19 Non-Horror Movie Scenes That Scared And Traumatized Gen X'ers And Millennials As Kids
I think growing up all of us experienced watching a movie that wasn’t supposed to be scary, but had a scene or moment that really freaked us out (especially if it was a kids' movie).
And it was with that in mind that Redditor happy-gof**kyourself asked this to Gen X'ers and millennials on Reddit: "What non-horror movie scenes traumatized you as a child?"
Well, of course, the thread had a LOT of replies. Here are some of the top and best comments:
1."The 'Large Marge' scene in Pee-wee's Big Adventure scared me."
—[deleted]
"When I was a kid, that scene was absolutely scary. Re-watching it as an adult, it's completely hilarious!"
2."Return to Oz was like a fever dream."
3."The boat scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Terrified me as a kid."
4."I was severely traumatized at age five by the E.T. decontamination tent scenes."
"Me too. When E.T. first came out in theaters I was 8 years old. The tent scene and the forest scene at the beginning of the movie when E.T. is left behind was scary."
5."I don’t know if The Dark Crystal was supposed to traumatize me, but that movie had me f****d up for years."
"WHEN IT SUCKED OUT THE LIFE FORCE OF THE SMALL MUPPET! I was absolutely disturbed by that."
6."The Wizard of Oz, those flying monkeys."
7."Every single bunny death during Watership Down. Along with the bloody climax of Bigwig fighting General Woundwort. And that damned song. F you, Art Garfunkel."
"I STILL won’t watch that movie. I got traumatized as a kid once and I was done."
8."The face-melting scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark."
9."Gremlins. Phoebe Cates' character recounting her father trying to surprise her family on Christmas Eve by dressing up as Santa and coming down the chimney only to slip, break his neck, and only be discovered by the smell of his rotting corpse."
"The scene with the gremlin popping out of the fountain and melting (at the end, I guess?) was the scariest goddamned thing I’ve ever seen. I legitimately slept with the lights on until freshman year of college."
10."The Princess Bride and that giant damn rat. I was petrified of possums until my twenties."
11."Chitty Chitty Bang Bang — the Child Catcher. Top 10 all-time pure evil and creepy AF movie villain. Fight me."
"YES! And my dang parents MADE us sit and watch this nightmare multiple times!!!"
12."Superman III, where the lady gets forcibly turned into a robot. I was about four for that particular piece of nightmare fuel."
"Holy crap! I think I suppressed that memory! The robot lady scared the shit out of me….I haven’t thought about that in 35-plus years!!!"
13."The NeverEnding Story when the horse drowns in quicksand. WTF."
"Yes that and when the big ass wolf lunges out of the cave. Or even when the two statues blast that guy on his way through the gate. On second thought...The NeverEnding Story entirely."
14."The glowing eyes in The Secret of NIMH. To this day, I haven't been able to watch it to figure out just what the hell was going on."
15."The Rikki-Tikki-Tavi cartoon. Those cobras scared the shit out of me. I can picture that scene where the one is poised to bite the little boy in the leg."
16."The Watcher in the Woods really scared the hell out of me, and it still kind of does."
"Watcher in the Woods was the perfect slumber party movie because it was rated G so your parents would let you rent it from Blockbuster not knowing that it was scary as f**k."
17."Ghostbusters, the library scene. My face was in the seat cushion for the rest of the film."
"This is one I was coming to say. My sister took me with her and her friend to see that when I was 5, when my parents were out of town. Didn’t sleep well for months after."
18."Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The scene where they pull out the guy's beating heart just f****d me up as a kid."
19.And lastly: "Judge Doom in Who Framed Roger Rabbit when it is revealed that he is a toon."
"AND his voice. =\
'Just.... like.... THIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIS!!!!'"
You can read the full thread of responses on Reddit.
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
