Terrifying childhood tv shows

[NosmoKing]

After reading the Candle Cove urban legend, about someone's recollection of a childhood cartoon that becomes more disturbing the more they remember of the cartoon, I was wondering do you guys have memories:

* of what is a innocent-type kids show (or documentary or commercial), but for some reason it really scared you as a kid? Why did it scare you?

* or did you ever decide to watch something thinking it was a kids show, but upon watching it realised it was a really graphic horror movie or something?

I remember being scared by the cartoon Ulysses 31 mostly because the kid's whole family and community were trapped in a perminant hypersleep. I was scared I would wake up one day and the world around me would all be trapped in a hypersleep and I'd be alone forever.

I was also scared by a 1980s Australia commercial about AIDS.

. Something about a Grim Reaper using people as bowling pins freaked me out as a kid. Although, I think the ad failed as an AIDS scare tactic, as I'm more frightened today of bowling than unsafe sex

Also, when I was about 7, I was looking though the tv guide and saw something called "Children of the Corn", and thought this is a good, a kids show about farming. Poor little me when I began watching it :0

So what were your experiences as a kid?

[Ritual]

Watching a programme called 'goosebumps'

I know it was supposed to be scary but that stopped me sleeping for years.

[The Silver Thong]

Water ship down freaked me out.

[Ritual]

Water ship down freaked me out.

I forgot about Watership Down... that bloody traumatised me

[trish1997]

It was Dark Shadows for me...........I had vampire worries for years

Edited August 6, 2010 by trish1997

[The Silver Thong]

I forgot about Watership Down... that bloody traumatised me

LOL me to. For some reason here when I was a kid they played that movie about every 2 months on sunday afternoon. What a nightmare.

[NosmoKing]

Water ship down freaked me out.

Me, too. Even when that tv show "The Goodies" did a parody of Watership Down, I got upset.

It just reminded me of a similar book/film The Mouse and His Child. Does anyone remember that? The 'mean' rat upset me. Also, the mouse and his child were stuck together by their hands, and being a wind-up toy, once they wound down someone else had to wind them up or they would stay frozen. They couldn't wind themselves up. I spent the whole movie stressing about them winding down.

[The Silver Thong]

Can't say I have seen that one. I might have but maybe I forced it to the dark space in the back of my head lol

[Enoonmai]

This was not a TV show, but a movie from the early seventies shown on television: Helter Skelter

I was only about ten years old, with a very impressionable mind when it was aired.

At the time, that one movie scared the living daylights out of me.

[Wyrdlight]

Pirates of Black Water - Was not only utterly superb (NO IDEA why they lost funding, was the finest cartoon show ever made), but very scary at time (A sentient black, oil like "Water" was consuming the world and it kind of wrapped wround you and... changed you/kill you, very creepy).

Defenders of the Earth was often scary, they had fairly gory bits, as well as global environmental distasters, family/friend charecters getting killed, it was very.... "real" and thats what made it so good.

[Agent Darkbootie]

I used to hide when characters got mad on the Thomas the Train show - that was when Ringo used his yelling voice.

[NosmoKing]

^ Love the MST3K

I remember as a kid getting frustrated at Sesame Street, the whole no adult seeing Mr. Snuffleupagus thing. I would get tense about it because he was right there next to Big Bird, yet no one would see him. I remember pulling mum into the living room and pushing her in front of the tv, repeating "You see him, don't you? You can see him?" And she said "see what?" I nearly lost it, until I realised the Big Bird sketch was over, and the only thing on the tv was a dancing number 5.

[Sarka]

After reading the Candle Cove urban legend, about someone's recollection of a childhood cartoon that becomes more disturbing the more they remember of the cartoon, I was wondering do you guys have memories:

A friend had told me about Candle Cove in college, we looked it up on youtube and found a really messed up video. Naturally, people claim to only see static when they watch it. My friend had also told me that if you look closely at the static at the end, you are able to see a pirate ship with eyes... or something. A friend and I convinced her we could see it, freaked her out a little.

Obviously this show isn't real, so I don't know what the show actually is that this clip is made of, but it's pretty random and messed up anyways.

Candle Cove - Youtube

I'm going to go ahead and say not to watch this if you're easily bothered; it's annoying, loud and slightly disturbing.

But anyways, back to the questions!

I used to love watching the Beetlejuice cartoon in the early morning hours when I was younger. I think it was on after Power Rangers. It doesn't matter how many times I bring it up to random people, no one else seems to have ever watched this show when they were younger. But I know it was real and, naturally, it was a little off to begin with, but I was normally very pleased to skip downstairs once I woke up and observe his crazy antics for a half hour. However, there was one episode where where Lydia's parents were being placed under a guillotine, ready to be executed. I'm not really sure what happened after that moment, I must have turned the TV off or I simply don't remember. But the first time I realized that people kill people in bizarre ways like this. It bothered me and I'm not sure how much longer I watched the show after that. It was a pity, I did love that show.

