I remember watching a movie with my mother when I was young – about 6 – 8. The movie was about a small town, which had a chemical (maybe nuclear?) company that employed them all. Of course this is mid -1980's and they were trying to make a statement so the place is run very shoddy and we have a meltdown or a leak and everyone has to run for cover. The part that got me was the ending, the one worker had a family with a few kids and his kids were playing hide and seek when the melt down occurred. His youngest daughter hid in the trashcan and the mother couldn't find her in time. I remember the ending of the father coming home and going to the trash can because he knew that was were she always hid and pulling her out now dead! That last scene has stayed with me all these years and haunted me.
UNK SEZ: Absinthe, this does sound traumatic! I did a bit of research into the nuclear disaster movies of the eighties and I could not find any mention of this girl in a trash can. If the movie you're thinking of is anything like THE DAY AFTER, THREADS or TESTAMENT, you can be sure that you were not the only person left highly disturbed. I have a feeling somebody knows this one so you know the drill kids, any ideas go into the comments section or if need be, email us directly at kindertrauma@gmail.com!
UPDATE: Solved… the source of this trauma is the 1986 made for T.V. movie ACCEPTABLE RISKS (see the comments for more information). Special thanks to reader Grokenstein for saving the day!
I have a trauma that no one has been able to help me identify.
My sister and I saw it on TV when we were 8-10 years old, so we assume it's a movie (or made-for-T.V. movie) from 1974-1976'ish.
I scared her with a line from this movie for years…"You killed me, April!"
The movie, if we remember correctly, involved a woman that a group of people are trying to drive insane.
The big scene was time and time again seeing her "dead" mother hanging on a crucifix yelling, "You killed me, April!"
It was very creepy and we'd LOVE to see it again!
Can you help?
UNK SEZ: Whatever this movie is I certainly want to see it! Anybody out there have any ideas? If so, leave your thoughts in the commments section or email us at kindertraum@gmail.com!
Humpty Dumpty we all know to have been a riddle, with the answer of course being that the mysterious Humpty was in fact, an egg. Nothing particularly eerie about that, right? Well, as soon as someone decided to take the guesswork out of the rhyme, by illustrating Mr. Dumpty perched atop his wall, and gave him a face, it all changed. To a child (at least to me), we now had the story of a life; a terrifyingly fragile one at that. The rhyme was no longer a riddle; instead it could be surmised as:
"The fragile Eggman unwisely sat top a wall. He fell and died horribly."
I remember being read this out of an Old-school Mother Goose book as a very young child and thinking what a nightmare it was to be Humpty Dumpty, as veritably anything (I had broken many an egg trying to help my Mom cook, promising to be careful) would lead this poor creature to a yolk-splattered death. Humpty couldn't go out and play, he couldn't slide down the stairs…everything I knew to be fun was off-limits to Humpty, with any false move leading to his doom. His only real option would be to stay at home in the nest or egg carton and not move.
Of course I knew Eggmen didn't exist. It was the concept of this absurd fragility that had me so scared.
The picture out of that book sealed the deal, for it depicted the wide-eyed, last-second look of terror as Humpty, seeing the end of his cursed existence a few seconds away, was beginning to fall. I would imagine what the after-effect drawing would look like; that panicked, open-mouth look, and huge open eyes frozen amidst cracked shell and leaking albumen. I could even hear him scream.
I scribbled over his face with a pen, in an attempt to hide the first "Face of Death," I had ever witnessed, but to no avail. I still knew it was there. I remember later watching SESAME STREET where a very freakish looking Humpty, with a mouth that caved in as he spoke, was being interviewed by Kermit the Frog as a nursery-rhyme news correspondent, and feeling the sense of dread that it was only a short matter of time until he was destined to fall from the wall, and no one would be able to help. Such was the fate of the doomed Eggmen.
The Eggmen repulsed me, as if they were the Elephant-men of the nursery rhyme circuit. It was not as if I wanted to save them; rather, I never wanted them to exist.
Earlier: Reader Bigwig not so fondly recalls Struwwelpeter.
NOTE: Since this will probably be my last chance to talk about STUCK ON YOU, do you know about this weird thing in the opening credits which is way more amazing then the not real THREE MEN AND A BABY GHOST? Can you see that scary face under the bed? It appears just as THE PIXIES, on the soundtrack, get to the line "face turn blue" in "Here Comes Your Man"…
On the DVD commentary THE FARRELLY BROTHERS say that it may be some sports equipment or just the way the light hits some dust, but they don't sound too convinced and frankly, neither am I! Finally here is cinematic evidence of what kids have been trying to convince their parents of for hundreds of years, there really is something under the bed!
Now, at this time of writing, I am 15 years old. I regularly watch violent anime. Recently I was watching WHEN A STRANGER CALLS, and poking fun at it throughout. I often watch documentaries about ghosts, and read about them. Halloween is my favorite holiday, partly because of all the scary things. I've written about sociopathic serial killers before. I love the horror genre, and often know who's going to die first in said movies. And yet, this one, common, everyday object scares me.
A closed door.
No really.
Stop laughing.
There's a reason, and I'm about to share, as I drown my sorrows in Sunkist.
When I was very little, possibly around 5 or 6, my dad was a huge science fiction junkie. Very often, the SciFi Channel was on, and I remember him having alien-related objects around the house. What scared me was this scene, possibly a commercial, but I'm not sure.
What happened was that a door was shown. After a few seconds, a cracking sound was heard, as a decaying hand broke through said door. Suddenly, this zombie/skeleton/ghoul thing, with white shaggy hair, sticks its head through the crack. I don't remember the rest, but I think I remember it saying something along the lines of "Hey. Want to watch a new show?" Or something. I don't remember exactly.
As a result, even at my age, I have issues with closed doors. Whenever I'm in a room alone with one, and it's the only exit, I think of what is behind that door, and get anxious, particularly worried that there is something behind said door. In fact, I keep the door open a crack usually, so I can see any ghouls that will try to bust open my door, in the name of their show. Thank you so much, SciFi, for giving me a fear of doors!
UNK SEZ: First of all Kami, I would like to congratulate you on your honesty and bravery. I can assure you that you are in capable hands, as I have decades of afternoon talk show watching under my belt. I have also read every self-help book on the market from "Why is Everyone Looking at Me Funny?" to "Holy Moly, Your Shadow is Chasing You." In fact, I know exactly what your problem is. The technical term that learned folks like myself like to use is "a-door-aphobia." The good news is, you've already made the first step toward recovery by admitting to a group of strangers that you've got bats in your belfry. Now the healing can begin…
My father, Dr. Satanstein, taught me long ago that the best way to get over my fear of water was to be thrown in the deep end of our pool with my feet chained to a radiator. (Sounds harsh, but guess who just bought a new snorkel!) It's called tough love Kami; it ain't easy but it works. Above and below I present you with a scary collection of doors to stare at until you are no longer scared of them. I also suggest that you play ring and run on at least two of your neighbors before going to bed. Good luck Kami, I have every faith in your recovery.
As for everyone else, can you identify the movies these doors are from? Some are easy and some will make you want to grab torches and storm Kindertrauma Castle. (Remember #1 is above the post!) Leave your guesses in the comments section. I'll post the answers on Monday! (And yes EVIL ON TWO LEGS, I know you just did something like this but you've heard that old chestnut about rip-offs being the sincerest form of flattery right? Besides this is my revenge, now I'm in control! Mwahahahaha!)
