I'm surprised I couldn't find THE HAUNTING OF JULIA (FULL CIRCLE) on your site.
That movie definitely traumatized me as a kid, especially the (SPOILER!) ending where creepy evil ghost girls kills MIA FARROW. I'd actually volunteer to write an article for Kindertrauma on it. Have a lot of things to say, just watched it as an adult last night and couldn't sleep! Still chilling.
Anyways, here's the ending of the movie:
Brrrrrrrr.
— Cheryl
What was not to love growing up in the early ‘70s, and getting to watch ULTRAMAN after school every day in second or third grade? For those unfamiliar, ULTRAMAN, along with JOHNNY SOKKO and SPACE GIANTS, was Japanese sci-fi fare, dishing out the best low-budget giant monster fights ever; fights that my friends and I would re-enact while jumping about the sofa cushions while under the spell of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries straight from the box.
ULTRAMAN had all the moves; crazy ninja poses, special effect laser beams and energy buzz saws…while the monsters, often more than one per show, were a varied rogue's gallery of just about any form or shape imaginable. I can't really elaborate on much of a plot other than ULTRAMAN was either summoned or was the transformation of a member of some wacky Japanese monster-fighting force that was constantly being sent to the scene of yet another 50 foot monster perturbed by something or other.
Simply put, in my small world, ULTRAMAN ruled!
However there was one monster introduced named Pigman that delivered the shock/nightmare of my life. (His name was really Pigmon, but all voices were over-dubbed and didn't match up, and Pigman seemed to make more sense to us kids) Pigman wasn't like the other monsters. He was meant to be a friendly monster, only about 5 feet tall. He was an ugly little thing, looked like he was a combination of a catfish and a mound of orange coral, that would be more content at the bottom of an aquarium. He had hands that flopped around without any arms to speak of, and he had a perpetually frowning face. In fact, the actor that was stuck having to wear the Pigman costume was relegated to donning this barrel, and either walking or jumping up and down. Pigman made some kind of high-pitched chattering when he got excited. He spoke Monster.
In a lot of ways Pigman was like a repulsive little monster-kid. (When choosing our mock-fight battle personas, the ultimate insult was to be dubbed "Pigman".)
The Pigman episode was short enough…they find Pigman, he helps them somehow, and a great big Godzilla monster throws rocks on him and he dies. The audience is left to feel sorry for the heroic little Pigman, as the Godzilla monster gets his in the end, by good old Ultraman. I for one was glad he was gone.
That night, I had my first Pigman nightmare….very vivid, of his ugly little self. In fact, I had a few over the next week or so. I don't know what it was that did it, but boy, I didn't want anything to do with Pigman. It's difficult to explain, but it was the death of Pigman that had me unglued in the nightmares, along with his absurd surreal look. I guess it registered somehow as the death of a child.
It became house news…my sister would taunt me with it, my mother would quell my fears, my dad would roll his eyes and drink a cup of black coffee, since I kept everyone up at night.
Thankfully, the weeks rolled on, and it became old news. I could picture Pigman's freakish countenance still, but continued on armed with the knowledge that he was in only one episode, and was thankfully gone, and I was back to watching my boy, Ultraman do what he does best.
And then, with my little posse over yet again, the unthinkable happened; the cushions were off the sofa, the monkey-fights had started, and a new ULTRAMAN episode had begun… The monster-fighting squad was summoned to a toy store of all places for a disturbance, and what did they find amidst the stuffed animals?
Pigman!
I would be willing to bet my heart skipped at least two beats. Time froze. Tunnel vision set in….
Somehow back from the dead! Even more frantic and ugly than ever! The unthinkable: my nightmare headliner plowing past all forms of logic, and reappearing for an encore.
I felt sick, but watched on….and sure enough, Pigman was somehow resurrected, helps the crew again, and distracts a giant monster by hopping around, until the giant monster scratches it's head in confusion, and crushes him!
Ugly little Pigman had come back; in order to die a second time in much the same fashion, just for me. It seemed so surreal as I watched it, that it couldn't possible be a coincidence.
Needless to say, the nightmares began anew.
Dad drank a lot of black coffee that year.
