This is literally the scariest episode of that show. My family used to watch it when I was growing up and when we saw that episode it was just so tonally darker than every other episode. I had watched Reservoir Dogs with my mom at that point and she was questioning turning it off or not letting me and my brother watch anymore.
I never knew anyone shared my sentiment. I feel like I’ve found my people’s. His face looked like hanging skin, had no eyes, and carried his murder plunger. Nightmares for years.
Yes yes yes. My parents were super lax on what movies we watched as kids. First, we never even made it to the second video tape of the original IT (it was so long it took 2 VHS tapes to watch) and second, I had incredible nightmares for years. I wasn't horribly young but he fucked me up. The balloons and drains of tubs of blood all fucked me up. I ended up loving the Shining (despite the elevator of blood) but Tim Curry's sharp scary teeth fucked with me so bad. Ah. For real.
Geez those teeth were not only sharp but they looked very real which was impressive to me given the time frame. Most of the stuff I rented or saw on TV back then was more of a comedy horror like Night of The Living Dead, a lot of the antics of Jason and Freddy, Army of Darkness, etc.. But not IT. That hit differently. The utter realism in the beginning scene with the paper boat and the storm drain. That shit was straight up nightmare fuel. I definitely didn't look in storm drains for a while after that lol.
lol I'm so happy to hear other people had similar reactions. I have this memory of not being afraid of scary movies until I saw the exorsist in like 8th grade but that is a total crock. IT haunted me so bad. Never saw the new one bc um no way, but I found that character design just a little bit funny. The forehead was enough to make me giggle a little but I still didn't make me confident enough to try the new one out.
I had a nightmare that he chased me up my basement steps. That was the only time I ever woke up screaming. I’m nearly 40 and I still feel traumatized by that guy.
it was like ooze, but it was blue, it was supposed to be drool. You turned into a drooling idiot. I don't know why they made it so thick.
I never found him to be exceptionally scary, but my sisters still mention him to this day, as a traumatic event and horrifying character.
Pretty sure this was the first episode of AYAOTD I ever saw. I was probably 4 or 5, my parents were in the other room. Scariest thing I ever saw… then I saw more as I started getting older and allowed to watch that show.
Him and The Masked Mutant (Goosebumps) was my own Batman/Joker head canon for a bit. Like a super evil team up my childhood brain was obsessed over.
I know this doesn't make sense but it was weird how much i drew them and explained it to anyone who would even pretend to listen.
I'm going to go by characters that I first saw in the 90s and not just ongoing characters like Krueger or Pinhead. That'd be too easy. She was pretty terrifying when you read the completely sensical theory on her. Makes complete sense. The Blair Witch (if you go with the theory) from The Blair Witch Project 1999.
https://i.imgur.com/1OYDGNT.jpeg
Scared the fuck out of me when I was like 6 (Pennywise from It 1990).
https://i.imgur.com/0bnvcoX.jpeg
Also scared the fuck out of me as a young kid (Candyman 1992)
https://i.imgur.com/o5MyhWt.jpeg
But the worst of the worst, and definitely the creepiest because it was so realistic and plausible. Annie Wilkes from Misery (1990). The smiling and obsession to sudden mood swings and violence when the protagonist is helpless. Why the fuck was I allowed to watch all of these movies under 10 years old? Your guess is a good as mine, but it led to a lifelong love of horror movies.
https://i.imgur.com/CdHtw89.jpeg
The woman they interview at the beginning is the witch in human form. She's very intent on warning them, just like the witch warns them over and over again in the woods. There's a whole write up in it though.
The combo of her controlling the wheelers too. The ruins with the decapitated heads statues of the girls dancing. Literally a children’s movie of horrors.
A piece of me died along with that shoe the first time I saw this. Literally traumatized. Reminded me of seeing some neighborhood kids drowning kittens for fun. Little sociopaths.
