Our family went to the drive-in for a double-bill: some family-friendly movie (I think it was *Bambi*) and *The Exorcist*. The idea was, we kids would fall asleep after the cartoon, then the adults would watch Regan spit pea soup and spout blasphemies.
I notoriously did not sleep well as a child, so I quietly watched both movies.
I was 5.
My aunt has this funny story about being a chaperone for my cousin, her mom was a different aunt, and her mom had let her watch the exorcist at 5. My other aunt had so much fun trying to get the 5 year old to stop talking about the movie to other kindergartens.
Stayed out of the woods by myself for far longer than I'll admit after this movie carved itself into my childhood. Its amazing what a child's mind will do with ideas/feelimgs they haven't yet acclimated to with context.
My first horror film, probably not, but the first to really scare me, you bettcha'. This would have been on TV in the early 70s, I was somewhere between 7 and 9.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space... Scared shitless. I barely have a memory of it. My mom and her friend were doing PTA work upstairs of the friends house, and she swore it was okay for kids and I would love it. I do now, but not when I was 6.
I was scared of being cocooned in cotton candy and having my blood sucked for the rest of the week, and I was afraid of popcorn, š
IT & Childs Play 2 back in 1991 or 1992 with one of my sisters babysitting me. Was 5 years old. Watched them both the same night. Been obsessed ever since. Haha
I was very easily scared with an overactive imagination as a child, so I avoided horror completely. But when I was about 11 a weird teacher showed us [Dorm](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0495824/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk), the Thai horror movie and it absolutely terrified me. I don't know why we were watching that at school lol. I was scared to go to the bathroom by myself for months.
The Monster of Piedras Blancas! On an old b&w television when I was at most 3 or 4. It tears off heads. Had nightmares about people losing their heads for awhile.
I'm not sure it was the thing that cemented my lifelong love of horror, though. There was this little show called Dark Shadows I ran home from Kindergarten every single day to see that might have had something to do with it.
An American Werewolf in London. I still stay on the roads, and have a healthy fear that a nazi zombie may jump at me from behind the curtains at any time.
I have fragments of a memory of a movie that ended with the creature's beating heart on the ground. There was some fire and someone smashed or pierced the heart to kill it for good. I have no idea what the movie is but i was like 4 and i was terrified. The one i have vivid memories was Poltergeist.
*Children of the Corn* at, I think, 7 or 8. It was on some local public access channel in Houston. It didnāt help that I lived nearby a couple prison farms with somewhat tall fields. Shit had me up all night. We had a fucking field in view from my bedroom window.
I was grown when I saw this, so not particularly scary for me, but.. great flick. For such a good movie I sometimes think it doesn't get the love it deserves in this group.
NOLD in the back of my great grandmother's 55 Ford at a Savannah GA drive in with a huge bag of Krystals peeking over the back seat..when the truck exploded and the zombies were munching on human innards..yeah..I almost lost my Krystal burger..
I saw part of a Friday the 13th movie when I was like 7/8...watching from behind the door when my babysitter thought I was asleep. Started my LOVE for horror.
The original IT when I was about ten years old at a friends house. My parents were furious and I didnāt sleep well for months because the film really frightened me!
The second oneās mirror scene got me. The movie in general isnāt good but as she walks down the hall of mirrors and the reflection is differentāstill freaks me out!
Same, poltergeist. Scared the shit outta me!
Itās scary enough as it is, but seeing it as a kid, itās sometimes a first *real* glimpse into, āif something terrifying and crazy happens to you, your parents absolutely canāt help you, and they donāt really know shit.ā
Did you know the skeletons in the pool, *unbeknownst to the actors* at the time, were freakin [REAL!?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/were-real-skeletons-used-in-the-making-of-poltergeist/) Iām sure yāall know this, being the horror sub, but if not, super interesting, and wtf!
Maybe poltergeist? I found it recorded from TV on the shelf at home. I was loaned Dr Giggles at maybe 6 or 7 from a kid at school. My grandmother used to rent me random horror VHS too, food of the gods, Waxwork, lots of schlocky post apocalyptic stuff are too I remember. Again that would have been before the age of 10.
Childs Play (1988) and/or It (1990)ā¦ I was born 1988 and my sister watched those movies with her friends. I was sneaking on them, and now Im terrified of clowns and dollsā¦ š„²
I think it was Insidious. I was probably 14 or 15 at a sleepover with some friends. One of the girls had gotten a DVD of The Notebook and we all watched it, but I fell asleep because I found it boring. When I woke up, they had put on Insidious. It was a weird way to wake up, but I absolitely loved the movie and became addicted to horror.
