Top 10 Movies That Scarred My Childhood

Jonathan A Moody 03/27/2015 Feature Lists

This is the Top 10 movies that scarred my childhood. Films that gave me nightmares when I was growing up. Some are not even considered horror movies but they are still scary none the less.

10- The Lost Boys
Don’t get me wrong I loved The Lost Boys but there was something about their makeup and that ending that when I was a kid I could not watch. It freaked me out. Years later I became obsessed with that movie. RIP Edward Hermann. You were a pleasure to meet in person.

9 – Friday the 13^th Part 5
I’m not sure which Friday the 13^th it was but I remember an image of Jason being outside someone’s house where the woods was near by. I think it was 5 after re-watching them. I lived near by the woods and for the longest time I’d look out my window and I could just imagine Jason Voorhees standing there with his axe in hand. Ready to chop me to bits. I also use to read Friday the 13^th books as a kid. Those didn’t help with my imagination

8 – Fallen
I remember my brother had rented this movie and I thought “This seems cool”. And then I watched it. When the demon jumped from person to person and you could never tell who the demon was I couldn’t watch it. It started making me think anyone I passed by could be a demon. I still wonder that by the way.

7- Nightmare on Elm Street part V: The Dream Child
Freddy Krueger is one of the most iconic horror characters ever created. He is also one of the most vile and disgusting looking. But the one scene that scarred my childhood was the scene where the girl kept eating and eating and getting fat. And she blew up. It freaked me the hell out. Not to mention it was really gory. When I was a child gore was not something I could take.

6- Hellraiser
The gore in Hellraiser as well is so pretty well done but for a kid like I was growing up I could not watch it. It grossed me out to no end. I love Clive Barker and I always will but damn did that movie give me nightmares.

5- The Exorcist
I never wanted to play with an Ouija Board after that movie. We use to have own one in the house and my friends would try to screw with me. But that movie played with my head. Also ya know the whole demon possession, head turning around, and projectile vomiting didn’t help my childhood either.

4 – Poltergeist
There were 3 scenes that freaked me out as a kid that I had always remembered. First was the chair stacking scene. As a filmmaker I know how easy that scene is to do but Tobe Hooper (the director) did such a great job it freaked me out. The second one I remember scaring me was Carol Anne seeing the hands coming out of the static-y TV. That gave me chills. And lastly the scene with the real life skeletons in the yard (yes they were real. Apparently they thought it would be cheaper to get real skeletons instead of making fake ones). That scene of them popping up.

3- Jaws
There were 3 scenes that freaked me out as a kid that I had always remembered. First was the chair stacking scene. As a filmmaker I know how easy that scene is to do but Tobe Hooper (the director) did such a great job it freaked me out. The second one I remember scaring me was Carol Anne seeing the hands coming out of the static-y TV. That gave me chills. And lastly the scene with the real life skeletons in the yard (yes they were real. Apparently they thought it would be cheaper to get real skeletons instead of making fake ones). That scene of them popping up.

Just like most people Jaws made me afraid to go swimming in the ocean. I have never witnessed (knock on wood) a shark attack at the beach but the real factor that it could happen is probably what terrified me the most. But the image that always stuck in my head was the scene where the shark attacks the boy on the raft and the blood explodes. That was just scary for a little 7 year old or so when I first saw it. Thankfully I watched it on cable and they cut it down a bit.

2- Ghostbusters
This was the movie that made me want to become an actor. But it was also one of the movies that terrified me to death. Tell me a 5-7 year old kid wouldn’t be afraid of a dog’s hand coming up out of a chair and grabbing and pulling someone while growling at them. One of my favorite scenes now though. The other dog scene in the Fridge saying “Zuul” was probably one of the scariest too. The rest was just silly fun.

1 Mr. Boogedy/Bride of Boogedy
I put these 2 together cause they both freaked me out as a kid. They were made by Disney and were TV movies. I later watched them and said what the hell was so scary but I remembered for the longest time I wouldn’t want to watch them again for fear of bringing back nightmares. Boogedy himself is the silliest villain saying stuff like “Boogedy Boogedy Boo” and then throwing some kind of ball of light at you. You can find it on You Tube I believe.