8 Characters From Children's Movies That Haunted Your Dreams

I'm scarred for life and I know you're equally traumatized.

1. E.T. (E.T. The Extra Terrestrial 1982)

Universal / courtesy Everett Collection

E.T. was not kid friendly. He was a giant worm with arms and boobs. Even Drew Barrymore, the actress hired to love him, burst into tears the first time she saw the alien. That should have been a good indication to producers of how child audiences would feel. I couldn't even post a picture from the scene when Elliot finds a ghostlike E.T. in a ditch struggling to survive. It's just too unsettling to look at.

2. Professor Screweyes (We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story 1993)

Universal Pictures / Via giphy.com!-A-Dinosaur's-Story

Not to be confused with his brother Professor Neweyes. It's unclear why these men decided to change their last names to reflect their current prescriptions, but we'll go with it. Yes, as his moniker suggests, this man has an actual screw for an eye. Although John Goodman and the rest of the Dino team put on a delightful show to balance out the terror, that sparkling piece of hardware ruined my sleep pattern for at least a week.

3. The Wheelers (Return to Oz 1985)

Disney

The Wizard of Oz is a cinematic masterpiece beloved by countless generations of children. The sequel however, is a horrifying nightmare. Dorothy returns to Oz and is almost immediately hunted down by this gang of creeps on wheels. It also doesn't help that they pop out of no where to scare the crap out of everyone watching. The sound of their squeaky gears and menacing laughs are enough to make anyone a bedwetter again.

4. Maurice (Little Monsters 1989)

United Artists / ©United Artists/Courtesy Everett Collection

To be fair, the movie is called Little Monsters. This film told us that monsters really do live under our beds and they aren't as cute as Pixar suggested. Kudos to Howie Mandel for his great efforts in trying to make Maurice a lovable prankster, however the unsettling makeup (especially the teeth) was just too much to get past.

5. Scut Farkus (A Christmas Story 1983)

MGM/UA Entertainment Co.

The hilariously named Scut Farkus was the town bully in this famous holiday film. The ginger hair, braces, and puberty induced, voice-cracking laugh all came together nicely to terrify all kids on screen and off. It felt so rewarding to watch Ralphie win one for the little guys and punch the crap out of Scut in the end. I think Ralphie's mom even waited a few extra minutes before intervening, just so her son could get a few more well-deserved hits in.

6. Mombi (Return to OZ 1985)

Disney

This movie never needed to exist. If you were able to watch beyond The Wheelers, talking Jack-o-lantern, scary faces on rocks and the talking chicken, you were rewarded with a witch that changes her head. Mombi had so many heads, in fact, that she displayed them all in a glass hallway for everyone to see. The best part has to be when they all wake up and start screaming at the same time. Just a masterpiece in creating childhood trauma.

7. Thunderclap (The Good Dinosaur 2015)

Pixar/Disney

The staff at Pixar must have seen some stuff in their lifetimes. Thunderclap shows up to aid the film's star, a young and lost dinosaur named Arlo, but takes a sharp turn by trying to murder him instead. This whole sequence had a very strong *deliverance* vibe. If human, this pterodactyl would likely be head of the Westboro Baptist Church. Pixar, we're going to need you to write three more Toy Story movies to make up for it.

8. Any character in any Tim Burton film (1980s to the end of time)

Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection

Seriously, who keeps letting Tim Burton make movies for children?