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?

Wizard of Oz didn’t frighten me but it always made me feel sad. I always thought Judy Garland looked sad and would get upset

I couldn’t explain why (still not sure but she looks sad to me)

This will out me:

Fireman Sam, to the extent that I would not watch television at all on a Thursday because I knew it was on that day. Even when my mum taped the kids tv before and after, I would not watch that tape.

To this day, I do not remember why I was so frightened by it. I'm fine with it now, though I do feel quite strongly that as a force they are failing - there is a fire every fucking day in Pontypandy and there are about 12 residents. Teach them how to use an iron or a frying pan properly and you can retire, Sam.

Oh god, the clown posts have reminded me that my beside lamp had a clown sat at the base. The creepiest fucking clown ever. Who stared at me all night.

Astonishingly I can only sleep in complete darkness as an adult. Sure there's no correlation.

Really red sunsets as my dad told me it was because of nuclear war (right after Chernobyl happened).
Seeds inside peppers as they could poison me (dad again) - my chef husband put me right on that one when I was about 33.....

My kids are following in my footsteps:

DS was so scared of the (smiling, entirely unthreatening) cartoon giraffe on his bedroom jungle mural that we had to cover it. The lions, tigers etc were fine.

DD would cry every time she saw Ted Glenn from Postman Pat.

Does anyone else remember how terrifying Tottie: A Story of a Doll's House was? Jesus, I don't think I ever fully recovered from watching that as a child.

Going around corners on a bus. I was terrified it would topple over and we'd all die.

The theme tune from Thomas the Tank Engine and the chef from The Muppets.

On a more serious note I went through the most terrifying phobia of kidnapping. Not for myself but for my younger siblings. I would check their cots every morning to see if I thought they'd been swapped with another child overnight. I remember crying my eyes out in the school playground because I couldn't see my younger cousin and therefore thought she'd been kidnapped.

@Yaflamingalah Was Tottie the one that had a song that went “This is Apple, Apple?” And other names of the dolls.

I strangely often think of the song and how creepy the whole thing was, but I can never remember what the programme was.

Swimming hats: it just wasn't right that you could see someone's face, but not their hair at all. It altered their appearance completely, but they still sounded the same. It was worse if it was someone I knew well, such as my mum. It was her, and yet it wasn't her.

I remember shaking with fear while playing "keeper of the keys": the game of trying to steal a bunch of keys from in front of a child who can't see. When it was my turn to be the thief, I was terrified of the pressure, all eyes being on me, except the boy in the middle who had his whole face covered with a bandanna, so he looked freakishly headless. I crept forwards, knowing that one squeak of my shoe and he would point at me; but amazingly I succeeded in stealing the keys. I was so relieved at having done so, that when the teacher blindfolded me, I zoned out and almost forgot I was supposed to point to any sound I heard!

Diggers. I thought I'd be scooped up in the scoopy bit and taken away.

The hoover!!!

Diddy men. Gave me nightmares.

The Spirit of dark and lonely water...(70s public safety film)

I've really enjoyed this thread, and I was just wondering - what did people think it would involve when whatever it was they were scared of "got" them? Was it going to eat you, or tear you limb from limb, or what? I definitely thought Colorado beetles would "get" me but I hadn't given a lot of thought to how they would do that. I knew they ate potatoes and had no reason to suspect they would also eat children, and yet...

@Spaceprincess- that’s not irrational; those films were terrifying!

@Shoppingwithmother Yes! I think Apple was the little boy doll. I just remember the dolls being in a fire and an evil doll called Marcheline, or something like that. I was shocked that it was made by Oliver Postgate, who, with Peter Firmin, created my beloved Bagpuss.

Corn on the cob and using the loo.

I was convinced that while I was on the toilet the shark from Jaws was going to bite my bum off, or i'd open the toilet door to leave when I was done and see Freddie Kruger's severed head on the floor leering at me.

Oh! And the old Twilight Zone and Dr. Who theme songs gave me the heebie jeebies.

That a ghost would come up the toilet when I flushed. Used to flush and run for my fucking life.

Clowns. I used to run past the one my grandparents had on their (shows how long ago this was!) telephone table.

I still don't like them though

Jaws. I went to the toilet real fast for months.

The Mastermind music used to give me the willies.

Spot the dog from the wooden tops....giving away my age slightly.
I used to even have nightmares about him chasing me...I remember them vividly.
Really strange!

This is spot the dog...the nightmaresr he gave me are vivid today!