First of all, I love your blog!
OK, now please see if you can help me get closure on something that freaked the crap outta me as a kid.
I was about 7 or 8, which would mean this horrifying incident took place around 1973 or so. I saw a movie or T.V. show that had a scene in which a man visits a cemetery. We see the man approach a grave and put flowers on it. I think he says a short prayer. You get the idea. Somehow it is relayed to the viewer that he is visiting the grave of his young daughter. I'm pretty sure her name was Mary. Or maybe not. OK, so far I can handle that without freaking out. Next scene…
The man is driving home from the cemetery on a lonely country road. It is now dark. Suddenly he hears a creepy little girl voice. The following exchange takes place:
Creepy Little Girl Voice: Daaaaddddddyyyyyy….oh Daaaaaddddddddyyyyyyyy.
Man: Mary? Is that you?
Creepy Little Girl Voice: Yes, daddy, it's me.
Man: Where are you Mary? I can't see you.
Creepy Little Girl Voice: I'm right in front of you, daddy – look!
The man looks ahead on the road and his headlights catch a glowing, transparent little girl ghost right in front of his car on the road! He swerves and runs off the road. I pee my pants and turn the T.V. off.
I'm not ashamed to admit it – I screamed and cried like a little girl. Even today, this freaks me out just thinking about the incident. I slept in my parents' bed that night (I was way too old to sleep with them, but they finally gave in after listening to my shrieks of terror). To this day, nothing has ever messed me up as bad as this.
I'm not sure if it was a movie or T.V. show. I'm a little fuzzy on the girl's name. Some of the details have faded over time, but the heart of this terror will be forever scorched into my brain. I've tried everything I know to ID this. You're my final hope. Thanks!
UNK SEZ: Well Gary, that certainly sounds like a memorable scene and one that would be hard to shake for anyone of any age. I personally don't recall that one so let's send it out to our readers. Does this creepy ghost girl appearing in the road ring any bells for any of you guys? Leave a comment or send us an email if it does!
UPDATE: Name That Trauma solved! It's called DAUGHTER OF THE MIND, please check out the comments for more details. Special thanks to commenters algee for solving it, and PhantomWerewolf for finding the clip.
Sorry, I have no idea, but I hope someone else can provide a title because I really need to see this film!
Okay, I'm not sure what this might be, but it sure made me think of Robert Wise's Audrey Rose.Â
There's cars and dead daughters, but I really don't remember much from the movie except for the scene where the little girl burns her hands on her bedroom window.
Oh, and the creepy cover of the novel gave me the heebie jeebies…
Good luck with this one, I'm stumped.
You know, mrcanacorn, that was a good guess! The look, feel, and theme are consistent with my memory. However, the 1977 release date blows it. I know for certain because we moved to a new house in 1977, and this trauma definitely took place in our old house.
I started thinking about this some more, and I'm beginning to suspect that this may have very well been an episode of Night Gallery. My parents always used to tell me not to watch that, and I always did anyway. And it freaked me out on several occasions. I'm gonna research Night Gallery episodes online to see if I can solve this.
In the meantime, any other ideas are welcomed!
It might be "Audrey Rose". She died in a car fire if I remember and I think she tried to come back to life by reincarnation or by possesing the body of a living girl. I'm not sure. A case of C.R.S.! BTW, the book cover gave me the creeps too!
Try Daughter of the mind. It was an ABC Movie of the Week that originally aired in 1969, but was re-run countless times. Do you remember the sculpture bust of the girl that completed itself when no one was in the room? Yikes. TV favorite, Pamelyn Ferdin played Mary Constable, the dead girl that haunted her father. Or did she? And yes! It scared the crap out of me too. Every time I watched it. I slept with the lights on many times after those ABC MOTW!
@Corey Convex: I'm more intrigued by the commercials in that clip than Audrey Rose, especially the one for the curling iron or whatever it is. Hot Curlz needs to make a comeback in 2009!
I did some more checking on IMDB and others. It is Daughter of the Mind. I found a reference to the girl in the road scene, and I vaguely remember that. More memorable was when the ghost ran down the hall toward her father and disappeared when he tried to hug her. Yikes again! ABC MOTW rocked!
Man, you gotta love the internet! There is nothing that can't be solved with a simple post to a blog or forum these days. It sounds like you have uncovered the source of my trauma, algee. Thanks!
Now I gotta track down a copy of this film, so I can finally confront my demons. I gotta face this and get closure on this topic. 🙂
I may spend the rest of my life doing so, though. I seriously doubt that a 1969 ABC Movie of The Week is
readily available on DVD. Gonna check eBay and other places.
Thanks again!
The aforementioned scene happens to be on Youtube. It's easy to see how this could scare a kid. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTiZm9MwWso
I totally have this movie and have NEVER watched it. Now I'm inspired. It sounds, how you say? Fantastic!
"Oh, Daddy. I hate being dead!"
Creepy!
Well, looks like we can close the book on this one! This is definitely the movie that freaked the hell outta me as a kid. Thanks everyone for helping me confront my fear. I'm a better person because of it.
Now I'm gonna go call my parents to see if I can sleep with them tonight…
Great job, Traumettes!Â
Oh, and Auntie, you know I picked that clip especially for you…I just knew you'd love the commercials as much as I did.
And mrcanacorn that is what makes you so awesome!