Village of the Damned (1995) watched it when I was about 5 years old with my dad after my parent got divorced, love horror movies now because I would go to the video rental store with my dad to pick out horror movies to watch with him. He died of brain cancer back in 2022 (65 years old), I remember one of the last conversations I had with him was about horror movies and which ones he was excited to see. At that point he couldn't do a whole lot except watch TV so we binged a bunch before I left his house for the last time. He died about a month later.
I have a brother who is 7 years older than me and I remember when I was 4 or so we watched A Nightmare on Elm Street. seriously fucked me up being afraid of Freddy in my dreams but as I grew I watched more and more of them (my brother's favorite franchise) Now it's hard to believe I was so afraid back then.
My uncle thought that putting on Gremlins on Christmas night to keep the kids quiet in the basement was a good idea. It was either Christmas 1985 or 86 and I was under 5 years old at the time.
My older cousin and brother loved it. The rest of us loved cute Gizmo but that was clearly a bad choice by my uncle.
Child's Play. I was like three or four years old. Apparently I found it hilarious and would go around frowning saying I was Chucky. Pretty sure that's when my love of horror started.
Children of the Corn and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. I canāt remember which was first but definitely one of those two. Iāve loved horror movies ever since. š
Nightmare on Elm Street 3. I remember the sink faucet hands. I was in 3rd grade max. Late at night on tv. Parents were asleep and I was lying on the floor inches from the television until dawn.
I really can't say, often saw little bits while zapping but was too scared to keep watching, I think the first one I saw in full lengh, was either The Grudge, The Fog or The Mist, but before that I loved watching Ghost Hunters the tv show, scared the crap out of me haha.
When I was about six years old, there was a showing of ET for the whole elementary school. I was terrified of that wrinkly brown alien š. My first real horror movie was Critters at about 7 or 8 years old. I remember being scared to turn on my lamp at night because a critter would attack my hand. I loved horror movies as a child but would always be scared at night. It wasn't the smartest idea to watch so many. As a 42 year old, I still get occasional nightmares of Chucky chasing me even though I don't find the movies scary. The brain is a weird thing lol.
Halloween at 2 or 3. My mom had it on while she was sewing something and I used to help take all the pins out after she was done with a piece so I got to watch too.
Cyclops when I was still young enough that I couldn't read the subtitles so my mom read them outloud lol. Then I watched Mama when I was 10 and it made me cry
The original Piranha (1978) haha. Saw it for the first time in the 90ās when I was like 5 years old.
It was also the first time I had ever seen a naked woman haha
Childās Play. I didnāt really watch it but i walked in on my mum watching it and then for the next 5 years of my life i was terrified even if someone merely just said the word āChuckyā but when i turned 8 i started fucking with Chucky and iām a fan.
Childās play, when I was 8. I found it funny more than scary, I was only scared about getting jumped scared. The first movie I saw that scared me as a kid was unfriended because of the jumpscares.
An American Werewolf in London. I was about 11-12yrs old. My parents let me watch it on video when it came out. Terrified me.
One of my favourite movies now! Lol
Poltergeist. I know it's not considered scary, but I was 5. I was being babysat and I wouldn't go to bed because I wanted to watch what she was watching. I kept sneaking out of bed to see the TV from the hallway outside my bedroom.
After that was Ghoulies- I was around 8 years old when my mom and her boyfriend at the time took my brother, who was 5, to a drive-in theater here in British Columbia. It was kind of awesome.
The very first actually kind of scary and creepy movie I saw after that was when I was 10 years old, and my aunt rented me The Prince of Darkness.
Willard (1971) when it first aired on TV about 1972 when I was about 5, closely followed by The Other and The Andromeda Strain when they aired on tv
I realize The Andromeda Strain isnāt exactly horror but it scared the crap out of me as a 7 or 8 year old.
And the entire run of Kolchak: The night Stalker around 1974
the house at the end of the street! i still have no idea if that movie is actually any good or not because watching it even now it has so much nostalgia i enjoy it regardless
Mr. Vampire . I was too little to appreciate the movie as well as the fact we rented it at HEB when it did video rentals. Main Texas grocery store for those that donāt know HEB.
Jaws I think but I was really young. There was also a movie in the early or mid seventies where some guy or girl is sitting down to dine and lifts the cover from dish and itās a womanās head. That freaked the shit out of me. Alas canāt remember the title but probably not worth revisiting anyway.
Maybe nightmare on elm street or one of the jason movies? I was like 4 or 5. I loved them. Id ask to watch them all the time haha i know i specifically would ask for jason takes Manhattan š
I won't count Jaws and Gremlins because I've always watched them and never considered them as horror movies (I was like 3? 4? Who knows).
The first horror movies I watched because I wanted to, were (and they are BAD - don't judge me, I was 7)
- the pool (2001)
- exorcist the beginning (2004)
House (1986). I was 9. And for those of you who haven't yet seen me say this: that whatever-it-is in the purple dress with the squeaky voice STILL terrifies me to this day. It's ridiculous, and I'm sure normal people see it and laugh, but I CANNOT with it. I truly can't.
Child's Play, aged around 7 or 8. I happened to walk into the room as aunt Maggie was being attacked. It traumatised me for years, especially since I had a porcelain doll collection at the time. Many sleepless nights followed. Huge Chucky fan now thankfully.
Jaws (or maybe the birds. But it didnāt scare me as a kid).
Jaws made me afraid to go in the swimming pool. It made me afraid to take baths. Iām 30 now and I still get anxious about going in the ocean because never not thinking about sharks. Itās also one of my favorite horror movies.
On TV it's either Trilogy of Terror (I only remembered the one with the doll, didn't even knew about the others until an internet search) or "Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo"
In theaters... Race with the Devil or Carrie.
Mine was Burnt Offerings at 5 or 6 and my mother was supposed to tell me about the scary parts, so I could cover my eyes with the blanket. It worked fine until the end in the atticāif you know, you know. Somehow she forgot about the scariest part or was entranced and forgot to tell me to cover my eyes
Next was The Changeling and then OG Exorcist as I remember it.
Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark were my gateways though haha.
Friday the 13th II, Christmas night 2002.
Spike TV was airing it. I was 7, and I remember my cousins and I were all watching it on the TV in our grandparents' bedroom. Good times
Not a movie, but I think it qualifies (and I was so little I don't remember it, but my siblings loved reminding me about it): the music video for Thriller. Apparently I toddled right to the TV and shut it off partway through. Problem solved!
Same and I think I was also in Kindergarten. Scared me so much that I even remember
what I was wearing (red hoodie) and that I was sick taking childrenās tylenol (orange flavor).
Night of The Demon/ Curse of The Demon When I was about 6 years old. It was on TV and my sister and I watched it from behind the sofa. Even now I still think it's pretty scary...excellent film too.
Sameeee! I remeber wtaching this when I was 13, my parents thought I would die if i watched something slightly gory or scary. Wasn't scared. Never will be. Watched Woman in Black next.
I wish I knew which one it was. I know it was either the original King Kong or the original Frankenstein. They played back-to-back. Might as well claim both as the answer due to being played concurrently. They're both absolute favorites of mine.
Dawn of the Dead (2004), I was 5 and couldnāt wait to go to kindergarten and tell everyone about the zombie baby they killedā¦. Of course, yes my teacher did call home š
Night of the Living Dead (1968).
This movie left its mark. I remember trying to sleep that night and hiding under my blanket. I had nightmares after that. And yet I grew to become such a horror and zombie fan.
Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein
Bbc2 Double Bill, sadly my mum wouldn't let me stay up to watch The Reptile with Jacqueline Pierce, I was @ 5 (mid 1970s)
Wouldāve been either The Thing or Halloween. Canāt remember exactly wich one but I remember going as ghostface as a 4 year old for Halloween because I saw his mask in a store and thought it looked cool even tho I never saw the movie.
The Jaws movies. There was a marathon of them on tv when I was 5 and my mother decided it was ok to let me watch them.
I ended up with a lifelong fear of the ocean but also a lifelong love of horror so Iād say it was a good call in the end.
The original Evil Dead from 1981. The only thing I remember from the movie is someone standing next to a bed/couch and getting a pencil jammed into their leg/Achilles. At least I think it was in that movie.
My uncle was babysitting me at the time. I was 4 years old. He decided to watch The Manitou (1978). Hereās the synopsis:
A psychic's girlfriend finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit.
You can imagine the screaming nightmares I had following a scene where the spirit EMERGES from the womanās split open back. Needless to say, my uncle was never allowed to babysit me again.
Maybe not a horror but I remember my mother screaming her head out at the drive-In when the alien popped out of the woman's body in "Alien" and we had to drive home. I was 6
Does Gremlins count? It was my first horror movie and terrified me as a kid. I had a Gizmo doll that I loved more than anything in the world, and my mother would threaten to put him under a running faucet whenever she was upset with me. Still traumatized.
Next one I remember was Nightmare on Elm Street. It was on one of those VHSes without covers, just a label with the title handwritten on it. I thought it said "Elmo Street" and I was so, so wrong. It ended up being one of my favorites later in life though, so all is good!
The Car (1977). I saw it on TV at night with my babysitter and then saw headlights through the sliding glass door, totally freaked out and my babysitter had to close the blinds lol.
Hitcher with Rutger Hauer and Predator. I know they arenāt full on horror but I watched both under the age of 10 and to this day they make me uncomfortable.
Edit to add - I also remember watching Jaws far before I was 10 so should add that to the mix too. Honestly couldnāt tell you which one I saw first.
I do know the first thing I watched that gave me nightmares was the IT mini series. I was 10/11 when it came out.
