What do you remember scaring you as a little kid?
I remember being terrified that Santa Claus would find me awake when he came, so I hid under the covers. And I was scared of ghosts. Our mother would iron a white shirt at night and hang it on the door. From my bed I’d see the shirt moving and I was so scared that it was a ghost.
Lynn Gilham, 68, Retired
It was the episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark where they got into a pool and there was an invisible monster in the pool. They eventually revealed that it was a red, seaweed-covered skeleton that looked like it had been under the ocean for a while. It gave me nightmares.
Alex Rowan, 35, Software Engineer
It was an animated rendition of The Telltale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. And something about the milky eye and the beating heart—it had music to it and it was really scary. I was maybe 5 or 6 and it absolutely terrified me.
Venus Rasmussen, 26, Good Vibes and Camouflage on Pacific Avenue
I was afraid of ghosts. Where I came from in Africa, they have some ghosts. Like real ghosts. You can feel different feelings in your body, you just feel it, like this person is not real. He’s dead. And I was afraid of the dark, a dark place, I was like, oh God, get me out of here!
Elie Mabanza, 42, Singer/Musician
My sister was into scary movies, and the first scary movie I watched with her was The Ring. That girl came out of the TV, and that image—I was having nightmares about that for months. In the movie you’re cursed if you see the VHS tape, and technically I’ve seen the tape, so…
Claire Rowan, 28, Nanny
I was scared of Chucky the doll. And La Cucaracha because my dad would make it seem scary, like it was going to get me.
Amy Arzua, 20, sociology major at UCSC
I was afraid of clowns after I saw a scary clown movie from the ’80s. I was scared for a long time after.
Artin Saffarnia, 19, electrical engineering major at UCSC
