kindertrauma

Month: November 2011

Name That Trauma :: Reader L.A. on the Decapitated New Girl in Town

Posted on By aunt john

I remember seeing a movie about five years ago I think. It must have been from the '90s or '00s. It was about a girl moving to a new town. The popular guy in the movie started to notice her, and hitting on her, and the guy's girlfriend gets jealous, and the movie ends with her killing the new girl.

The thing that really stuck in my head and has bothered me ever since was how she killed her. She cut off her head, but placed it on the neck where it should be, and covered it up with a scarf or something, so when her mother came home, the new girl was laying on the floor, still alive but her head was not actually attached to her body anymore.

The new girl was a redhead I think, and the jealous girlfriend was blonde. I remember one scene where they were at a party, and there was a pool and the blonde girlfriend sees all the boys admire the new girl in her bikini.

Do you know what movie this is from?

Thank you,

— L.A.

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Reader chopmeup is on a roll and answered this one with THE STALKING OF LAURIE SHOW.

Traumafessions :: Jose Cruz of Mephisto's Castle on Deadly Dummies

Posted on By unkle lancifer

What is it about ventriloquist dummies that seem to scare people so? Is it their dwarfish human-like bodies, their wooden ligaments grotesquely moving in a mockery of life? Is it the cruel turn of their painted lips, the gleam of their wide, staring eyes? Or is it the fact that their purpose is to sit in one's lap, granting them the perfect opportunity to wrap their cold, hard fingers around your throat… laughing all the while?

I know I'm not the only one with this affliction. I've seen a few Traumafessions here already dedicated to the topic of those firewood automatons. So, why then, do people seem to cringe and shudder at the sight of those ghastly puppets sitting in faux innocence on a shelf or under a stage light's glare? To be honest, I couldn't tell you. What I can tell you is that they've terrified me all my life. And they show no sign of stopping.

I believe my first memory of animated marionettes came to me while watching television with the family one afternoon. There was a clip from what I believed for the longest time was MAGIC, but later discovered to be the cheapie British chiller THE DEVIL DOLL. I distinctly remember seeing that little bastard Hugo in crackling black and white, his beady little eyes narrowed with murderous intent and a dagger in his crafted hand. "No, Hugo!" his master commanded. Slowly, the dummy withdrew his weapon and I withdrew into the cushions of the couch. If I hadn't been officially traumatized before then, I was now.

My elementary school library was not any help at all. During this time the GOOSEBUMPS series was all the rage, and it was these that helped foster my love for horror fiction. But though I could easily brave the horrors of MONSTER BLOOD and even face down the REVENGE OF THE LAWN GNOMES, there was one that I simply would not touch. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DUMMY. Or as I thought of it, NIGHT OF THE SLEEPLESS BOY. Slappy the Dummy sealed the deal for me, and the cover of his respective volume was enough to scare me when picking it off the shelf, let alone considering reading the damn thing.

Full-on evil was manifested in that diabolically grinning face, his blood-red lips lining pearly oak teeth that I knew would eagerly chomp at my fingers and toes if I wasn't careful reaching into dark closets or getting out of bed. As cheated as I might have felt to discover that the actual book only contained a cameo appearance by the demonic dummy at the very end (?!), that cover was enough to tell me all the horrible stories I needed.

It didn't stop there. I was continuously haunted by these monsters, and even a peaceful lunch of PB&J couldn't stop the shivery horrors of "The Dummy" episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE from descending upon me. This was my first full viewing of a living-dummy story and I can never forget it. Even in the gleaming sunshine I was cold with terror, jumping every time that ringing, acidic cackle of the mischievous Willy erupted in Cliff Robertson's, and my own, paranoid mind.

Seeing Willy's eerie silhouette on the wall was a looming threat, a threat that I could hear lil' Willy himself whispering in my ear, "I know you see me, Jose. I want to let you know that I see you too. But you won't see me. Not at night, when I come to find you."

And still they persisted me. Even a film as unfortunately flawed as DEAD SILENCE can still get to me, still send waves of goosebumps down my arms. Walking down corridors, I can't help but wonder if that groaning creak I just heard was a stressed floorboard… or perhaps the sound of a dummy's foot stalking my shadow.

Who is it this time? Is it MICHAEL REDGRAVE's homicidal familiar from DEAD OF NIGHT (1945)? Is it the knife-wielding fiend from THE DUMMY ? Whatever foul creature it may be, they still bring on the trauma in me with the glint of their ceaseless smiles and the nod of their oiled throats. When I see them, I hear a sound, one that chills the marrow in my bones and makes me want to curl up in a sweating, terrified ball.

It's the sound of laughter in the dark.