I found YouTube links of both Pigman death's although they are Japanese, with Spanish subtitle. I seem to have inherited my Father's eye roll…..
— BigWig
First Death
Second Death…thankfully in the first half minute
Some of the movies that scared me the most as a kid were made-for-TV movies based on true events. Sure many of them are corny and deviated from the actual facts, but as a kid most of the time I didn't realize it. I was fascinated by the movies that had to deal with horrible accidents or people being disfigured. I don't know if I was an insensitive little shit or if I just watched too much TV. One film I'll always remember was WHY ME?
It aired a lot in the '80's, mainly on Lifetime. I remember the first time I watched almost the whole movie was particularly horrifying. I was at my cousin's house during a summer afternoon while my Mom was working. My cousin, who was around my same age, just had surgery done to his eye and he had to wear a patch over it. I'm not sure who thought this was a good idea, but the patch his doctor made him wear was a skin-colored bandage. I guess from a distance it was less noticeable than a patch like a pirate would wear, but up close it was really off-putting to an eight-year-old kid. It looked like skin had melted over his eye. I shouldn't have been scared of him, but I was.
So as I avoided hanging out with him during his recovery, I found other things to do like watch Lifetime with my Aunt. She was watching WHY ME? It was about a nurse who's face was disfigured in a car accident. Here's another situation where I shouldn't have been scared, but I was. I remember it looked like skin had melted over her mouth after she had one of her operations to reconstruct her lips and it reminded me of my cousin's eye so I couldn't get away from it. I was also freaked out by one doctor's drawings and I wondered why he wanted to make her look as ugly as his sketch. All of the medical jargon completely went over my head at the time and I didn't realize that facial reconstruction was such a long process.
Watching parts of the movie on YouTube, I now realize that a lot of the plot is based on how controversial and groundbreaking the doctor's procedures were. He wanted to use vaginal skin to repair the nurse's lips. I was also pleasantly surprised to see BRUCE ABBOTT make an appearance as one of the patients.
— Grimpressions
I don't know that I have found anything about this horrid little gem on your website. It's a 1986 movie called RATBOY directed by SONDRA LOCKE. Now, it may not be a horror movie, but there were elements that really rang true to one in my seven year old mind. My father took immense pleasure in watching the horrified looks on my brother's and my face when he found a particularly good kindertrauma-esque movie. RATBOY was one of the over the top ones for me.
It's harmless enough, but it begins with a scene that has COURTNEY GAINS in it. After seeing CHILDREN OF THE CORN, that guy scared the bejesus out of me. That is a whole different traumafession that has already been touched on by many here.
Needless to say, that was the beginning of the horror for me. I think I might have peed a little, but I don't remember this movie all that clearly. At 31, I am still too scared to watch it again. Anyhow, when we first find Ratboy, there is an old '50s style box type record player that has Lloyd Price's "Personality" playing on it. I distinctly remember this song being prominent throughout the movie. I still think of the movie every time I hear the song, but the memories are still very fuzzy for me. I think the director really wanted it to be a life lesson sort of the thing, but it was surreal and strange. More of a dark comedy than a horror flick. It had all of the wholesomeness of an Afterschool Special and most of the camp of a Late Night Screamer. I think there was some kind of underlying morality message and you were to be saddened by the plight of Ratboy, but honestly, with Malachai in the opening scene and the makeup job, that was phenomenal for its day, I just couldn't see it. I think I need to man up and give this one another watch, but I am home alone right now and don't think I could do it.
I am interested to see if any of you guys remember this one. I would hate to think that I am the only one who was terrorized by this movie.
— "doihaveto"
New reader!!
I love your site by the way!!
You want trauma? I've got trauma; 1945's DEAD OF NIGHT. Known for its segment starring MICHAEL REDGRAVE as an unhinged ventriloquist this portmanteau of terror was, it's fair to say, my childhood nemesis.
It's got the lot: a ventriloquist dummy (never a scarier artifact in the light entertainment business), premonitions of death, a psychiatrist, Victorian ghosts, haunting, a sinister undertaker, a supernatural mirror, murder, horror at a children's party, fatal accidents and a twist at the ending.