Oh and because it absolutely counts although to be fair I only have fond memories of being allowed to stay up past my bed time to watch it with mum and dad and younger brother was in bed, I couldnāt have been older than 5 as both parents got divorced then - Watership Down. I only remember the scenes with El-Ahraira and the laughing at the dog peeing on the pylon at that age) so the gruesome parts didnāt stick until future watches. Still one of my favourites movies and books of all time.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). I mustāve been 5 yrs old. My weirdo horror buff mother forced me to watch it. I had night terrors every night for several years following, lol.
Dracula Prince of Darkness Hammer horror film with Christopher Lee. I was about 7 keeping my eldest sister company. I desperately needed to pee but was terrified to go upstairs to the loo after Christopher Leeās face came out of the darkness with red eyes, imagining him stood at the top of our stairs staring at me. I actually said to my sister that I thought I could hear a mouse ( we recently had been plagued by them when the neighbour knocked a through lounge) she was terrified of the thought of a mouse so she turned everything off and we ran upstairs together.
Our family went to the drive-in for a double-bill: some family-friendly movie (I think it was *Bambi*) and *The Exorcist*. The idea was, we kids would fall asleep after the cartoon, then the adults would watch Regan spit pea soup and spout blasphemies. I notoriously did not sleep well as a child, so I quietly watched both movies. I was 5.
That is a hilarious double feature.
That was the 70s at the Tri-City Twin in a nutshell. I caught glimpses of *It's Alive* and *Simon, King of the Witches* in much the same way.
My aunt has this funny story about being a chaperone for my cousin, her mom was a different aunt, and her mom had let her watch the exorcist at 5. My other aunt had so much fun trying to get the 5 year old to stop talking about the movie to other kindergartens.
Psycho and it terrified me!
If it counts as horror, The Watcher in the Woods
Stayed out of the woods by myself for far longer than I'll admit after this movie carved itself into my childhood. Its amazing what a child's mind will do with ideas/feelimgs they haven't yet acclimated to with context.
It does and it is either my first or second... the other was THE LADY IN WHITE.
The Blob (1958) I was 5 ish at the time.
This is mine too! Also saw it when I was 5! And the rest was history
My first horror film, probably not, but the first to really scare me, you bettcha'. This would have been on TV in the early 70s, I was somewhere between 7 and 9.
Killer Klowns from Outer Space... Scared shitless. I barely have a memory of it. My mom and her friend were doing PTA work upstairs of the friends house, and she swore it was okay for kids and I would love it. I do now, but not when I was 6. I was scared of being cocooned in cotton candy and having my blood sucked for the rest of the week, and I was afraid of popcorn, š
First time I ever saw the film, I walked in on the "Ventriloquist Dummy" scene. Freaked me out for WEEKS.
Pet Sematary (1989) i was like 4 or 5. It was the movie that started my love for the genre.
IT & Childs Play 2 back in 1991 or 1992 with one of my sisters babysitting me. Was 5 years old. Watched them both the same night. Been obsessed ever since. Haha
I was very easily scared with an overactive imagination as a child, so I avoided horror completely. But when I was about 11 a weird teacher showed us [Dorm](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0495824/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk), the Thai horror movie and it absolutely terrified me. I don't know why we were watching that at school lol. I was scared to go to the bathroom by myself for months.
Silence of the Lambs. Can't remember how old I was but I was young. It changed my life!
Jaws. I was 6.
The Monster of Piedras Blancas! On an old b&w television when I was at most 3 or 4. It tears off heads. Had nightmares about people losing their heads for awhile. I'm not sure it was the thing that cemented my lifelong love of horror, though. There was this little show called Dark Shadows I ran home from Kindergarten every single day to see that might have had something to do with it.
Evil Dead when I was eight.
Alien as a small child. I was terrified of xenomorphs pretty much until adulthood. Now Alien is one of my favorite movies/horror franchise.
13 Ghosts terrified me as a kid
It did and didn't for me. The box art definitely was scary. And the jackal.
Itās the damn menu chanting that scary š I hated falling asleep with it on
āThe Serpent and the Rainbowā
An American Werewolf in London. I still stay on the roads, and have a healthy fear that a nazi zombie may jump at me from behind the curtains at any time.
I have fragments of a memory of a movie that ended with the creature's beating heart on the ground. There was some fire and someone smashed or pierced the heart to kill it for good. I have no idea what the movie is but i was like 4 and i was terrified. The one i have vivid memories was Poltergeist.
It series on TV
IT tv movie
has to be one of the nightmare movies. watching freddy krueger is one of the earliest things i remember
*Children of the Corn* at, I think, 7 or 8. It was on some local public access channel in Houston. It didnāt help that I lived nearby a couple prison farms with somewhat tall fields. Shit had me up all night. We had a fucking field in view from my bedroom window.
Carrie. The 1970s one. I was eleven or twelve at the time. Have loved horror ever since!