UNK SEZ: Thanks Jose for sharing this ultimate ventriloquist dummy traumafesion! Folks, as long as you don't happen to be an animated ventriloquist dummy you are welcome to join Jose over at his main haunt MEPHISTO'S CASTLE as often as you please HERE! Tell 'em "Slappy" sent you!

Name That Trauma :: Jonathan A. on a Menacing Mystery Mug

Posted on By unkle lancifer

Not my trauma… but it must be someone's. The image (above) is a screengrab from the music video for INFORMATION SERVICES by MOON WIRING CLUB, found on YouTube, which appears to consist largely of clips from strange stuff that once aired on British television.

Some of the images belong to a reportedly very scarring episode of PLAY FOR TODAY called Robin Redbreast, which is notorious for being Brit TV's HARVEST HOME/THE WICKER MAN and is a bit of a holy grail for fans of the weird and obscure, but I have had no luck at all tracking down whatever production this creepy image appeared in. I'm pretty sure it was a TV production, so chances are pretty good that someone out there saw it at an impressionable age and has been dreaming about it ever since, so I was wondering if you could post the pic and the YouTube (video) and, hopefully, some kind soul could finally satisfy my curiosity about this thing, whatever it is.

Love the site!

UPDATE: NAME THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Kudos to reader chopmeup for naming it with the SUPERNATURAL (1977) episode "Dorabella."

Traumafessions :: Reader Chuckles on That's Incredible "Haunted Toy 'R' Us" Investigation

Posted on By aunt john

I have not thought of this Kindertraumatizing event in many years, but I recently caught a few minutes of one of those cheesy "haunting reenactment" programs that somehow jarred it loose from the depths of memory. This Trauma involved an airing of the early '80s ABC show THAT'S INCREDIBLE! For those not in the know, this was a very popular but oddball variety show that featured people performing crazy stunts and demonstrating "paranormal" feats. It also occasionally, for whatever reason, featured a ghost story.

One ghost story concerned a haunted Toy "R" Us store. Legend had it that some old-timey farmer was killed when he accidentally chopped off his leg with an axe and when a Toys "R" Us was built on the site of his farm many years later, his ghost took up residence. It was alleged that after hours, the ghost would knock toys from shelves and generally play around with them. As ghost stories go this was not exactly the stuff of nightmares.

However, THAT'S INCREDIBLE! decided to perform a sort of prototype ghost investigation, using a psychic to call forth the ghost and a couple of cameras, including one that shot in infrared, to capture the action. The freakout came when the psychic, who was very sincere and creepy, sat in one of the store aisles with several other people and allegedly talked to the ghost, describing his deep and terrible sadness. The camera operator was snapping pics throughout. At the end of the presentation, the audience was shown side-by-side photos – one standard film and the other infrared – of the aisle where the psychic conversation had taken place. Alarmingly, in at least one of these sets, the very clear figure of a man appeared in the infrared photo where the standard film showed nothing!

Here it was. Indisputable proof of the existence of ghosts! I was thunderstruck. It had to be real if they were showing it on television, right? How could this not be front page news the world over? Someone call the President! Those readers with a good memory for the obscure might recall my prior Traumafession in which I explained my dismay with the children's book "All About Ghosts" which featured a spread of "Real Life Ghost Photos!" I was cursed with the terrible combination of a scientifically inquiring mind and hopeless naivety.

My shock from the fact that ghosts had been scientifically verified to exist was compounded by my confusion about the location of the featured Toy "R" Us. It was in Sunnyvale, California but for some reason I thought that it was the Toy "R" Us store in Merrillville, Indiana, which my parents sometimes shopped at! How far could ghosts travel? I did not know but this was important information that someone needed to figure out!

The whole thing can be seen here:

Skip to the end for the ghost photos and what may be the least skeptical analysis in the history of TV by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby: "Keep in mind kids, these photos are real and could not possibly have been faked!"

Name That Trauma :: Reader Taffeta V. on a Swinging Tot Smash

Posted on By aunt john

First time writer, long time reader – LOVE your site!

OK, this is a sketchy memory, and it's troubled me for ages – here's what I know:

There is a scene where a man has picked up a little girl (by the ankles) and is spinning her around – starts as fun, then he violently continues to spin and starts bashing her head into walls, killing her.

Likely made in the '70s or '80s. No idea of male star or girl, can't tell you plot or anything else about the movie. I just remember that this scene disturbed me substantially, and I'd love to know from whence it came!

Sincerely,

— Taffeta V.

Name That Trauma :: Reader Lauren B. on Suburban Savages

Posted on By aunt john

Hi there, I just stumbled upon your site after visiting The Dreamin' Demon, and I am so glad I found you, perhaps you can help me figure out what movie it was that traumatized me as a kid. It's a movie about a cannibalistic family living in the suburbs. It was made in the '80s, possibly early '90s, and it was a horror/comedy type movie. If memory serves me right the dad wore a pair of thick black horn-rimmed glasses.