The children's party is a harsh reminder of the dangers of wandering off as a child; even in the comparative safety of a sedate Christmas party. The Dorian Gray-esque segment is creepy in the extreme in its portrayal of vanity, and the Grim Reaper taps on an unsuspecting chap's shoulder to chilling effect. There is some light relief in a story about death and golf, but this is just false hope that things may lighten up.
The ventriloquist story is, in itself, a clear example of the evil that lurks inside these pint-sized plaster and paint artificial humans.
The film was responsible for many a sleepless night and is a major factor in my aversion to all things ventriloquy. I also would be averse to any type of wandering in other people's houses, and think twice before getting on the local bus.
DEAD OF NIGHT was absolutely bowel opening in its eerie and terrifying atmosphere and content. A childhood memory revived by a recent viewing. And guess what? It's still scary!
There is only one instance in the history of my movie-going experiences where I had to leave the theater.
When I was seven, my dad took me to see SWAMP THING (1982). I can recall sitting there enjoying all of the action and adventure when, slowly, I began feeling deeply disturbed. A moment comes late in the film where, during a semi-swank party at his mansion, the villain (played by LOUIS JOURDAN) tests a secret potion on his henchman, Bruno, (played by the lovable and adorable NICHOLAS WORTH.) Bruno starts twitching and convulsing as his face begins to bubble up and deform while all of the party guests start flipping out. I remember becoming super-agitated and nervous and told my dad that we needed to leave, "RIGHT NOW!"
Even when the movie began airing on HBO, I found myself totally and completely terrified when this scene started. I would literally hide behind the couch and peek out every now and then. Little did I realize that an even more disturbing scene was awaiting me! After Bruno is turned into a kind of sweet-looking, pint-sized rat creature, LOUIS JOURDAN takes the potion himself and begins transforming into this creature in a truly disturbing and gory sequence with lots of gooey special effects. I went absolutely out of my mind and remember racing upstairs to the safety of my bedroom.
I don't think I watched the movie in its entirety until my teenage years when stuff like SWAMP THING was old hat and I had already moved on to the works of JOHN CARPENTER, GEORGE ROMERO, TOBE HOOPER, etc.
Actually, I lied – there was one other instance where I walked out of a film but that was THE MATRIX RELOADED for completely different reasons.
— Eric Weber at yetihideout.blogspot.com
Vincent Price. One of the all-time great horror icons. Some call him a master. Others call him an innovator. Most call him a god of the horror genre. All of which I agree on by all accounts, but for my Traumafession, I will refer to him as a someone who cost me hours of sleep between 1983-1984. When the Michael Jackson Thriller video was first released, it scared the crap out of me when I was a kid, so everything related to that video activated anxiety in my fragile, little mind. Since Vincent Price did the rap at the beginning and his signature laughter was used during my scariest moment of the video, during the "Cat's Eyes" sequence at the end, Price simply horrified me. Just when I found peace with Thriller, as it became my all-time favorite music video instead of my most feared, Vincent Price struck once again!
Around late 1984, I remember staying up very late to watch some R-rated raunchy comedy on HBO. Once that was over, I accidentally switched over to a local channel when I tried to shut the TV off. Once the channel changed, it was a close-up of Vincent Price's face as his eyes glowed green and he executed his famous evil laugh!! It lasted about 8 seconds but felt like 8 years to me. Frozen in terror, I did not sleep properly over the course of the next two days. It had to be at least 2am when this happened, and I was only about 7 or 8 at the time, so this was all my fault for sneaking to stay up so late on a school night in the first place. Come to find out later on the following week, it was a commercial for a Time-Life horror book series they released, for which Price was the face of the promotional ad. As the weeks went on, every time the commercial started playing on the channel I was watching, and it happened A LOT, I'd feverishly run to switch the channel in a panic.
In retrospect, this is all very embarrassing to admit, but I can laugh at myself. Not to mention that this happened before I learned how to do long division, so I'm not going to be too hard on myself. I read someone's Traumafession the other day and somehow the memory of this commercial (thanks Kindertrauma!) just popped back into my mind. Better yet, I actually found the commercial on YouTube, which unfortunately really cuts out a lot of the ending that scared the bejesus out of me. You can grab a glimpse of it though. Looking at it now for the first time in 7 years, the commercial is extremely corny and cheesy. It is silly to look back at this TV spot and think about how it affected me so much back then, but this is Traumafession and all, right?