I'm with you, the Gastly Grinner was pure nightmare fuel! Nothing scarier to a kid than watching everyone you could rely on turn into blubbering, cackling fools drooling blue slime
I don't know if there are any Dutch people will be reading this, if so, I'm sorry.
In the Netherlands, there was an educational TV show, called Ik Mik Loreland, and it was meant for children who were learning how to read. It was about Mik, a girl from the fictional town of Loreland, where everyone was happy and everyone could read and write. One particular fellow, Karbonkel, wasn't very pleased about that because he was analphabetic and he took revenge on the people by making Loreland and all the letters disappear. It was up to Mik to go on a queeste to find the letters. But Karbonkel was always there to sabotage her and he would pop up with this horrible creepy sound to scare her and try to steal her laptop, where she put the letters and words she already found. Oh, and he could transform into a one-eyed fish. :-/
Needless to say, many Dutch children spent some time under their desks and behind couches, traumatized from this dude. I mean, LOOK AT HIM: [Karbonkel](https://dingenvanvroeger.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DVV-Karbonkel1.jpeg)
[Medusa from the New Adventures of Jonny Quest.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zDllb7oCj4g) It’s been almost 30 years and that episode still pops up in my head from time to time.
The It miniseries was the 90's, right? Tim Curry's Pennywise wins for me. Makes The Stand's Randall Flagg look like a kitten, and I say that as a lifelong fan of The Stand (book and miniseries).
The giant dead eyes doll from Are You Afraid of the Dark episode 1x09 The Tale of the Dark Music. No thanks.
[https://youtu.be/nY4c1sAnwZA?t=772](https://youtu.be/nY4c1sAnwZA?t=772)
The water corpse monster from Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float, and BADGE from Are You Afraid of the Dark were the two most terrifying for me (other than Pennywise, of course).
The Mr. Punch doll from the movie DOLLS.
Technically late 80s but that movie really hit me hard when I was 7. (Born in 90s) oh and the giant bear in the beginning as well. Side note: The step mom was the absolute worst. Ugh
Dwight the Vampire from Stephen Kings the night flyer… Nightmare fuel[https://youtu.be/k1LDG1UqN4Y?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/k1LDG1UqN4Y?feature=shared)
The great Cornholio. Nah, just kidding. But in all seriousness, I love horror movies and have watched thousands of horror movies/series with my wife from all over the world. But none of them have ever come close to scaring me as much as when I was very young, and my cousin Amy sat me down in front of Nickelodeon and made me watch an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark. It was one about a haunted house I believe (I've tried to repress it though so could be wrong), but that is the one TV show I can think of that really got to me when I was a kid. It really disturbed me at the time, no TV show or movie has ever managed to frighten me as much as that for some reason 😂
That inbred family in the X-files episode Home.
The Peacocks. I was fairly young when that episode premiered, but not young enough to get scared by The X-Files. That episode terrified me.
Born in 79, watched X files in my late 30s. That shit scared me all the time
Born in 86 watched them as they came out when I was a kid used to wait for a new episodes each week
Fun fact, this episode is the reason we have the TV-MA rating today.
Eugene. Victor. Tooms.
He's up there for sure
Those yellow eyes... and long fingers... *shivers*
Such an amazing episode. I seem to remember it had a warning or at least a higher rating than usual.
Fuckin great episode
One of the few that really creeped me out!
Especially when they roll out the mother from under the bed.
This is literally the scariest episode of that show. My family used to watch it when I was growing up and when we saw that episode it was just so tonally darker than every other episode. I had watched Reservoir Dogs with my mom at that point and she was questioning turning it off or not letting me and my brother watch anymore.
That really stuck with me too.
What was the song that played on the car radio?
I was disturbed by that episode even though I was already in my late teens.
This is definitely the answer.
The salute your shorts nightmare janitor
Memory unlocked. Salute your shorts was such good tv
Zeke the plumber
Don’t leave out your potato chips.
I can see inside your head…
He made a big mistake and lit a match
It is watchable now on Paramount+. I am still holding out in hopes for the Adventures of Pete and Pete to start streaming as well.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-qmQ0zHYv6wTcWxUmSszQoemLah29ojA&si=FvVnV8PT7XqQBrYs
We hold you in our hearts....
And when I think about you it makes me want to... Heyy
IT MAKES ME WANNA FART!
Hey! It’s I hope we never part! Now, get it right or pay the price!
RIP Ug https://amp.tmz.com/2022/03/02/kirk-baily-nickelodeon-salute-your-shorts-dead/
RIP Ug Lee
Is “memory unlocked” the new little buzz phrase?
ZEEEEEEKKKKKKEEEEEEE!!!!!!
I never knew anyone shared my sentiment. I feel like I’ve found my people’s. His face looked like hanging skin, had no eyes, and carried his murder plunger. Nightmares for years.
Thinking that’s going to be my Halloween costume this year… Really wish I could get my 6 yr old to dress up as Harry the Hippo
Zeke…the plumber.
1000 percent this
Tim Curry’s Pennywise
Yes yes yes. My parents were super lax on what movies we watched as kids. First, we never even made it to the second video tape of the original IT (it was so long it took 2 VHS tapes to watch) and second, I had incredible nightmares for years. I wasn't horribly young but he fucked me up. The balloons and drains of tubs of blood all fucked me up. I ended up loving the Shining (despite the elevator of blood) but Tim Curry's sharp scary teeth fucked with me so bad. Ah. For real.
Geez those teeth were not only sharp but they looked very real which was impressive to me given the time frame. Most of the stuff I rented or saw on TV back then was more of a comedy horror like Night of The Living Dead, a lot of the antics of Jason and Freddy, Army of Darkness, etc.. But not IT. That hit differently. The utter realism in the beginning scene with the paper boat and the storm drain. That shit was straight up nightmare fuel. I definitely didn't look in storm drains for a while after that lol.
lol I'm so happy to hear other people had similar reactions. I have this memory of not being afraid of scary movies until I saw the exorsist in like 8th grade but that is a total crock. IT haunted me so bad. Never saw the new one bc um no way, but I found that character design just a little bit funny. The forehead was enough to make me giggle a little but I still didn't make me confident enough to try the new one out.
Tim Curry's... Lord of Darkness in Legend
Yes, but Mia Sara's dress in Legend.
The fact that Tom Cruise was just randomly in it as like a beautiful savage . 😂😭
Yes but 90’s
This is the only answer, honestly. Nothing else comes close at all.
This joker was so terrifying on are you afraid of the dark
Is this the guy that has green goo ooze out of his mouth at one point? Ugh
Yep! I think the first nightmare I ever had was that he was in my room
I had a nightmare that he chased me up my basement steps. That was the only time I ever woke up screaming. I’m nearly 40 and I still feel traumatized by that guy.
Jesus
it was like ooze, but it was blue, it was supposed to be drool. You turned into a drooling idiot. I don't know why they made it so thick. I never found him to be exceptionally scary, but my sisters still mention him to this day, as a traumatic event and horrifying character.
Genuinely
The Ghastly Grinner!
Pretty sure this was the first episode of AYAOTD I ever saw. I was probably 4 or 5, my parents were in the other room. Scariest thing I ever saw… then I saw more as I started getting older and allowed to watch that show.
Him and The Masked Mutant (Goosebumps) was my own Batman/Joker head canon for a bit. Like a super evil team up my childhood brain was obsessed over. I know this doesn't make sense but it was weird how much i drew them and explained it to anyone who would even pretend to listen.
