Cin's Top 5 Childhood Tramas

So Stac has posted a rather fab article on things that scared her shitless as a child. Well keeping in theme, and since this blog is currently in its infancy, I thought I would follow suit with the subject of childhood. As you can see, Stac has a gift for the written word. She really has a knack for writing about and describing things vividly.
Me?
I make lists.
I typo a lot and I make lists.
In fact I'm a list addict. If you toss me a top ten list chances are I will read it no matter how uninterresting the subject may be. Top ten uses for peanut butter, top ten japanese accountants in outer mongolia....
I have a problem. I will admit it.


So for my kick off post here are the top 5 films and scenes that tramatized me as a child. Any of these ring a bell or make you want to go back to therapy? Read on!


5-That Freaky Boat Ride- Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
Okay...what child WASN'T completely terrfied of this moment? Just about every person I talk to about this movie mentioned how this moment scarred them for life and how Gene Wilder now pops up in their nightmares to this day. Its seems Freddy Kruger and Gene Wilder are top reasons for insomnia. Just seconds before this moment we had a lovely whimsical musical number about imagination while everyone frolicked in the technicolor land of candy and rainbows. Then suddenly you've taken a hard left onto the corner of crack street and LSD avenue. The 60's where a scary time, kids.




4-The Great Owl -The Secret of NIMH
I'm still a big lover of this film. The animation is incredible and the story is wonderful. Its one of the few films that I like better than the book. But during my tender first grade years, this guy haunted my sleep. This ain't no Hedwig the owl, folks. The Great Owl is a creepy old scary bastard! And did you catch his Exorcist head turn there? UGH! I'm 32 years old and that moment still gives me the willies.






3-The Shining Commercial...JUST the Commercial.
My parents love to remind me that at one time I was terrfied of just about anything on the TV when I was a toddler. They still think my love of horror films is a blatant lie to cover up the chicken shit I was when I was a kid. Now, I don't remember this but apparently when I was very little, I would scream whenever any comercial for The Shining came on the tv. Not just a scared kid scream but a primal, blood curdling, help I am being torn apart by wild dogs scream. This caused my parents much in embarassment at many a party and sent them vaulting over furnature and relatives to turn the TV off. Luckily, I grew out of that.





2-The Vomit Monster - Poltergeist 2
I was forced to watch Poltergeist 2 against my will by my cousin who was calling me a chicken. We were around 8 years old at the time. To save face I managed to watch most of it from in between my fingers. But the vomit moster was the last straw and I hid behind the couch for the rest of the movie. Of course, now I can handle just about any horror film that makes my cousin cringe. Who's laughing NOW, Brian?!
You know what? Even as an adult this scene is pretty fucked up.




1-The Watcher in the Woods
I recently rented this movie to see if its as scary as I remember. Its not. But at the time, this was the scariest damn thing I had ever seen! My 6th grade self and my cohort at the time, Lina would watch this movie at night in the dark on the ye olde VCR and squeal in delight on how it made us jump. Now a days its pretty dated and well...kinda lame. It does have some genuinely creepy moments and Betty Davis looking like 50 miles of bad road is pretty off putting. but I would say its best for nostalgia viewing. Here's a trailer.




So there you have it! The beginings of what scared me as a kid. And as you can see, I was a huge chicken shit.