UNK SEZ:: Thanks for the excellent traumafession Geofree! All you fine folks out there make sure you moonwalk over to Geofree's top-notch joint, THE MAN CAVE!
The bean sà puts me paralytic with fear to this day, and as an atheist scientist that says something fierce. Back in Ireland in the ‘80s, when I was very little, my mother was attempting to brush my long and very unruly hair, and I would wail, oddly enough, much like a banshee. There was a particularly spectacular uproar about it one day (it hurt ffs!), so she had my Uncle Ernie scratch at the window behind me outside and told me it was the banshee coming to match my wails. That put the fear of God into me. Years later my cousin Derek would tell me he'd heard the banshee around my house, which meant someone at mine was going to die. None of this would have been particularly fearsome, I, to this day imagine, had it not been for that bloody banshee in DARBY O'GILL.
Hey there!
My name is Ryan Clark, and I write a blog over at thrill-me.blogspot.com.
As I was trying to come up with a Traumafession, I realized that an inordinate number of my childhood traumas dealt with surreal imagery or people transforming, especially facial transformations. Many are actually music videos rather than horror movies, because I used to watch MTV a lot in the early-to-mid ‘90s; you know, back when they were still MUSIC television.
There were a few videos that scared me, but I think the one that terrified me more than all others was the video for "Sledgehammer" by PETER GABRIEL. Something about his twitching head transforming into various objects via claymation absolutely scared the CRAP out of me, and I would run screaming from the room every time that video came on.
As with many of the music videos that once had me paralyzed with fear, the song and video are among my favorites, and now I'm an avid PETER GABRIEL fan. I think if I ever met the man I would have to tell him how much his innovation frightened me — in a sense, he was MY boogeyman. I'm just thankful I didn't see his "Shock the Monkey" video until I was older!
This is one of those Traumafessions that does NOT involve scary images on T.V. or book covers. This involves a sci-fi story called THE DAY OF THE DOLPHIN and it starred GEORGE C. SCOTT & his wife TRISH VAN DEVERE as scientists who are working on dolphin intelligence. If fact, some of the dolphins are taught to speak through their blowholes. Sounds silly but that's how they "talk." Well, what happens is that the backer of the research group works for a Right Wing organization that wants the Left Wing U.S. President dead. They kidnap two of the dolphins (named "Fa" and "Bea") to accomplish this. The dolphins are trained to carry bombs on their backs, swim under the President's boat and then have the bombs attach themselves magnetically to the bottom of his boat. Somehow PATTON and co. manage to get the dolphins to go back to the President's boat, take back the bombs and place them on the bottom of the assassin's boat. Of course they are blown to bits.
Right, so how is this traumatic? Well, as a kid I watched FLIPPER reruns on T.V. and when I saw that this was to be broadcast, I begged my mother to let me stay up late to see this (I think this was shown in the summer when school was out). Well, she a first said no but after some prodding she let me but she said that I'd regret it.
Why?
Well, at the end of the film, GEORGE and TRISH decide that they have to cut ties with Fa & Bea as other conspirators are going to show up at the research base to either use them again or even kill them. Now the tear jerking begins. GEORGE tells the dolphins to just eat, swim & play but not to talk while the dolphins are squeaking, "Fa love ma! Fa love pa!" He starts yelling at them while TRISH is just about crying knowing that she losing her "kids." GEORGE then tells her to stop talking as she keeps saying, "Ma loves Fa. Ma loves Bea." Finally they get up to leave. He tells her not to turn around. As they walk away there is the image of one of the dolphins sticking its head out of the water squeaking, "PA! MA!"
At this point I was losing it! The poor dolphins are being abandoned by their "parents." This is triggering some major separation anxiety issues in little 8-year-old me! To make things worse after the movie was over upset me ran over to mother for comfort. She just stood in the room & said, "I told you so!" and she walked out! Talk about tough love!
Here is the ending:
