The world is a scary place.
If you’re a child with an active imagination, any household item can quickly become the Babadook.
Later, as an adult, you can look back and laugh off what terrified you. But when you’re a child, you’re haunted. You see a chair with clothes on it, probably a burglar. You see a shadow near your closet, probably a monster. You see a rabbit outside, probably plotting how to get his hands on your Trix cereal. Movies nail this feeling every time.
In Home Alone, Kevin is frightened by the basement furnace. In Look Who’s Talking Too, the toilet comes to life and starts yelling at a kid.
And in The Sixth Sense, the kid is scared everywhere he goes. LOL. What an idiot!
When you’re wondering if anyone else was scared of the same thing you were, there’s only one place to turn: Reddit. Reddit users always have an answer, even if it’s wrong.
Here are some of the harmless things adults remember being scared of as kids:
The creaking floorboards.
“Whenever the floorboards creaked, I imagined myself or my bed falling through the floor into the basement.” –Difference_in_Shades
The haunting busy tone.
“The busy tone when a call went dead. That used to scare the shit out of me.” –GameGod2815
What lurks beneath…
“That fucking alligator under my bed that wanted to eat my feet. You gotta turn the lights out and jump in bed quick to avoid its wrath.” –NotTheNoogie
The drain.
“I thought the bathtub drain would suck me down with the water.” –harlotScarlett
The infamous water rope.
“That little rope of buoys that separated the deep end from the shallow end in the pool.” –boyvsfood2
The Canadian man that will steal your legs.
“Terry Fox.
So in Canada we have Terry Fox Day and the Terry Fox walk because this guy, Terry Fox, tried to run across the country on one leg to raise cancer awareness.
My child brain however didn’t quite understand why. I didn’t really understand what cancer was and nobody would tell me anything more than ‘it’s what took Terry’s leg’. I assumed it was a person or something. So all I knew was that we were walking because a dead man with one leg said we should spread word about Cancer who stole his leg and giving him money. I was so scared that if I forgot to donate or if I missed the walk that Terry Fox’s ghost would come with whoever Cancer was and take my leg too.” –Morosoro
Ceiling fans.
“Ceiling fans. I was afraid that it would come off the ceiling still spinning and chop me up like a helicopter blades. That and millions of bugs crawling through the windows and covering my bed like the plastic casket things people used to lay in on fear factor.” –redheadedrec
Riding an escalator.
“Escalators scared the shit out of me. Trying desperately to fit within a rectangle before it becomes a step, jumping off of them at the end to avoid being sucked down into oblivion. And there was one or two anecdotal stories from the news to convince me that they were, in fact, killers.” –jakerhamster
Fun fact: this is the one I personally was scared of my whole childhood. The metal looks like teeth that’s going to devour you at the top and bottom. Scared right now just thinking about it. No. I’m not high.
The FBI telling you they’re coming for you if you watch this movie.
“The FBI warning before movies. Scared the shit out of me.” –Leonautus
Old TVs.
“Old televisions right after you turned them off, they would glow for a bit. That’s when the monsters could come out of the TV and get you.” –deepsleepsheepmeep
I blame the Annabelle movies for this one.
“Porcelain dolls. Am 27 now and still terrified lol.” –itsMondaybackwards
The deafening sounds of new technology.
“The THX sound effect that preceded most movies in the early-2000s. It always scared me as a kid. I listened to it last night and it still makes me uncomfortable. Not sure why.” –carmelacorleone
Yes, we were all scared of toilets, but some people take it a step further.
“i was on the toilet, and for some unthinkable reason i was scared that the hulk would come out the toilet and shove a knife up my ass. why the hulk, and why wouldn’t he just shove his fists up my ass? either way, it fucking confuses me.” –Possible_Fan_9371
The sound of tornadoes coming directly for your home when you’re trying to watch sports.
“Emergency broadcast. Fuck that noise to this day.” –Aroused_Sloth
Sharks. Anywhere you go. Sharks.
“Sharks in the swimming pool. Could be 3 feet deep and I was still terrified Jaws was just gonna leave only my trunks floating in the water.” –ZigZagAlien
This one is actually true, though, right? Only joking.
“Swallowing seeds from fruits. Was teased that they would grow and take over my insides and a tree would eventually burst out of me.” –Dizzeem
Never let them catch you with your guard down.
“That someone would stab me in the back in the night. I had a big stuffed bear I slept with on my back, his arms tucked under my armpits. He was Bagel and his job was to give his life for mine.” -anonymous
Decorations that seem like an utter waste of money are, in fact, scary.
“Lawn flamingos. My big sister told me that they could take your soul if you looked into their eyes so I’d run past them with my eyes covered.” –kalooboo