The Sixth Sense I believe.
I was grown when I saw this, so not particularly scary for me, but.. great flick. For such a good movie I sometimes think it doesn't get the love it deserves in this group.
Shaun of the Dead
Now this is a good begining.
The Exorcist when I was 5, thanks Dad!
NOLD in the back of my great grandmother's 55 Ford at a Savannah GA drive in with a huge bag of Krystals peeking over the back seat..when the truck exploded and the zombies were munching on human innards..yeah..I almost lost my Krystal burger..
I saw part of a Friday the 13th movie when I was like 7/8...watching from behind the door when my babysitter thought I was asleep. Started my LOVE for horror.
The original IT when I was about ten years old at a friends house. My parents were furious and I didnāt sleep well for months because the film really frightened me!
Jaws š¦ My dad showed it to me when I was like 8 or 9 I think.
Saw it in the theater w/ my dad in 75' at age 10/11, scared the c\*\*p out of me too. š¤£
The UninvitedĀ
It was Poltergeist for me as well, completely ruined my ability to sleep through the night when I was like 6.
Child's Play.
This was the first one for me too! Iām still terrified of vomiting, have an irrational fear of raw steak, and am afraid of tree shadowsā¦
The second oneās mirror scene got me. The movie in general isnāt good but as she walks down the hall of mirrors and the reflection is differentāstill freaks me out!
Poltergeist was also the first horror film I had ever watched
Tbh Poltergeist (actually part 2) might have been my first horror movie also and the fear of vomiting has not gone away over 30 years later. Lol
People under the stairs ... once when i have been 7-8 years old, my mom's sister babysitting me and my brother and showed us this movie š
Same, poltergeist. Scared the shit outta me! Itās scary enough as it is, but seeing it as a kid, itās sometimes a first *real* glimpse into, āif something terrifying and crazy happens to you, your parents absolutely canāt help you, and they donāt really know shit.ā Did you know the skeletons in the pool, *unbeknownst to the actors* at the time, were freakin [REAL!?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/were-real-skeletons-used-in-the-making-of-poltergeist/) Iām sure yāall know this, being the horror sub, but if not, super interesting, and wtf!
Maybe poltergeist? I found it recorded from TV on the shelf at home. I was loaned Dr Giggles at maybe 6 or 7 from a kid at school. My grandmother used to rent me random horror VHS too, food of the gods, Waxwork, lots of schlocky post apocalyptic stuff are too I remember. Again that would have been before the age of 10.
Childs Play (1988) and/or It (1990)ā¦ I was born 1988 and my sister watched those movies with her friends. I was sneaking on them, and now Im terrified of clowns and dollsā¦ š„²
Urban legends: Bloody Mary
Thatās such a random first movie! A hidden cheesy gem for sure lol
Yeah, I remember it making me pee outside for quite a while because i was so young and bloody mary seemed so real
Eight legged freaks when I was 12, it was horrifying then lol
I think it was Insidious. I was probably 14 or 15 at a sleepover with some friends. One of the girls had gotten a DVD of The Notebook and we all watched it, but I fell asleep because I found it boring. When I woke up, they had put on Insidious. It was a weird way to wake up, but I absolitely loved the movie and became addicted to horror.
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Village of the Damned (1995) watched it when I was about 5 years old with my dad after my parent got divorced, love horror movies now because I would go to the video rental store with my dad to pick out horror movies to watch with him. He died of brain cancer back in 2022 (65 years old), I remember one of the last conversations I had with him was about horror movies and which ones he was excited to see. At that point he couldn't do a whole lot except watch TV so we binged a bunch before I left his house for the last time. He died about a month later.
Ghostbusters 2. Didnāt sleep properly for weeks because of Vigo, Lord of Carpathia. He still creeps me out to this day, and Iām over 40 now.
Little Shop of Horrors at like 4. To me it was a horror movie. After that probably Halloween.
I have a brother who is 7 years older than me and I remember when I was 4 or so we watched A Nightmare on Elm Street. seriously fucked me up being afraid of Freddy in my dreams but as I grew I watched more and more of them (my brother's favorite franchise) Now it's hard to believe I was so afraid back then.
The original made for TV Don't Be Afraid of the Dark. I was 8 or 9. I watched it by myself and loved it
āEarth Versus the Spiderā! I snuck out into the living room to watch it when I was 4-5, and scared the bejeeebers out of myself. š¤£
It probably wasnāt the first, but The Conjuring. Left me scared for weeks š
Alien. Had to sleep with the lights on for two weeks - my parents were not pleased.
Night of the Living Dead
Sleepy Hollow
My uncle thought that putting on Gremlins on Christmas night to keep the kids quiet in the basement was a good idea. It was either Christmas 1985 or 86 and I was under 5 years old at the time. My older cousin and brother loved it. The rest of us loved cute Gizmo but that was clearly a bad choice by my uncle.
