Disturbing kid's TV programs

[Floogal]

I remember growing up and seeing unpleasant shows on CBBC and CITV during the 80s and 90s that looking back were pretty heavy going, especially for kids.

Ones I remember we're children's ward. Especially when the girl (who ended up playing Maria in coronation Street) died.
Also this one called Dramarama with one off stories. I remember this particular episode about a boy who steals a rabbit and his dad thrashes him with a belt.
And this drama called the secret set partly in Eastbourne where these kids mum goes missing.

The moomins

@Humpthree the moomins were more annoying than disturbing. Though I remember an episode where this girl was invisible because people were horrible to her so she faded away 😢

I remember a programme called Tottie, I loved it but vaguely remembered it was quite disturbing. It was a doll in a doll house style show. A thread here years ago explained why I remembered it with unease

• she died in a fire 🔥 I'm not sure if remember seeing it or just think I did from seeing the clip on YouTube but either way, very very weird and disturbing for a kids show.

Oh I was terrified of the moomins (still am)

Hartley Hare from Pipkins. Terrifying.

And Noseybonk from Jigsaw. Horrific.

A v weird one iirc called The Witches of the Grinnygog. Catweazle? Catweasel? Was pretty odd too. And the witch on Chorlton and the wheelies.

I loved the Moomins books (never seen the TV show)

When I was small there was a terrifying program featuring a house with a face. Might have been called Come Inside? And then all the furniture was alive and some bloke read a story.

Does anyone remember Zzzap? Lots of odd sketches with absurd characters.

The Moomins didn't terrify me at the time, I actually really liked it. I bought the dvd years later for nostalgia and it creeped me out more as an adult. The demon headmaster is one that comes to mind. We watched the series at school as we were reading the book at the time.

An awful ( “German, I think?) programme, badly dubbed, The Singing, Ringing Tree. Creepy as hell.

Step inside was what I was thinking of

Aww I loved zzap, so sad what happened to mark Speight.

Elador - the man on the horse fusckonf terrified me
Also there was something on c 1993 where some guy burns a cult church with people inside and his kids have visions of it when they grow up?

Stuff today is so tame haha

@TyrannysaurusXXrightshoarder crying at Pipkins is one of my earliest childhood memories! What on earth were they thinking?

Love the name btw 🦖

I was allowed to watch Home and Away from about the age of 8 and looking back the storylines! I particularly remember one about a religious strict Dad locking his daughters in cupboards.

@WibbleyWobble

I remember a programme called Tottie, I loved it but vaguely remembered it was quite disturbing. It was a doll in a doll house style show. A thread here years ago explained why I remembered it with unease

• she died in a fire 🔥 I'm not sure if remember seeing it or just think I did from seeing the clip on YouTube but either way, very very weird and disturbing for a kids show.

I think that was written by the same woman that wrote Black Narcissus

My son has recently got in to Moon and Me. I have no issue with clowns but that program is proper nightmare fuel. Collywobbles certainly lives up to his name, along with his creepy little mates

*elidor

Who thought this was appropriate for kids???

There was a children's TV proof when mine were little - so not that long ago - with weird animated characters without noses and with eyelashes growing out of their eyeballs. I think they were supposed to be cute

Real children used to turn up and have to hunt for them. IIRC the weird things called the children "Cheebies". Some crystals would tickle and then they would all do yoga together.

It was weird and cultish and reminded me of the scene in The Time Machine when a Going would sound and then beautiful, unintelligent, above-ground humans would go docilely to their doom - to be killed for food by the ugly, aggressive, dominant, subterranean humans.

For some reason, a relative bought me a poster of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (from the 1990 film) when I was 3 or 4. It ended up on my bedroom wall and completely scared the shit out of me every night when I was trying to go to sleep

If you watched childrens' hour in the 60s and 70s there were some disturbing programmes.

The one I found worst was the "Ringing Singing Tree" - one of the overseas dubbed programmes from Europe. It was a creepy fairytale with evil dwarves. I had nightmares about this

The other - a lot less disturbing but odd that it could ever be made for kids was "Ace of Wands" - a 1970s tale of occultists where the hero was "Tarot" and the show's symbolic intro was a pentagram

My best friend is properly traumatized by Dizzy Heights Hotel.

I remember being a bit freaked out by Mud and also Earthfasts. That bit where the drummer boy came out of the earth gave me the proper heebiejeebies.

Oh and Grogar in the My Little Pony Movie. Absolute nightmare fuel.

80s and 90s was tame compared to the 70s. We had programmes about destructive psychic powers, shadowy state conspiracies to control psychic powers (OR ARE THEY??! 👀👀😲) (tomorrow people etc) kids in league with aliens, adults maybe in league with aliens, every fucker getting taken over by aliens (Chocky + all the sequels etc), children battling dark ancient forces from beyond Xtian times (Elidor) and all sorts.

And we're all ABSOLUTELY FINE.

I know The Magic Roundabout (the original one) has a rep for being slightly odd, but the Dougal and the Blue Cat film is truly something to behold:

Dracula. It was quite adult - they wouldn’t get away with showing something like that now.