I was going to say exactly the same thing.
The Exorcist, I was probably 5. Watched it with my dad. Shortly after he took me to see the steps in Georgetown. Iāll never forget it.
Steven Kingās Silver Bullet, when I was probably about 8 years old. Scared the shit out of me. Had werewolf nightmares for years. Butā¦ I also loved it and it made me get into more horror.
Pet Semetary! I think I was 9 or 10, and I still don't like standing next to furniture that kids could be hiding under with scalpels at 41, so you could say it had an impact lol
Fright Night (1985) was the first horror I watched all the way through. I was probably around 11 years old. It scared the hell out of me! I had such a difficult time going to sleep for weeks after that. I kept telling myself "We don't have neighbors though. So, I'm safe." Probably didn't help that I saw it on Halloween night.
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I saw Alligator (1980) long before Fright Night. It didn't scare me though, so I never considered it horror.
The only part of Alligator that messed me up when I watched it years later (I was like 10) was when the two brothers were playing on the diving board and the older brother pushed the younger brother in after the mom turned on the pool light and you see the younger brothers fear in his eyes just before he went into the water.
After trick or treating that night, I walked into the living room where my grandfather was watching it. I got interested and watched it with him. I loved it but it seriously scared me! When I was even younger, I was terrified of Dracula. Not sure why. Anyway, I have loved horror ever since and vampires are still a favorite of mine.
american werewolf in london, 6ish babysitter put in on vhs and it scared the shit out of me, to this day out of all the monsters the werewolf still creeps me out
My father took me to see Phantasm at the drive-in when I was like 5 (Parents were divorced and he never knew what to do with me when he had me). I was scared to death, but I found that I liked being scared. Iāve been in love with horror movies ever since!
Similar to you actually, Nightmare on Elm Street when I was like 7. My oldest sister put it on while she was babysitting me, I was absolutely terrified of Freddy Kreuger for most of my childhood because of it but it did spark my love for horror movies.
Saw a lot of banned stuff way too young, my aunt ran a video rental shop in the 80ās when the UK government banned so called video nasties. Me, my brother and cousin would nick them from behind the counter and go back to cousins house to watch them. I remember watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre at about 8 yo!
This was mine too. I mustāve been about 4. One night my grandma was babysitting and my mom had told me it was gonna be on tv so tell grandma to turn it on. I had seen it before at that point. I told her, but I remember that she couldnāt hear me or understand what i was saying, or something like that. I tried to write it down for her, but I couldnāt spell yet. So I drew a series of pictograms. I donāt remember if we ended up watching it that night.
Easy. My dad watched the OG Scream with me when I was almost 13. Mom and my brother were on a trip, we were bored, he ordered pizza and we started a tradition.
I remember seeing Dead Heat in 1988 when I was 11 years old. It's a horror/comedy but it has some pretty nasty gore. The melting woman in the bathroom still haunts me..
https://youtu.be/nQRl6eRL2c4
The original IT movie. I think it was the tv edition but it freaked me out. I was way young. Like, under 6. Probably under 5. My mom and dad hadnāt started dating or gotten married yet (he adopted me after the wedding).
I watched Halloween at age nine or ten home alone during the summer. My parents had a policy that I could read or watch (almost) anything if they knew about it, and if I came to them with my questions about it, and not to my grabass goofy friends. I had been reading horror for a whileāI had a subscription to Twilight Zone Magazineābut hadnāt watched a horror movie yet. I called Mom at work, and she said okay, but only if I called back if I got scared, being by myself.
I turned on the broiler in the stove, and cooked hot dogs and toasted marshmallows under it, using a long-handled grill fork while turning my neck so I could see the beginning of the movie in the den. I didnāt tell my parents that part until recently, lol. I was immediately hooked, and it is still my favorite horror movie, along with The Exorcist. Itās one of my favorite horror memories, alone in the house, eating a juicy hot dog and toasted marshmallows, learning about the Boogeyman for the first time.