Another scary show was about an angry Humpty Dumpty and his love of gold.. or something like that. It used to scare my sister and I when I was younger. I had told so many people about it but no one had ever heard of it. The show was on a series of tapes from the Depression that my aunt had bought us for Christmas one year (God knows why). There was one episode on the tape that was set in a candy themed world that I remembered as being such a happy memory. I searched and searched forever for it, and just recently found it.

Here is a link to the scary Humpty Dumpty cartoon, then ending is just awful for a child to watch:

Greedy Humpty Dumpty

As for Seasome Street, there was Christmas episode that I would watch with my parents every year (we had taped it). I would have to go upstairs whenever it got to the scene where Big Bird was shown sitting in his nest waiting for Santa. He was frozen solid and had icicles hanging off of his nose. It used to scare me so much! My parents still make fun of me for it. I don't think I've ever brought a boyfriend home who wasn't told about that.

Also, those aliens from Seasame Street, the jellyfish looking ones? I used to have nightmares that they came in my room, floated at the end of my bed and shook and made that weird noise.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Sarka

[J Gab]

I'm a 90s child (grew up in the 90s I mean) so the only ones I never watched were "Are You Afraid of the Dark?" and "Goosebumps" because they'd freak me out. And yet I read a bunch of the Goosebumps stories- but just couldn't watch them. I even had a video tape with an episode on there and would just never watch it because it was freaky.

Also, on Pee-Wee Herman there was the door to door salesman that had a giant head. I had nightmares about that thing, it just looked so freaky. I still am scared of whatever that thing is!

[Belial]

Hammer house of horrors, i was only a kid but it spooked me

[MetallicBlood]

I can remember growing up back in the 90s I caught that anime Aeon Flux on a few times, and at the time I innocently thought it was intended as a kids show, but I can remember being so confused and weirded out by it.

[Luca-RoseElsie-Raemom1921]

Goosebumps and Are you afraid of the dark? Freaked me out as a kid now I can watch them and not worry

[The Maloik]

Goosebumps and Are you afraid of the dark? Freaked me out as a kid now I can watch them and not worry

this is long before you guys were born,but over here in the 1960s the original "DARK SHADOWS" used to scare the $**t out of me!

[Haggis]

I remember an episode of Pee Wee's Playhouse when the genie made his head disappear, and when she tried to get it back she couldn't, then he went running around the playhouse crying that his head had disappeared. I thought it was real, and really thought that he lost his head and would never get it back. FREAKED ME OUT!

[Murder 101]

I used to love watching the Beetlejuice cartoon in the early morning hours when I was younger. I think it was on after Power Rangers. It doesn't matter how many times I bring it up to random people, no one else seems to have ever watched this show when they were younger. But I know it was real and, naturally, it was a little off to begin with, but I was normally very pleased to skip downstairs once I woke up and observe his crazy antics for a half hour. However, there was one episode where where Lydia's parents were being placed under a guillotine, ready to be executed. I'm not really sure what happened after that moment, I must have turned the TV off or I simply don't remember. But the first time I realized that people kill people in bizarre ways like this. It bothered me and I'm not sure how much longer I watched the show after that. It was a pity, I did love that show.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kX51QPLPtGQ&feature=related

I loved and still love The Beatlejuice Cartoon

[Black Hound]

Only thing I found bothered by, was DARK SHADOWS.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Graveyard Hound

[saoc]

No children shows scared me or bothered me. I loved scary movies and shows growing up. I watched The Twilight Zone, Outer Limits, Tales From the Darkside, Tales From the Crypt, Alfred Hitchcock and similar shows.

[Ayvah]

I didnt really get scared of things as a child when it came to watching tv shows but...I was looking at creepy stuff on youtube the other day and I came across this video. Now, i'm sure if I would have watched this when I was a kid it would have messed me up. its not like 'ghost scary' but its kinda twisted.

[GreyWeather]

Fragglerock.

Still makes me feel ill thinking about it. I dunno why either, it just used to freak me.

[NosmoKing]

Fragglerock.

Still makes me feel ill thinking about it. I dunno why either, it just used to freak me.

Those monster things (mother, father, and kid) that lived at the dump and chased after the fraggles used to weird me out. I just got Fraggle Rock for my brother's birthday, so I'll have to watch it and see if it still scares me, ha!