What used to scare you as a child?

[Kasterborous]

I was terrified after I had seen the film Jaws at school, that a shark was going to come up the plug hole in the bath or up the toilet bowl. And for ages I had nightmares about that dead body that appeared from under the rocks in the water. My Mum was that they had shown the film at school I was about nine and easily scared. I also remember being terrified of the Triffids which was on telly when I was young. I remember my sister, who is three years younger than me chasing me round pretending to be a triffid! I still can't watch horror films.

[Sparrowlegs248]

Oh yes couldn't have a gap in the curtains and wardrode and bedroom doors firmly shut!! I was also scared of being 'found out' as if i was some sort of imposter.

[Xiaoxiong]

Clicky link nekkonezumi.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/rascar-capac.jpg

Anyway I was petrified that something like that would climb through our windows. I got it a bit mixed up with a werewolf from Scooby Doo who similarly climbed through a window and that also freaked me out.

In vain my parents pointed out that we had iron bars on our windows so nothing could get in - of course bars wouldn't stop an Inca mummy/werewolf for a second!

[thebody]

nothing. as an adult absolutely loads.

[thebody]

nothing. as an adult absolutely loads.

[nomorecrumbs]

That ending of The Simpsons episode where Mr Burns is reunited with his bear Bobo. I hated the dramatic music and his robot legs as he was running, ergghh!

[Sparrowlegs248]

Oh!! Another one. I ws an avid reader and my poor mum used to strugglevto find enough suitable books for me. She bought me one called 'The Scarecrows' which although a childs book, i still find incredibly sinister and terrifying!! I think i was about 10 and reading well beyond my age.

[Ilovemyself]

The bohemian rhapsody video. The bit with the flying heads.

[mervynmouse]

Wind- we were really affected by the 1987 hurricane and for years afterwards I would watch the trees outside for particularly active leaf movement. Honestly it was like Armageddon, an isolated farm house on top of a hill surrounded by trees that toppled one after another!

Also balloons, still don't like the rubbery, unexpectedly banging little buggers!

[oopslateagain]

Balloons. But not the nice, shiny ones - the ones that have gone down a bit and are sort of wrinkly. It's now a phobia and I completely freak out if there's one in the room because obviously it's going to jump at me and touch me.

Dolls - creepy proper-faced dolls, like the porcelaine ones (baby dolls and Barbies are fine). I had a clown doll with a porcelaine face, it sat facing my bed. Every night after lights-out I'd creep out of bed and build a fort around the fucking thing, piles of books with things like lego bricks piled on top so if it decided to move in the night and try to get me, it would knock everything over and wake me up.

I was also weirdly terrified of holes. I had a recurring dream where huge bubbles were chasing me, they had holes in but hadn't burst, they were just big shiny bubbles with gaping holes in them.

[mervynmouse]

That's just the tip of the iceberg though really, was a very fearful child. Guns as they were always around in case of intruders, farm machinery, we would have an accident pretty much every year, fires, ditto, lost count of the times I rang 999 with some drama or another!

[Curlygirly]

The Carry On Screaming film would give me nightmares.
Pylons. Still don't like them!!

[SirBoobAlot]

Pretty much everything. I'm now diagnosed with a handful of mental health conditions, so it's unsurprising really...

The dark (still sleep with a lamp on)
Someone coming to kill me; for months I slept on the floor of my room, because then when someone came to kill me, I'd hear them stab the bed because they wouldn't know I was on the floor....
Someone coming to take my face, after having listened to the Return To Oz tape.
Afraid that I would make bad things happen / that I caused bad things. Everything from family deaths to natural disasters.
Vampires. I used to go to bed fully clothed, including a polo neck and a hat, so they couldn't get me.
Fire, and the house burning down. This carried on for years. After one major anxiety episode, my parents installed a fire alarm in my bedroom. I kept a 'fire bag' packed ready in case I had to jump out of the window.

And after hearing that stupid fucking killer dolly story, I developed a fear of a beautiful musical doll my aunt had given me. It was wrapped in two carrier bags, put in the freezer, which was then locked, and then the door to the room where the freezer stood was also locked as well.

Basket case.

[mervynmouse]

hiddenhome

[AnitaManeater]

The wheelers, the childcatcher, that Ghostwatch programme / hoax that was on BBC1 in 1993, 'Charley Says' child safety adverts in the 80's, motorbikes. These things still scare me now!

[Amy106]

Bees, wasps and hornets.

[Mimishimi]

The Wicked Witch of the West. Used to have nightmares about her all the time.

[GailTheGoldfish]

The 'Don't Die of Ignorance' advertising campaign for AIDS in the early eighties, i was born in 79 so quite young. My mum had to tell me about sex and also took me to see the HV who explained what AIDS was because I was so scared I was going to catch it.

[GruffBillyGoat]

I watched IT at 9, bathrooms, sewers etc. Though I wasn't afraid of the clown really, more scared that blood would start coming out the plug.

Oh and an irrational fear of snakes, not saying that fearing snakes is irrational but my fear certainly is. I can't look at pictures of snakes, if they are on tv I will cover my eyes until DP tells me it is safe, and even if I don't actually see it the thought of snakes will make me pull my feet off the ground, and I can't put them back for at least 30 minutes. In fact just typing this made me pull me feet up. I live in New Zealand, there are no snakes here.

[EugenesAxe]

Hmmm - the same as you actually. Triffids were terrifying!

But my immediate though was 'wolves'. They were my very young fear - 6/7 yo or so. Actually could have been younger. I need to ask DM to be sure. She drew a cool cartoon that changed my mind about them and then they were my friends.

There was a picture in a Krystal Tips book I had that scared me. I can't remember exactly, but it did - it might have been a face in a house.

Patchouli - yes! It was the shadow of the folds of the curtain against the windowsill that I thought were wolf ears.

elvisola - fucking hell! What an awesome bloke, but poor you!

And I was another bed vaulter.

[pixwix]

God and judgment day

Stripey flying things like wasps

Nuclear war

The dog dying

The wurzels singing about their combine harvester - dunno why?

[urbanturban]

Omg yes to the Wheelers from Return to Oz (in fact the whole film terrified me!)

DS 10months has started crawling with a plastic ball (the wee ones from his ball pool) in each hand........felt an involuntary shudder when I first saw him do it and then realised it was cos he looked like a Wheeler!

[mirry2]

monsters under the bed. scorpions in my slippers (I lived abroad where they were rife).

[PatFenis]

used to scare the living shite out of me ...oh and Michael Bentine's Potty Time used to terrify me to but I have no idea why!

[CatsAndTheirPizza]

Hidden

[blizy]

Thunder and lightning (still terrified of it)
The clown from IT
Vincent from the beauty and the beast series
The wimpy man
Street performers, particularly the robot men.
Anyone dressed in fancy dress costumes.
Having my toenails cut
Escalators
Fireworks
Party poppers

I was a scaredy cat!