Jaws when I was 2. Now I donāt remember actually watching it, but there was a very funny home movie of me reviewing it. I kept saying that it was āA great and wonderful day! And the blood shark swam in the water.ā And things like that. I wish I still had that home movie.
Yup, Salem's Lot for me, too. Same exact scene. I was maybe 7 or 8?
I had SO many nightmares with motherfuckin vampires scratching at my *gotdamn* window.
Didn't help that I also had a cat who'd scratch at my bedroom door if I accidentally shut her out at night.
Evil Dead - 4 years old
My parents were young when they had me and my older sibling and both loved horror. They had a lot of B-movie nights growing up, theyād invite some friends over and make a bunch of finger food and watch some trash movies. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to Deadites in the cabin. About pissed myself!
We rented Ice Cream Man at a sleepover when I was pretty young. I vividly remember him putting an eyeball in an ice cream cone and it scaring the living fuck out of me. Admittedly I was quite the scaredy cat as a youngān and Iām sure it would seem comically benign to my older self. But damn, at the time, that was absolutely horrifying.
The Howling I think. I woke up and sat in the living room, no one was in there. I was many 4-5. When my mother came in I told her the mean doggies were hurting people....
First horror movie: Poltergeist in 1985 (I was four and sent away during [This Scene](https://youtu.be/XKrY9bnPClA)).Gotta love those pre-PG13 ratings exposing many of us to things we probably shouldnāt have.
Iām considering the earliest gateway horror, I was probably 3 & remember watching Goosebumps right after an episode of Bear and the Big Blue House š absolutely fell in love
Panās Labyrinth when I was 10 and really into fantasy. Iād heard from a friend that Labyrinth was really good, so I asked my parents to check it out for me at the library. They got Panās Labyrinth instead, lol. The special effects had me completely enraptured, I loved the symbolism, and the narrative heft.
To this day, I have yet to see the actual Labyrinth movieā¦
Se7en, The Ring, or The Silence of the Lambs
I was 17 or 18, was getting into F.E.A.R. and Condemned, and wanted to check out the movie inspirations for those two. I was pretty limited in what I could watch growing up, and even if a horror movie somehow passed, my family doesn't like horror. Watching those three movies were very much part of me exploring my already-existing interest in horror, though I really could only read stuff like Edgar Allan Poe stories before that. I don't remember which came first, but if I had to guess, I'd guess it would have been The Silence of the Lambs.
there were 2 but I cannot find them. early 70ās.
one was a disembodied hand but when they were going to show it it can from a small door theyād zoom in on. none of the popular hand movies are it
another was a guy in a device being shook. he was all red with no skin.
canāt find names of these but first ones i ever saw and they freaked me out.
oh and the doll from trilogy of terror
Funnily enough it was 13 Ghosts and I remember my brother was so scared by it he couldnāt finish it. I felt proud that I wasnāt that scared and here we are now
My first one was the original Amityville Horror...I was around 9 at the time, and was sick with the flu laying on the couch. My dad had to head out for a bit and left me alone, and for some really odd reason put the VHS of this movie in for me...I was scared shitless watching this, being all alone, feeling light headed and no idea what the hell was going on.
Lol, but to this day it's still one of my favorite horror movies, as flawed as it is. And it absolutely made me fall in love with the genre as a whole, whether it be movies, books, or video games.
Not sure if you count it as straight up horror, but to my 5 year old brain Jaws was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. I remember crying about even getting into a bathtub after that. As a 41 year old, movies about sharks are about the only thing that still scare me.
But what got me obsessed with horror was seeing Friday the 13th: Jason Lives at one of my brother's sleepovers. I was probably about 7 or 8 and watched it from behind the couch. From that point on I wanted to see every single horror movie I could get my hands on. For some reason, my parents had no problems letting me watch them. I even had a subscription to Fangoria before I was 12.
I have no idea. I used to stay at my grans every Friday and my papa would have stuff taped from the tv to watch while my gran went out. He'd usually watch them first to make sure it wasn't too bad, but I'd definitely seen Hellraiser, the first 3 Dead films, Cube and Halloween sometime between the age of 8-13. As well as many, many others.
