was toward the end in the final battle where one of the US soldiers gets stabbed slowly through the chest while a Nazi whispers to him. It was one of the first times I felt a visceral reaction to something on screen."

—steffie2

Here is that shocking scene:

youtube.com

17. The Day After Tomorrow

20th Century Fox

"Since it’s a semi-realistic climate change thriller, a part of my 8-year-old brain decided it was very possible. I spent weeks unable to sleep through fear of tsunamis."

—isobellloyd2318

18. The Passion of the Christ

Icon Productions

"My mom, who is devoutly Catholic, let my brother and I watch it when it came out in 2004; we were 8 (me) and 6 (him). Luckily, I had the sense to hide in the computer room playing Neopets for most of the movie, but I went into the living room during the Judas scene with the demons, and it freaked me out for years afterwards. I mean, like, 10 years."

—idontknow14287

Here's Judas seeing a demon:

youtube.com

19. The Mummy

Universal Pictures

"When a beetle went inside that man's body and you could see it crawling around under his skin...Nope! It scarred me for life."

—mollie23

"I saw the start of the movie when I was about 6, and I was not okay. When it showed them being mummified alive, I burst into tears. For the next few months, I would hide under the covers thinking mummies were coming to get me."

—jenniferh4e24263bc

Here are the flesh-eating scarab beetles from The Mummy:

youtube.com

20. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Paramount Pictures

"I don't know who decided the best way to keep a gaggle of 6 to 10-year-olds occupied was to put on this movie, but to this day, I cannot see monkeys without thinking of monkey brain feasts and ripping out beating hearts. Yeesh!"

—sweetcuppincakes

"I was mortified and scarred deeply after watching that beating heart scene! I don’t remember how old I was, but I was young enough to be petrified."

—courtneyblumenthal

Check out the ritual heart removal scene here:

youtube.com

21. The Lord of the Rings

New Line Cinema

"I was in elementary school at the time, and my family decided to watch LOTR one night. I was petrified. I saw that skinny goblin-looking thing bite off the head of a fish, and I lost it. I forced my mom to go watch Dora’s Pirate Piggies with me in my parents' bedroom, and I also slept in their room for a couple of nights after."

—graciea02

Here's Gollum chowing down on some fish:

youtube.com

22. The Nightmare Before Christmas

Buena Vista Pictures Distribution

"The way Jack moved with his long spidery limbs reeeeaaally creeped me out, and the mayor's smile was terrifying. Oogie Boogie also gave me serious nightmares. I didn't even realise it wasn't a horror movie until I rewatched it years later, because of the way I remembered it."

—smrtblonde77

This is Oogie Boogie FYI:

youtube.com

23. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

DreamWorks Pictures

"I just remember being SO upset and distressed by it. It could've been the bit where they abandon the robot kid, or just the uncanny valley of the cyborgs in general. I haven't gone near it since."

—emazinggrace12

24. Independence Day

20th Century Fox

"I saw it when I was around 7 years old. The scene where the alien kills the doctor and has him pressed up against the glass actually traumatised me."

—childrenofthecornbread

Check out that scene from Independence Day:

youtube.com

25. Apocalypse Now

United Artists

"My father took my brother and I to see this when I was around 4 and he was 9. All I remember is crying the entire time. It was one of those movies that we didn't tell mom about, which lasted until later on that night when I couldn't sleep and I had to tell her."

—shannonmcallister01

26. Face/Off

Paramount Pictures

"I saw the movie when I was really young, and I know it's not necessarily a scary movie, but it affected me FOR LIFE. It made me scared/adverse to both John Travolta and Nicolas Cage. Both of their faces freak me out, and I irrationally hate them."

—jenstagram

Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.

Don't forget to share the times you were terrified by watching a film too young in the comments below! Want to be featured in similar BuzzFeed posts? Make sure to follow the BuzzFeed Community on Facebook and Twitter.