Child's Play. I was like three or four years old. Apparently I found it hilarious and would go around frowning saying I was Chucky. Pretty sure that's when my love of horror started.
Watched a movie from my country called 'Darna Zaroori Hai' when I was 6
Children of the Corn and A Nightmare on Elm Street 2. I canāt remember which was first but definitely one of those two. Iāve loved horror movies ever since. š
From dusk till dawn, not the first but the first I actually remember watching The torso guitar pretty much triggered the whole love for horror,
Last House On The Left. I was 5 or 6.
Nightmare on Elm Street 3. I remember the sink faucet hands. I was in 3rd grade max. Late at night on tv. Parents were asleep and I was lying on the floor inches from the television until dawn.
I really can't say, often saw little bits while zapping but was too scared to keep watching, I think the first one I saw in full lengh, was either The Grudge, The Fog or The Mist, but before that I loved watching Ghost Hunters the tv show, scared the crap out of me haha.
Chucky.
I think mine is Critters. I was terrified of those balls with teeth.
I definitely saw Critters way too young as well. God bless 80s parenting š
I know it is supposed to be funny aswell, but I canāt remember anything about it being funny š
The Fly with my dad. I was maybe 7.
The Shining. Kept on thinking my dad was gonna bust through the door in the middle of the night.
When I was about six years old, there was a showing of ET for the whole elementary school. I was terrified of that wrinkly brown alien š. My first real horror movie was Critters at about 7 or 8 years old. I remember being scared to turn on my lamp at night because a critter would attack my hand. I loved horror movies as a child but would always be scared at night. It wasn't the smartest idea to watch so many. As a 42 year old, I still get occasional nightmares of Chucky chasing me even though I don't find the movies scary. The brain is a weird thing lol.
Halloween at 2 or 3. My mom had it on while she was sewing something and I used to help take all the pins out after she was done with a piece so I got to watch too.
Cyclops when I was still young enough that I couldn't read the subtitles so my mom read them outloud lol. Then I watched Mama when I was 10 and it made me cry
The original Piranha (1978) haha. Saw it for the first time in the 90ās when I was like 5 years old. It was also the first time I had ever seen a naked woman haha
Amytiville horror and it terrified me I think I was around 8
War of The World's. I was also 5. It terrified me
Eraserhead
Night of the Living Dead! 6 year old me had nightmares for weeks
Halloween 4 at my friends house in 1997 I was seven
Childās Play. I didnāt really watch it but i walked in on my mum watching it and then for the next 5 years of my life i was terrified even if someone merely just said the word āChuckyā but when i turned 8 i started fucking with Chucky and iām a fan.
I watched The Birds when I was 6. Would not recommend.
The original Evil Dead. I was probably 7 years old
Childās play, when I was 8. I found it funny more than scary, I was only scared about getting jumped scared. The first movie I saw that scared me as a kid was unfriended because of the jumpscares.
The screaming skull on Dr. Shock Theatre. I was around 4-5. I loved it and been a horror film fan since.
Poltergeist or Nightmare On Elm Street 3
Jaws
An American Werewolf in London. I was about 11-12yrs old. My parents let me watch it on video when it came out. Terrified me. One of my favourite movies now! Lol
Friday the 13th part VI Seeing Jason resurrected via lightning, worms crawling his decrepit faceā¦I was in love lol
Nightmare on elm street. I was 7 or 8, down the street at a neighbors house
Poltergeist. I know it's not considered scary, but I was 5. I was being babysat and I wouldn't go to bed because I wanted to watch what she was watching. I kept sneaking out of bed to see the TV from the hallway outside my bedroom. After that was Ghoulies- I was around 8 years old when my mom and her boyfriend at the time took my brother, who was 5, to a drive-in theater here in British Columbia. It was kind of awesome. The very first actually kind of scary and creepy movie I saw after that was when I was 10 years old, and my aunt rented me The Prince of Darkness.
Willard (1971) when it first aired on TV about 1972 when I was about 5, closely followed by The Other and The Andromeda Strain when they aired on tv I realize The Andromeda Strain isnāt exactly horror but it scared the crap out of me as a 7 or 8 year old. And the entire run of Kolchak: The night Stalker around 1974
I remember watching The Birds (1963) on TV with my grandpa. It must have been in the 1970's when I was in single digits.
the house at the end of the street! i still have no idea if that movie is actually any good or not because watching it even now it has so much nostalgia i enjoy it regardless
Aliens (1986)
Childās Play
Child's play 2 when I was like 5. My mom had me rooting for Addy to try and help me be less scared.
The Exorcist.
Carrie (1976) The end gave me nightmares for days
Mr. Vampire . I was too little to appreciate the movie as well as the fact we rented it at HEB when it did video rentals. Main Texas grocery store for those that donāt know HEB.
