To ask what irrationally scared you as a child? *lighthearted*

[liverbird10]

My mother insists I was terrified of the Chef from Sesame Street as a toddler, I would howl whenever he appeared on screen.

I was also petrified by the 2ft Bugs Bunny my brother bought me.

A few years later, it was the Gorgs from Fraggle Rock. I seem to have got over that fear though, my fella resembles a blond one slightly.

Was anybody else round here equally odd?

Before I just rtft I thought I would be the only one posting about Return to Oz. Utterly terrifying. The weird thing is I reckon I've seen it at least 20 times. That and the skeksis in the Dark Crystal were responsible for my biggest childhood fears. Also the kids tv drama The Box of Delights

Hated spiders and once threw a cup of soup over my mum when my cousin pointed out I had one on my back when we were having a picnic.

Was scared a spider would crawl up from inside the toilet and bite me on my bum!

I was reading a Famous Five book when I must have been about 9/10 and in the story, Anne looks up at the window and sees a face at it. I was so into the story that I looked at my window and saw a face at it. My bedroom was 3 storeys up. I have a wonderful imagination.

Toilets flushing, Mr Chips from catchphrase and also the little musical jingle when a square was revealed on Catchphrase - no idea why!!

Oh my god and Spooks of Bottle Bay!

"Spooks wooooo they live in bottle bay" shivers

Just remembered some more at christmas we used to have those big plastic Father Christmas faces on the doors which terrified me. I've attached a picture if the exact ones we had.

I come from a non religious family and was terrified after going to a family friends baptism about all the cannibals eating and drinking someone's body and blood. I didn't sleep for days until someone explained it was just bread and wine. I was about 6 at the time.

Ice cream, I also hate sunflowers.
They are creepy.
When ever you see bacteria growing in a Petri dish or images of diseased cells on tv.
( I couldn't work in a laboratory)

the film tom thumb and disneys fantasia

Jane Eyre, I saw it on TV when I was quite young and the scene where she is locked in the Red Room near the beginning frightened me so much that I never read it or watching it until I was much much older.

The children wouldn't let me pull the plug out of the bath until they were well clear otherwise the plug monster would get them, OH did a great imitation of his arm being pulled down the hole when he pulled the plug!

There was a serial attacker known as the fox around in the earlier 80's, I was petrified he was going to break into our house. I couldn't be in the kitchen at night unless the blind was closed in case he was in our garden. His attacks weren't even in the same county as us!

I remember a case all over the news that someone quite well known had died choking on their own vomit. After that I had to sleep with 3 pillows so that I was propped up.... I don't think I understood that she actually died of a drug overdose.

A Munch poster which my parents had in their bedroom: "girls in aprons". They had very sad expressions.

A pair of "funny glasses" belonging to my grandmother, which had creepy eyes which changed and winked.

On Radio 4 (which my parents listened to frequently), the distorted voices of somebody calling in by phone.

The dustbin lorries and the siren at the end of Dads Army

Grates in swimming pools. Always thought a shark would come out of them. Also, Emu (as in Rod Hull and...)

Also, windows when it's dark outside and the lights are on inside. I'd run around shutting the curtains without looking at the windows in case a face appeared. Even on the first floor.

The sketch in the Two Ronnies called “The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town”. All dark and foggy and then this cloaked figure emerging. Arrrrgh!

The witch in the Wizard of Oz.

The music from Tales of the Unexpected - creepy! See also the Dr Who music.

The Singing Ringing Tree. Just weird.

Dr Who and the Daleks.

The central heating grill behind the settee in the living room. Ghosts and ghouls lives in there!

I used to hide behind the couch when the Wombles came on.

That scene in Mary Poppins with the banker, especially the bit with the little boy and his 2 pence with the banker repeatedly shouting "Give me your tuppence!"
Tuppence was the word my parents used as the cutesy kid's word for female genitalia. Horrific and confusing.

Does anyone remember a kids show, I think it was called Bitsa on the BBC? It was where they made stuff out of materials. They had a scary robot in a box that was made out of bits of rubbish. That used to freak me out.

The Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp and their creepy song. My DS shared this terror so unfortunately I must have passed it on.

Also when lying in bed with my mind wandering before sleep, it o had any horrible/scary thoughts about anything I had to get out of bed to reassure myself it was before 11pm. If it was after 11 it was going to come true.

I'm not sure if it's irrational but I was terrified of electricity after those school videos on being electrocuted by pylons. So... pylons I guess? I am still pyrophobic, I don't like open flames.

Also found the bit in Pinocchio very scary where the boys were turned into donkeys.

CraicMummy I was oddly attracted to David Bowie in Labyrinth (although not in rl)

Anything to do with clowns, jesters, people dressed up as animals, giants etc walking around events (Christmas is fun). I still have this and dd1 has the clown thing too after some bright spark in her class started terrifying them all about killer clowns when the IT remake came out.

Dolls.
*
Rugger* yes Eugene Victor Tooms was definitely the stuff of many a nightmare

I used to have nightmares about an ice cream van playing that Mungo Jerry song "In the Summertime", and there being a childcatcher inside the van. My Mum used to laugh that I was the only kid in the village who ran for cover if the ice cream van came down the road! Even as an adult, that song comes on the radio and I get shivers down my spine. Weird!

My sister used to have a meltdown at the music from Dr Who!

Cuthbert Calculus from Tin Tin

I still shudder slightly when I see him. I have no idea why.