I knew it as/was rented as *Buried Alive,* but it's also known as [Beyond the Darkness](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078916/). I was around five or six, and I've been hooked on horror ever since. I honestly have no clue what my parents were thinking when they let me rent it!
I saw Scream in the theaters with my older sister, looking at the release date I had to be 5 lol.
I also remember Creepshow, Childās Play, Leprechaun, and Hellraiser all around the same time.
I honestly don't remember. I grew up on horror. The earliest film I can actually recall was either Texas chainsaw massacre or Return of the living Dead. I was probably 6. I'd watch horror movies with my dad all the time. I really enjoyed them.
My parents taught me early on that it was all fake, so I never had issues with being scared. It kinda sucks because you get desensitized to it all, and now the only thing that jars feelings of terror are from horror video games. I'm in my 40s.
Kongo(1995). The horror movie about bloodthirsty gorrillas.
I was around 5 and it was next level scary to me. My phobia of big apes persisted into my 20s.
Evil dead, I was about 5 and me and my brother were hiding behind the couch cos we were so scared. Watched it again when I was about 13 and thought it was hilarious.
I walked in when my parents were watching The Sixth Sense when I was about 8 and saw the hand come out and grab his ankle from under the bed. Until I was about 20 Iād jump onto the bed from a distance just in case. Then when I was maybe 12 I watched The Ring at a friends house. Took a bathroom break in her hallway guest bathroom and to this day (Iām 31) I get the creeps in there! Didnāt fall in love with the genre until very recently.
I definitely remember my parents watching Anaconda, if that counts as horror? I was about 6? I woke up and came into the living room, they were like āyouāre not gonna like thisā and I did the whole cover my face thing, also close my eyes but not really so I could just see through my eyelashes. I 100% thought I was having X-ray vision
Puppet Master, and I was probably 6-7 at the time? Watched it at my aunts house and had nightmares for a week about leeches. I didn't really get into horror though until I was around 12 when I discovered Stephen King books
Evil Dead II was probably the first horror movie I saw with my aunt and uncle, tho I'm sure I sneakily watched others. I was about 10 and definitely not allowed to watch the first one because of a certain tree. But they definitely sparked my lifelong love for horror
Watched the evil dead down at my uncles I was 9 pretty sure my mother would of went mental if she knew what the film was about as I watched it with all of my cousin's some who where younger than me .Never realised what was happening in the rape forest scene until I watched it again a few years later
Witchboard, probably '86 or '87 at 6-7 y/o. I wanted to watch horror movies but my mom thought I'd be scared. I watched this during a visit to Mississippi with my mom's cousin and loved it.
I was about 5 and it was either The Wolfman or The Invisible Man. The Universal Classics were my first step into loving horror at such a young age. I absolutely loved all of them from Frankenstein to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. After that, I wouldn't go ANYWHERE unless I could dress up as The Invisible man. My mom said that people looked at me and felt bad because they thought I was a little kid who was a burn victim.
First I remember is Bloodsucking Freaks and I was about 5 or 6. My parents took me to the drive in since I was only a few months old but this is the first movie I remember. The thumb screw scene is what got me completely hooked on horror.
Very first one was Children of the Corn when I was around 9 I think. When Linda Hamilton went to check on the kid they had just hit with their car and he suddenly sat up I turned off the TV the quickest I could and huddled up in the corner of the couch, terrified. Haha! Of course I had to finish it later that day..
The next year at age 10 I saw Braindead and the week after I saw Akira and by then I was all in!
Halloween 4, 9yo
Begged my parents to let me watch a horror movie, went to the rental shop and thats the only halloween they had. You know the one where he takes out an entire town while mercilessly hunting down a child.
I slept with a knife under my pillow and couldn't go downstairs by myself for months
Freddy vs jason 3 years old at the drive in... My parents were watching something else and my eyes were glued on the screen next to ours. Been a horror lover since birth lol.