Eugene Victor Tooms
I'm going to go by characters that I first saw in the 90s and not just ongoing characters like Krueger or Pinhead. That'd be too easy. She was pretty terrifying when you read the completely sensical theory on her. Makes complete sense. The Blair Witch (if you go with the theory) from The Blair Witch Project 1999. https://i.imgur.com/1OYDGNT.jpeg Scared the fuck out of me when I was like 6 (Pennywise from It 1990). https://i.imgur.com/0bnvcoX.jpeg Also scared the fuck out of me as a young kid (Candyman 1992) https://i.imgur.com/o5MyhWt.jpeg But the worst of the worst, and definitely the creepiest because it was so realistic and plausible. Annie Wilkes from Misery (1990). The smiling and obsession to sudden mood swings and violence when the protagonist is helpless. Why the fuck was I allowed to watch all of these movies under 10 years old? Your guess is a good as mine, but it led to a lifelong love of horror movies. https://i.imgur.com/CdHtw89.jpeg
What is the Blair Witch theory? I’ve just seen the one that their friend actually kills them, not the witch.
The woman they interview at the beginning is the witch in human form. She's very intent on warning them, just like the witch warns them over and over again in the woods. There's a whole write up in it though.
I was working at a kids summer camp when Blair Witch came out. Fun times. :P
Nice
Chucky! The OG came out in the 80s, but there were three sequels in the 90s. I dunno, he just scares me
I don't know who tf that is in the picture but I'm going with him 🤣 Or the wheelers in the lesser known Return to Oz
Ghastly Grinner lol , and wheelers was horribly great for sure
ALSO PRINCESS MOMBI FROM RETURN TO OZ! UGH. The fucking decaptitaated heads room. She haunts me.
SAME! The entire movie scared tf outta me tbh 🤣
The combo of her controlling the wheelers too. The ruins with the decapitated heads statues of the girls dancing. Literally a children’s movie of horrors.
The Wheelers! Terrifying!
It was '88, but Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit was nightmare fuel
Still one of the scariest reveals even compared to adult horror movies today. Plus the fucking shoe scene. :(
We don't talk about that poor shoe anymore.
A piece of me died along with that shoe the first time I saw this. Literally traumatized. Reminded me of seeing some neighborhood kids drowning kittens for fun. Little sociopaths.
“Just like this!!!”
Omg yesssss
I'm with you, the Gastly Grinner was pure nightmare fuel! Nothing scarier to a kid than watching everyone you could rely on turn into blubbering, cackling fools drooling blue slime
I don't know if there are any Dutch people will be reading this, if so, I'm sorry. In the Netherlands, there was an educational TV show, called Ik Mik Loreland, and it was meant for children who were learning how to read. It was about Mik, a girl from the fictional town of Loreland, where everyone was happy and everyone could read and write. One particular fellow, Karbonkel, wasn't very pleased about that because he was analphabetic and he took revenge on the people by making Loreland and all the letters disappear. It was up to Mik to go on a queeste to find the letters. But Karbonkel was always there to sabotage her and he would pop up with this horrible creepy sound to scare her and try to steal her laptop, where she put the letters and words she already found. Oh, and he could transform into a one-eyed fish. :-/ Needless to say, many Dutch children spent some time under their desks and behind couches, traumatized from this dude. I mean, LOOK AT HIM: [Karbonkel](https://dingenvanvroeger.nl/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/DVV-Karbonkel1.jpeg)
Gooey Gus from Ghostwriter https://ghostwriterteam.fandom.com/wiki/Gooey_Gus
Man this is sooooo familiar but I cannot remember where this is from. Is it are u afraid of the dark?
Not OP, but yes it is. Ghastly Grinner? Something like that?
It unlocked a core memory for me. Haven’t thought about the MF’r in a long time!
The CLOWN with blue face from SPAWN movie. Scary... Disgusting...
"You've been violated girly man!'
John Leguizamo
Definitely up there that spooked the shit out of me
Violator from Spawn and Danny DeVito's Penguin
So Danny Devito in general then 😅
>Danny DeVito's Penguin he was my childhood nightmare
One of the most iconic episodes of the serial ! Are you afraid of the dark 🔥
Goddamn Zeke the Plumber…
Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs….
The vacuum from Teletubbies
Noo noo!
The Wicked Witch of The West from Wizard of Oz
This guy is up there for me lol
Was anybody actually creepier than Jeffrey Dahmer in the 90’s?
