to still be freaked out by some books from my childhood

[babyfedleaning]

Following on from the thread about children's tv programmes from our youth, it got me thinking about the books I used to love that unnerved me. Several of them got made into tv programmes but loads didn't. In particular I remember The Weirdstone of Brisingamen by Alan Garner where all the ramblers in the countryside are baddies! And A Parcel of Patterns about the plague. Anyone got any more?

[WooWooOwl]

The one that used to freak me out was the one with the bad baby and the elephant.

[MaximumVolume]

The Wild Hunt of Hagworthy

[KatieKaye]

Tubby and Tootsie.
A seemingly lovely book to read aloud to small children about a family of teddy bears with nice colour pictures and the right size for little hands to hold.
Only one of the wee bears gets sold separately from his family and is taken away so he is all alone. It gave me separation anxiety for years and I'm not entirely sure I'm over it yet. Yes, it had a happy ending but oh! the trauma. I got a copy of EBay a few years ago and still found it harrowing.

[fairnotfair]

An Enemy at Green Knowe. Wonderful books, but the cover of this one freaked me out - an evil face in a mirror, IIRC - and the story was truly creepy.

Also when the wolves surrounded the house in Little House on the prairie. Loved all those books - hated the tv series.

[babyfedleaning]

Not now Bernard is pretty disturbing too, come to think of it.

[superbagpuss]

goodnight Mr tom

I read it as a teen and had to stop when the mum had locked her DC in the cupboard

still worries me now

[RachelWatts]

WooWooOwl I just read the one about the bad baby and the elephant to DS2 last week.

[babyfedleaning]

I also remember something in Tom Sawyer about someone being trapped in a cave and ripping their nails to pieces trying to get out. Still makes me feel sick!

[GilbertBlytheWouldGetIt]

Whichever Moomin book had the Groke in. I find those books melancholy and haunting at the best of times, but the Groke-!

[velocity1]

When I was very small, well under 10, Higglety Pigglety Pop by Maurice Sendak..the illustrations were amazing, but it gave me the creeps.Not sure it's a book I will be buying again anytime soon

As a young teen, Children of The Dust freaked me out. We were still in the midst of the Cold War and nuclear weapons were talked about often, so it seemed a very real possibilty. Add the that, the fact I watched 'Threads' and it's no surprise I was an anxious teen (and adult, if I'm honest)

My grandad had a book, and for the life of me I can't remember the title or author, which was full of portraits that could be viewed either way up, to give different people, I hated that book too, although I would love to find it now

[babyfedleaning]

Argh - the Moomins! What were those white things that looked like ghosts? They were TERRIFYING!

[poolomoomon]

Not now Bernard is positively horrifying! I got it for DC remembering it fondly from my childhood and . A boy that's essentially neglected by his parents, gets eaten by a monster and his parents don't care about him that much they don't even notice when a monster takes his place! It's horrific .

[CinnabarRed]

The Fox Cub Bold. It was my first exposure to the notion that stories don't necessarily have happy endings.

Another vote for Children Of The Dust. Particularly when the brother and sister realise they are dying and take their still-well younger sister go sanctuary before taking an overdose.

[RightyTightyLeftyLoosey]

Another vote for Not Now Bernard!
I too bought it because I remember the artwork with affection, but I had clearly blocked out the horror from my mind!

DS is 2 and is obsessed with it, got my friend to read it to him and she was reading it! Genuinely disturbing story.

[OutrageousFlavourLikeFreesias]

"Alice In Wonderland" / "Through The Looking Glass" have some very disturbing jokes about death in among all the smiling cats and talking flowers.

But for genuine disturbing sadness it's got the be "The Lonely Doll".

[TheFirstOfHerName]

The Owl Service (detecting an Alan Garner theme here)

All Summer in a Day (short story by Ray Bradbury)

Both of those still haunt me, in different ways.

[TheFirstOfHerName]

The Chrysalids had its moments, too.

[MissPenelopeLumawoo2]

The Happy Prince, still makes me cry now, damnit! Sob.

[Poopooplop]

Funny bones... It's basically the walking dead!

[killerlego]

I was freaked out (and still am) by the Roald Dahl book (I think it is by him anyway) in which people turn into geese and fly around. Whenever I see flocks of geese flying over I get a shiver down my spine. I don't know why, I just found it very creepy.

[HouseBaelish]

Funny bones... It's basically the walking dead!

LOVE Funnybones. My favourite bit is where they build the dog skeleton backwards and he says "foow!"

[bigTillyMint]

killerlego, that's The Magic Finger

I don't think I was creeped out by any books as a child, but The Chrysalids and other John Wyndham books like Day of the Triffids were pretty scary!

Lots of sad ones - I get a lump in my throat reading most children's books aloud It's a bit of a problem as I'm a primary teacher

[Fubsy]

Marianne Dreams, anything with Moomins in and Where the Wild Things Are. It was the illustrations in all of them that did it!

[cherubimandseraphim]

Oh gosh yes to Alan Garner, that bit in Weirdstone where they go into the tiny underground tunnel and they have to inch into the water holding their breath and not knowing if they'll drown still gives me the heebie-jeebies, and when I was younger it was literally the worst thing I could imagine

[longjane]

Hansel and gertel
The tinder box
Pinocchio
Hate hate
Used to put my fingers in my ears when they were being read to me at school.
I refused to read any Ronald Dahi books to my kids as hated them so much.
Did let watch the films though.