Creepy Things

I was watching the Prince of Egypt the other night.  I love that movie, and I especially love the music.  I wish Dreamworks would pull a Disney and make it into a Broadway musical.  Anyway, there's this part near the very end of the song "Playing with the Big Boys" where the God Snake/Moses's staff eats the other two snakes/the priests staffs.  As a kid, that used to freak me out.  Something about the way the snake throws it's head back and swallows the two still-wriggling tails really gave me the heeby-jeebies.  That got me thinking about all the weird stuff that used to creep me out as a kid. 

1)  E.T.  When I was little, nothing, and I mean nothing scared me more than the thought of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.  When I was 3 years old, my parents bought the VHS for me, thinking that I would fall in love with E.T. like so many other children had.  The sat me down on their bed, turned the lights off, and popped in the video.  When the movie stared, I was apprehensive to say the least.  I didn't like the idea of weird things that I couldn't see creeping around in the dark.  I really didn't like the idea of space ships.  I thought they would kidnap me and take me away to outer space and I'd never see Earth again.  When the movie zeroed in on E.T. for the first time, however, I was done.  His feet, his gnarly fingers, his creepy breathing, everything about him sent shivers down my little spine, and I hadn't even seen most of him!  I spent the better part of my childhood avoiding the sweet little alien at all costs.  That was easier said than done.  I was kind of a nerd growing up and I loved outer space.  I had one picture book that I think I got through a school book order form.  What I didn't know was that on the very last page, along with a whole page on alien life, there was a large picture of E.T., smiling and waving.  I gasped, slammed the book shut, and threw it onto the ground.  My friend, who was with me at the time, told me that E.T. was probably hiding in my room somewhere.  That scared me so much that I couldn't set foot in my room until my dad had thoroughly inspected my closet and the area underneath my bed. 

I am happy to report that today, I have successfully overcome my fear of E.T.  However, I like the new, CG version of him a lot better than the puppet.  The puppet is sill a little creepy to me.

Not creepy until you realize there's a bullet casing next to the butterfly.

2)  The Cave of Wonders from Aladdin.  Now Aladdin was one of my absolute favorite movies as a kid.  I had a stuffed Rajah, I had the Barbie dolls, I had all the play sets, I had a Princess Jasmine costume, I even named my kitten Jasmine (in fact, she's still with us today!).  For some reason, however, that gigantic talking tiger head that demanded to know who disturbed his slumber scared the daylights out of me.  It was a few years before I could watch Aladdin from start to finish.

3)  Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  I have no idea why this movie scared me.  In fact, I don't even remember the movie.  I remember watching it once as a kid, being scared of it, and deciding never to watch it again.  Who or what it was about this movie, I can't say.  All I know is that I can not look at an image of Roger Rabbit or that chick in the red dress and not be slightly distressed.

4)  Yoda.  Oh my gosh.  That scene in the swamp.  Scary as hell.  I think I saw it on Muppet Babies or something.  To this day, I have not seen the original Star Wars trilogy because that freaking puppet scares me to death.  The CGI Yoda is a little better, but I still don't like his voice.

5)   PeeWee Herman.  He's still on my top five list of Things that Scare Me.  I must have watched his show when I was little, because one night, I dreamt that he stole my bicycle and drove away in his weird little car.  Even if I hadn't had that dream, I'd still think he was creepy. 

6)  Splinters.  When I was in preschool, our playground was mostly wood.  One day, I came home with handfuls of splinters and my mom spent the entire afternoon tweezing them out of my palms and fingers.  21 years later, I am still extra cautious when touching any sort of fence or rickety piece of wood. 

7)  The Black Hole at Hurricane Harbor/Wet N' Wild.  It looked like a space ship and I just knew that the minute I set foot in it, it would fly away and I'd be lost in space forever.  I have since ridden and enjoyed it, but I'm still a little apprehensive.

8)  The giant net at Discovery Zone.  Sadly, Discovery Zone is not longer with us, but I once got my foot caught in the giant white net that overlooked the ball pit.  For a few bleak seconds, I really thought I was going to die in that net.

9)  Urban legends.  My friend Kat and I were on the phone one day and she told me a bunch of urban legends, all of which were so scary that I couldn't go to sleep at night until I'd checked my closet and underneath my bed.  I was probably twelve or so when she told me the stories.  I didn't break the habit of checking my bed and closet until a few years ago. 

10)  Throwing up.  It's gross and I knew no one likes it, but I used to cry my little eyes out if I or anyone around me threw up.  When I was 9, I caught a particularly nasty stomach virus.  That day, I made a vow to myself that I would never throw up again.  I'm 24 now, and I have yet to break that vow.  *Knock on wood, knock on wood, knock on wood* 

*All photographs © copyright by Jacqueline E. Smith.