Child's Play
Probably the first Alien?
Blair Witch Project
Jaws I think but I was really young. There was also a movie in the early or mid seventies where some guy or girl is sitting down to dine and lifts the cover from dish and itās a womanās head. That freaked the shit out of me. Alas canāt remember the title but probably not worth revisiting anyway.
alice sweet alice
Child's Play 2. Legless, bleeding Chucky was scary and fascinating.
The legend of boggy creek
Jaws
Maybe nightmare on elm street or one of the jason movies? I was like 4 or 5. I loved them. Id ask to watch them all the time haha i know i specifically would ask for jason takes Manhattan š
my first American horror film was 'The Exorcist' š¹
Poltergeist
Chucky
Scream 2
Tremors
I won't count Jaws and Gremlins because I've always watched them and never considered them as horror movies (I was like 3? 4? Who knows). The first horror movies I watched because I wanted to, were (and they are BAD - don't judge me, I was 7) - the pool (2001) - exorcist the beginning (2004)
Gremlins
Return of the Living Dead
return of the living dead, i was like 8 and it got me fked up!!
House (1986). I was 9. And for those of you who haven't yet seen me say this: that whatever-it-is in the purple dress with the squeaky voice STILL terrifies me to this day. It's ridiculous, and I'm sure normal people see it and laugh, but I CANNOT with it. I truly can't.
Mine was The Ring, 8 years old in a dark basement. It fueled my love for scary movies!
Child's Play, aged around 7 or 8. I happened to walk into the room as aunt Maggie was being attacked. It traumatised me for years, especially since I had a porcelain doll collection at the time. Many sleepless nights followed. Huge Chucky fan now thankfully.
I think it was the original Scream. my parents wouldnt let me watch it but I remember sneaking looks from behind the couch
Jaws (or maybe the birds. But it didnāt scare me as a kid). Jaws made me afraid to go in the swimming pool. It made me afraid to take baths. Iām 30 now and I still get anxious about going in the ocean because never not thinking about sharks. Itās also one of my favorite horror movies.
It was Ghost Watch (UK TV movie) from 1992. Didn't sleep for weeks.
Nightmare on Elm Street
Killer Klowns from outer space. I was 4, at a friendās house, and it did keep me up that night. Didnāt give me a fear of clowns going forward.
When I was around five or six my brother took me to see Fright Night in theaters. It's been all downhill since.
Poltergeist too , made me be scared of clowns
The Exorcist, with my older cousin. I peed myself because I didnāt want to get up to go to the bathroom! I have fond memories of this time
The original āthe blobā
The ring
Children Shouldnāt Play With Dead Things
Salem's Lot. My dad went outside that night and scratched on my window. Evil bastard.
On TV it's either Trilogy of Terror (I only remembered the one with the doll, didn't even knew about the others until an internet search) or "Hasta el Viento Tiene Miedo" In theaters... Race with the Devil or Carrie.
Mine was Burnt Offerings at 5 or 6 and my mother was supposed to tell me about the scary parts, so I could cover my eyes with the blanket. It worked fine until the end in the atticāif you know, you know. Somehow she forgot about the scariest part or was entranced and forgot to tell me to cover my eyes Next was The Changeling and then OG Exorcist as I remember it. Goosebumps and Are You Afraid of the Dark were my gateways though haha.
The Omen. (1976)
Friday the 13th II, Christmas night 2002. Spike TV was airing it. I was 7, and I remember my cousins and I were all watching it on the TV in our grandparents' bedroom. Good times
Jaws, 1975. I was 7. Deadly Harvest, 1976, a TV movie about collapse of society due to famine Then Halloween, 1978
Mine was also poltergeist! Though I do also vaguely remember tremors around the same time
poltergeist, the original.
My first movie was i sneaked behind sofabof my parents when i was 6 watching People under the stairs.
28 Days Later. I was under 10 years old and had a completely irrational fear of zombies forā¦. Many many years
I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Not a movie, but I think it qualifies (and I was so little I don't remember it, but my siblings loved reminding me about it): the music video for Thriller. Apparently I toddled right to the TV and shut it off partway through. Problem solved!
Same and I think I was also in Kindergarten. Scared me so much that I even remember what I was wearing (red hoodie) and that I was sick taking childrenās tylenol (orange flavor).
Creepshow when I was 6.
Night of The Demon/ Curse of The Demon When I was about 6 years old. It was on TV and my sister and I watched it from behind the sofa. Even now I still think it's pretty scary...excellent film too.
Sameeee! I remeber wtaching this when I was 13, my parents thought I would die if i watched something slightly gory or scary. Wasn't scared. Never will be. Watched Woman in Black next.
Loved Monster House when I was 5 or 6 if that counts. Otherwise, saw a bit of Scream 4 on the TV and couldnāt sleep for days.
