Movies that traumatized you as a child

What films freaked you out the most when you were young? How long was it before you got closure and watched the movie again when you were older?

For me it was Return to Oz. All the characters being turned to stone, the headless statues, and the witch with her interchangeable heads all freaked me out really badly. I think this was amplified by the fact my grandma turned it off because it was messing with me so much, and I never got to see the happy ending. I just saw this again a few weeks ago(I'm 19 now), and found myself laughing at most of it.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by NativeNYorker on May 31, 2008 at 7:45am: The Last House on the Left. I still can't bring myself to watch it again after all these years.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bjm6971 on May 31, 2008 at 7:46am: In Poltergeist 2 there was a scene where the little girls face shrivled up. That one haunted me for a while and then there was Pet Semetary. It took me about a week to recover from that.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Laur on May 31, 2008 at 1:13pm: Pet Cemetery is one of mine too. The cat and Gage were just too much. I saw it when it first came out and didn’t watch it again until I was 18 or 19. I can now watch it all the way through without too many issues.

I had major problems with It a couple years later too. Stephen King adaptations just should not be watched until the age of 13, at least. I still won’t watch that one.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bjm6971 on May 31, 2008 at 7:48am: Also I remember Halloween 3 where the kid dies and snakes come out of him. That one really creeped me out.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by TattooDave on May 31, 2008 at 7:51am: Poltergeist...as a grown man who still cringes around clown dolls, it's very obvious that movie traumatized me. I haven't watched it over again, in fact I have a general aversion to all films involving animated and evil toys or dolls.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Scott P on May 31, 2008 at 8:34am: The bit in Poltergeist that got me was when the guy at the mirror claws at his face and rips it away.

Also, the melting faces in Raiders of the Lost Ark.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Desertflower on June 27, 2008 at 10:51am: Poltergeist is definitley the one that freaked me out. All of it was bad- the face clawing scene yes-The worst, or most memorable was the skeletons in the pool, and the woman falling in with them...ewww! *shudders*; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by runnr1 on May 31, 2008 at 9:31am: no doubt, the exorcist. i watched it way too young. and because of it, i have a general aversion to movies that deal with possession. i can watch them, but they definitely leave their mark.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by NetflixJunkie on May 31, 2008 at 9:53am: Marathon Man:

I saw this when I was about 10 years old. The scene with the crude dental tools still causes me to avoid the dentist.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by runnr1 on May 31, 2008 at 10:20am: !! i saw this featured on bravo's top 100 scary movie moments. i had forgotten about it.

i'm not a big fan of torture in movies (i've stayed away from Audition). this movie, however, did look intriguing... hmmm, wonder if i should add it to my queue...; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ned_Ryerson on July 6, 2008 at 7:34pm: I remember watching this when I was around 12 or 13 and wound up having a concerned talk with my dentist about it. I also spoke about some weird dentistry practices I saw in another movie or show involving aliens that I can't remember the name of.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mediaman on May 31, 2008 at 10:08am: The Howling. Watched this movie at a very young age. I love it now but boy did it scare me as a child.; ▶ Reply to This