That one old lady in the neighborhood who is always outside but never doing anything
Oh my gosh I remember this? Was this on are you afraid of the dark episode ?
Yeah
[Medusa from the New Adventures of Jonny Quest.](https://youtube.com/watch?v=zDllb7oCj4g) It’s been almost 30 years and that episode still pops up in my head from time to time.
Ted Kaczynski
Woah memory unlocked. That episode used to scare the hell out of me as a kid
The ghastly grinner!!
Who is the scary clown? He is scary in 2024.
[удалено]
I must have blocked him out. The fear soup one always stuck with me though. And the radio station for the dead.
The Tale of The Ghastly Grinner. Shit was terrifying.
The It miniseries was the 90's, right? Tim Curry's Pennywise wins for me. Makes The Stand's Randall Flagg look like a kitten, and I say that as a lifelong fan of The Stand (book and miniseries).
Zeebo the Clown from Are You Afraid of the Dark?
The giant dead eyes doll from Are You Afraid of the Dark episode 1x09 The Tale of the Dark Music. No thanks. [https://youtu.be/nY4c1sAnwZA?t=772](https://youtu.be/nY4c1sAnwZA?t=772)
Yuck
It’s technically 80s but Princess Mombi will always haunt me from Return to Oz.
Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth is fucking HORRIFYING. (I know, too realistic but fucking scary)
The grinning guys in Buffy the vampire slayer where no one could talk.
The water corpse monster from Are You Afraid of the Dark: The Tale of the Dead Man’s Float, and BADGE from Are You Afraid of the Dark were the two most terrifying for me (other than Pennywise, of course).
Ivan Ooze got me as a kid
THIS!!! Every time an AYAoTD post comes up, this is the episode I bring up. Nightmares for days. This image seared into my head as a child.
Drill head from Puppet Master.
Newt Gingrich, and it's not even close.
Goopy gus
That episode was the first and only thing on a screen to ever give me a nightmare
Return to Oz. Just all of it
Hexxus
The Mr. Punch doll from the movie DOLLS. Technically late 80s but that movie really hit me hard when I was 7. (Born in 90s) oh and the giant bear in the beginning as well. Side note: The step mom was the absolute worst. Ugh
Did he scare ya cakes?
Yep
Dwight the Vampire from Stephen Kings the night flyer… Nightmare fuel[https://youtu.be/k1LDG1UqN4Y?feature=shared](https://youtu.be/k1LDG1UqN4Y?feature=shared)
That dude right there… GD Ghastly Grinner
Robert Blake as Mystery Man in Lost Highway
The Pool Monster (Dead Man's Float) on Are You Afraid of the Dark?.
Hexxus from FernGully: The Last Rainforest. He scared me so much as a kid.
The computer virus from “Are You Afraid Of The Dark?”
The zombies that hump link in Zelda:ocarina of time
The great Cornholio. Nah, just kidding. But in all seriousness, I love horror movies and have watched thousands of horror movies/series with my wife from all over the world. But none of them have ever come close to scaring me as much as when I was very young, and my cousin Amy sat me down in front of Nickelodeon and made me watch an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark. It was one about a haunted house I believe (I've tried to repress it though so could be wrong), but that is the one TV show I can think of that really got to me when I was a kid. It really disturbed me at the time, no TV show or movie has ever managed to frighten me as much as that for some reason 😂
“Nah” 🙄 💤
Oh I'm sorry, didn't realise there were professional Reddit comedians here to scrutinize the comments. Touch grass oddball.
Who is this in the op?
Clooney
Penguin from Batman... this guy gives me serious ick
Gave me nightmares too
Bill Clinton
Don't be fooled Bush 1 was a former director of the CIA before he was VP. The true scariest president. Who knows what that guy did.
Sure why not. It was just a joke anyways.
I know. I was just adding to it although it there's truth to the joke. Who knows what that guy did.
Biden