23 Things We Were Irrationally Scared of as Kids
JayDee VykoukalThis post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
In the vast realm of children’s minds, an endless expanse of imagination thrives, giving rise to fears that could send even the most experienced adults scrambling for cover. These irrational anxieties, often stoked by the well-intentioned whispers of adults, have the power to transform the mundane into lurking monstrosities. While these childhood fears may now evoke a nostalgic chuckle, they were once the source of sleepless nights and wide-eyed terror.
Adults on an online forum shared the “dumbest” things they feared as kids.
1. Evolving into an Animal
Evolution was too real for one online user, and they were always scared of turning into a chicken.
They say, “I kept finding little white feathers on me. Nobody told me what down jackets are.”
Someone adds, “Sorry. [The] only way we could get my little brother to shut up in the car was to threaten him by telling him we’d turn him into friend chicken after that happened.”
See? Adults.
2. Big Scary Leaves
An online forum commenter had no problem with small leaves but couldn’t stand big leaves.
“I’d stay away from plants that had big leaves, and I remember going inside and asking my mom to get a big leaf out of the yard so I could play. I have no idea what it was that made me so afraid of them.” They narrate.
Imagine if they lived on a banana plantation.
3. Bathroom Centipedes
Bathroom breaks are some of life’s glorious moments. But for one online user, they were a matter of life and death. Reason? Centipedes.
“Someone told me one time they had a centipede crawl up their a** while taking a s***.” They shared.
For years, they flushed the toilet twice before using it and arose every twenty seconds to check for any lurking chilopods.
Centipedes are scary, we understand.
4. Flushing Toilets
An unbelievable number of people were scared of flushing toilets. For many it was the loudness of it all, and for others, the automatic ones couldn’t be trusted.
One user says, “I was fine with toilets flushing, but I could NOT handle flushing them at night. I was convinced some unknown creature would come out of it in the dark.”
The toilets on airplanes, though, are loud enough to scare an adult.
5. Spooky Ash Man
Santa is synonymous with Christmas; many kids love him for the gifts. One kid wasn’t so thrilled by him.
“I was terrified of Santa Claus as a kid. He just looked big, fat, and scary to me. He used to freak me out to the point of tears!” They say.
“She’s “Clause” trophic. ” Someone adds.
6. Melting Stuff
Solids turning to liquids was foreign to one user until their Mom unlocked a new fear.
They say, “One of my earliest memories is my mom telling me to hurry up and eat my ice cream before it melted. It was the first time I learned about things melting, and that concept scared the s*** out of me for some reason.”
7. Kites
An online forum user witnessed a child’s eye being poked by a shark kite, and they never trusted the flying toys again.
8. Thou Shall Not Eat Raisins
Shriveled grapes aren’t aesthetically appealing, and one online contributor was convinced they are poisonous.
“They ARE! To most animals! Just not humans…too bad!” Someone adds.
Here’s the validity you needed to hate raisins.
9. Gum in the Tum Tum
What happens when you swallow gum?
A contributor user says, “I fully pictured the inside of my ribs being covered in gum from swallowing it after being told not to. IDK why our elders were so weird about this!”
They are not alone.; another one was told it’d get stuck in their heart and kill them.”
That’d make for a fun epitaph.
10. Pink Elephants
Dumbo was a popular show, but not everyone was a fan. For one online conversation contributor, the pink elephants on parade always sent them scurrying out of the room in tears.
Someone else agrees, “Totally valid. That scene is total nightmare fuel.”
11. Ants on an Encylopedia
Big images help kids learn, but big images of ants were all the ingredients they needed to cook up a nightmare.
“I was afraid the hugely enlarged photos of ants in my wildlife encyclopedia would come clacketing down the narrow hallway and eat me.”
12. Pianos
Movie ghosts seemed to love playing the piano at random ungodly night hours, making one user believe all pianos were haunted.
Some pianos are pretty old; who knows what secrets they hold?
13. Carnivorous Trees
With their deep roots, hard barks, and leaves that fall and grow back, can trees be trusted?
“I used to have recurring nightmares about them chasing me inside the house and trying to eat me.” One user says.
“I feel guilty now for distrusting our lemon tree when it was so good and gave us lemons for so many years.” They add.
14. Moths
An online user confesses to having been scared of moths as a child, and they aren’t alone.
Ok, moths, we apologize for the slander, but why must you be so huge and fly around so crazily?
15. Mannequins
Someone online was scared of mannequins as a child.
“Every time my family and I went to a department store, someone had to help me cover my eyes, or else I’d cry.” They shared.
May they never get pranked by a live “mannequin.”
16. Their Own Shadow
A user shared that they were afraid of, “My shadow. I must have been really young but I remember spotting it in the hallway and being too afraid to move. When my family realized what was wrong, my Dad gave me his belt and told me to hit my shadow. It must have done the trick because I don’t remember being afraid after that!”
Who wouldn’t be scared of a black thing on the ground that follows you everywhere?
17. Owls
It could be their laser eyes or 270° neck-turning ability, but owls evoke a lot of fear, especially from kids.
Their nighty activities don’t help the situation.
18. EarWigs
A user who got pinched by an earwig never quite got over that experience.
“It [the earwig] wouldn’t let go. He [his elder brother] plucked a leaf off a tree that was near and pulled it off with the leaf. Oh! Dude, that put me off those little beggars FOR YEARS.“
Someone adds, “That’s not dumb; earwigs are evil monsters. Oh, they’re tiny monsters, sure, but monsters nonetheless.”
19. Butterflies
The gorgeous, little colorful insects were a source of nightmares for one user. Why anyone would be scared of butterflies is something only kids can explain.
20. Imaginary Garbage Santa
If your kids aren’t keen on picking up after themselves, make up an imaginary Santa.
One user narrates, “My cousin convinced his children that [there] was a “garbage Santa”. Garbage Santa went around and took toys that were not put away at the end of the day, and they were redistributed at Christmas by regular Santa.”
21. Plays Station Sounds
Some soundtracks can be unnerving, and the PS2 start-up sound was it for one user.
“I used it to play games and watch DVDs, but I would turn it on, then run and hide, then wait for the ”scary part” to be over.” They shared.
22. Grandpa’s Teeth
One woman recalls having a completely melt down as a child after seeing her grandpa pull his teeth right out of his head. She wouldn’t go near him for weeks after, afraid of what other body parts he might start losing.
23. Pool Drain
There were always myths going around about kids being sucked into the drains of pools and hots tubs- making many kids terrified of the drains.
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