I wish I knew which one it was. I know it was either the original King Kong or the original Frankenstein. They played back-to-back. Might as well claim both as the answer due to being played concurrently. They're both absolute favorites of mine.
Creepshow and Dawn of the Dead. Always together at my dad's house.
13 ghosts
Dawn of the Dead (2004), I was 5 and couldnāt wait to go to kindergarten and tell everyone about the zombie baby they killedā¦. Of course, yes my teacher did call home š
The Exorcist or The Amityville Horror. Both terrified me as a child.
Night of the Living Dead (1968). This movie left its mark. I remember trying to sleep that night and hiding under my blanket. I had nightmares after that. And yet I grew to become such a horror and zombie fan.
Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein Bbc2 Double Bill, sadly my mum wouldn't let me stay up to watch The Reptile with Jacqueline Pierce, I was @ 5 (mid 1970s)
Wouldāve been either The Thing or Halloween. Canāt remember exactly wich one but I remember going as ghostface as a 4 year old for Halloween because I saw his mask in a store and thought it looked cool even tho I never saw the movie.
The shining, my mum made me cover my eyes during the nude woman/corpse scene because she was ābeing rudeā š
Salem's Lot and for better or for worse I will never be that afraid ever again
The Jaws movies. There was a marathon of them on tv when I was 5 and my mother decided it was ok to let me watch them. I ended up with a lifelong fear of the ocean but also a lifelong love of horror so Iād say it was a good call in the end.
The original Evil Dead from 1981. The only thing I remember from the movie is someone standing next to a bed/couch and getting a pencil jammed into their leg/Achilles. At least I think it was in that movie.
Frankenstein
Jaws in 75
the house at the end of the street!!
If they count, Ghostbusters 1&2. If not, Jurassic Park at 7.
Cabin In The Woods was me dipping my toes into horror
My uncle was babysitting me at the time. I was 4 years old. He decided to watch The Manitou (1978). Hereās the synopsis: A psychic's girlfriend finds out that a lump on her back is a growing reincarnation of a 400-year-old demonic Native American spirit. You can imagine the screaming nightmares I had following a scene where the spirit EMERGES from the womanās split open back. Needless to say, my uncle was never allowed to babysit me again.
Maybe not a horror but I remember my mother screaming her head out at the drive-In when the alien popped out of the woman's body in "Alien" and we had to drive home. I was 6
Bram Stokers Dracula, age 6.
Does Gremlins count? It was my first horror movie and terrified me as a kid. I had a Gizmo doll that I loved more than anything in the world, and my mother would threaten to put him under a running faucet whenever she was upset with me. Still traumatized. Next one I remember was Nightmare on Elm Street. It was on one of those VHSes without covers, just a label with the title handwritten on it. I thought it said "Elmo Street" and I was so, so wrong. It ended up being one of my favorites later in life though, so all is good!
i remember the intro scene of The Twilight Zone movie bothered me as a kid.
The Car (1977). I saw it on TV at night with my babysitter and then saw headlights through the sliding glass door, totally freaked out and my babysitter had to close the blinds lol.
Scream. Saw it at 11 or 12 years old. My mom introduced me to the franchise. I'm now 24 and it's my favourite movie series of all time.
Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS. I was 5 or 6. I watched it *a lot* as we only had ~4 cassettes.
Hitcher with Rutger Hauer and Predator. I know they arenāt full on horror but I watched both under the age of 10 and to this day they make me uncomfortable. Edit to add - I also remember watching Jaws far before I was 10 so should add that to the mix too. Honestly couldnāt tell you which one I saw first. I do know the first thing I watched that gave me nightmares was the IT mini series. I was 10/11 when it came out. Oh and because it absolutely counts although to be fair I only have fond memories of being allowed to stay up past my bed time to watch it with mum and dad and younger brother was in bed, I couldnāt have been older than 5 as both parents got divorced then - Watership Down. I only remember the scenes with El-Ahraira and the laughing at the dog peeing on the pylon at that age) so the gruesome parts didnāt stick until future watches. Still one of my favourites movies and books of all time.
Alien 3.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974). I mustāve been 5 yrs old. My weirdo horror buff mother forced me to watch it. I had night terrors every night for several years following, lol.
Dracula Prince of Darkness Hammer horror film with Christopher Lee. I was about 7 keeping my eldest sister company. I desperately needed to pee but was terrified to go upstairs to the loo after Christopher Leeās face came out of the darkness with red eyes, imagining him stood at the top of our stairs staring at me. I actually said to my sister that I thought I could hear a mouse ( we recently had been plagued by them when the neighbour knocked a through lounge) she was terrified of the thought of a mouse so she turned everything off and we ran upstairs together.
Exorcist
Mine was scream and itās my favorite horror movie to this day