The scene in the movie that freaked me out was when the family was all sitting down at the table sharing a meal, and one of the kids got into an argument with the dad, and the kid stabbed the dad in the leg (or hand) with a fork (or butter knife). I remember seeing this movie as a young child, and I am 27 years old now. This scene still sticks with me, and for the life of me I cannot remember the title of the movie. Can you help me??

Thanks so much!

— Lauren B.

UNK SEZ: AUNT JOHN got this one right off the bat! The horn-rimmed glasses and cannibal parents made him think of 1989's PARENTS. Check out the trailer HERE and below I found a classic clip of SISKEL & EBERT discussing and disagreeing about the film! Thanks Lauren and thanks to DREAMIN' DEMON for sending you our way!

Name That Trauma :: Reader Sara B. on Dastardly Dolls

Posted on By aunt john

This has been bugging me since I was around eleven – that would be in 1992. I saw a little bit of a film in a friend's house – probably a video – and one image stayed with me. Some people – a man and a woman, I believe – are trapped in a cave. They are tied, so they can't escape. Little mechanical children or dolls start walking towards them from the opening of the cave. They have sharp pointy teeth that open and close mechanically. Someone must have set the dolls walking, but I don't remember who. Also I don't remember how the scene ends. My only other clue is that MAYBE in the same film there were some flying creatures, human-like, but with big wings, maybe dressed in white and golden colours.

There.

Any idea, anyone?

Much appreciated!

— Sara B.

UNK SEZ: Biting dolls and people (Pygar!) with wings? That's gotta be BARBARELLA! Thanks for bringing this one up Sarah B, It's such a cool movie and it's been way too long since I've last seen it! Check out the clip below!

Traumafessions :: Reader David O. on The Legend of Lizzie Borden

Posted on By aunt john

Hey Unk!

Seeing as it's the season of horror and whatnot I wanted to present one of my traumafessions from childhood that stuck with me through the years. The year was 1975 and I was an impressionable 7-year-old infatuated with television and all things horror. Oh, and BEWITCHED. So imagine my surprise to see that ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY was starring in a made-for-TV movie called THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE BORDEN. Now, I had no idea who Lizzie was or the hideous crime she allegedly committed, but after watching the movie I was forever scarred by the image of my beloved Samantha Stevens taking an axe to the heads of her father and step-mother! Most of the film is a courtroom procedural drama, with tidbits of flashbacks of Lizzie and her family near the turn of the 20th century. In other words, pretty boring stuff for a second grade kid.

But then WHAM; ELIZABETH MONTGOMERY, as Lizzie, takes off her clothes (scathing!), gets the axe from under her bed, and proceeds to bury it into her step-mother's head, with blood spurting all over the place. So there I was, befreaked by the thought of someone killing their mother, much less with a sharp, shiny axe. Lizzie cleans herself up and continues to go about her business, as if there is nothing amiss with the dead body in the bedroom. Well, it quickly becomes obvious she didn't get it all out of her system because in a little while she goes for round two, one again stripping nude and dividing her father's skull in two while he laid on the couch for what he expected to be a nice afternoon nap. Again, blood and gore abound! After that it goes on for a bit with the trial and blah blah blah until she's acquitted of the murders.

And therein started my unhealthy infatuation with axe murders in the movies. Thanks to that movie I never looked at Samantha Stevens the same way ever again. Here's a clip of the good stuff, starting at the 3-minute mark:

Happy horrors!

— David O.

Name That Trauma :: Reader Becca V. on a Heartless Villian

Posted on By aunt john

I hope you can help.

I am looking for a movie I saw late-night on T.V. as a child. This would have been in the mid-to-late-'70s.

The details are very sketchy, but here are the key points I remember, and I may be mixing up the details because the memory is SO vague:

  • There may have been some kind of invisible monster.
  • There were soldiers/warriors/combat-group type of people on some kind of quest.
  • There was a villain that had his heart separated from his body, up in some kind of tower or something.
  • At one point, the heart falls out a window or something after someone throws it deliberately or it falls accidentally or something, and there's this horrible shot where the heart lands with a hard PLOP on the ground.
  • There's some kind of path through misty swamp/caverns/something where taking one step off the path will do something horrible to you, like turn you into a caveman or kill you instantly or send you back through time or something.
  • The bad guy, if I recall, resembled Genghis Khan or something, a Hun-type person, if I recall.

This piece of, uh, fiction, terrified me as a little girl. The atmosphere of it was literally so spooky I couldn't sleep. At all. For three days.

Help, KINDERTRAUMA, YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!

— Becca V.



UPDATE: NAME THAT THAT TRAUMA SOLVED! Special thanks to reader Logan for naming it with THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD. I think it's best if you read what Becca had to say via email.