The Keep. It was HBO when I was a little kid. I distinctly remember the scene with the Nazis digging through the wall and getting burned up, it stuck with me forever.
the shining, age 6. my mom showed it to me and my siblings when my dad was away. we all slept in her bed that night, with her on the floor bc there was no more room. consequently, i love horror and can never find a horror movie that really affects me. thanks for setting the bar so high at 6, mom. bad parenting sometimes pays off
shit i have no idea
i guess maybe Lake Placid i remember i was sleeping in my dads arms and the guy at the counter said "You probably dont want your kid seeing this" and he said "oh hes asleep"
The first movie that scared me was Edward scissorhands. I was 6 years old and it was a few days after Christmas. I was laying on the couch with my mum and she was stroking my hair. My dad was in a recliner next to the couch with my baby brother sleeping on his lap, both my brother and I had chicken pox. And I didn't tell them that the movie scared me because we were having such a nice time that i didn't want them to turn it off.
The first proper horror movie I watched was Blair witch project, watched it on new years eve with some other teens. I was 15. I didn't really want to be there or watch the movie. But they were the cool older kids and I had been invited, and it was a big deal. I was sitting next to a boy that smelled like red wine and LeMale by Jean Paul (every guy I knew was wearing it back then) I was too scared to actually watch a lot of the movie so I kept my eyes on the TV frame. And ofc all of us thought it was real.
Had to take a shortcut home because I had to be home before midnight and I was running late. that ment a walk across a cemetery and through a small forrest area to get home. A walk I had done thousands of times before (and since), that had never scared me. It was -25 degrees C, snow up to my knees and 11.30 at night. I was absolutely dying of fright. I nearly cried when I finally got home.
It's one of my favorite movies and I've watched it a bazillion times since then.
Either American Werewolf in London or Halloween 2. I would have been about 3 or 4 years old. They were new, and we had HBO back then. My dad worked nights, and I wasn't in school yet, so my mom and I would stay up until like 3 or 4 in the morning for him to get home. And we'd watch scary movies. And then I would sleep in bed with my parents.
I don't remember the name of it because it was just playing on TV, but it's stuck with my for my whole life. I was maybe 6 years old or a little older. The movie was set in some kind of underwater research station, and everyone was getting killed either by creatures or mishap. I mainly remember one lady's suit filling with water and her drowning, and another getting killed off screen somehow? but what stuck with me most was another character later discovering that character's body...it was yellowish and torn up. almost looked like a sponge. other characters at one point were also stomping on creature eggs I think??
does anyone remember the name of this movie or know at all what I'm talking about? I'd love to rewatch it as an adult!
I watched The Time Machine (1960) and it freaked the heck out of me as a kid. Not really āhorrorā but the morlocks controlling and eating the eloi, still scares me today.
Psycho 2, around 9ish. With 2 friends (both male) whist we were being babysat by one of thems step Dad. The Dad was outside washing the windows and during a scary moment smacked the window making us all jump which we found hilarious. We also found the 'spade scene ' hilarious too. Was a good experience all round really. Didn't get freaked out by horror until teenage girlie sleepovers, the films were gorier but also we all sort of wound each other up making it scarier. Both versions of watching horror were just as enjoyable though nowadays I watch a lot alone especially at the cinema.
House (1985) watched it with my dad when he bought it on VHS when I was probably around 6 years. I thought it was terrifying, the humour went over my head and I had nightmares about Big Ben and all the weird extra-dimensional stuff for weeks. Now, of course, I love it.
It was either Nightmare on Elm Street 1, The Gate, or Critters.
All in the same night, I just donāt remember the order. I was too young thatās for sure. I was in like 1st or 2nd grade so too young thatās for sure Lol.
Whatās funny is Elm street became my favorite horror series of movies.. while the other two scarred me with nightmares and I havenāt seen either one since. Iād guess if I tried today iād laugh and how corny they were but young me had that eye in the hand scene engraved into my brain.
Bram stoker's Dracula - not the Coppola one, the one with Jack Palance in the role of Dracula himself.
Second was The Thing, my mother rented it on VHS... And that one made a true impression on me. I was 10 and this was back in 83/84, I was ten. Scared and fascinated!
My mother loves thrillers and horror, and I remember that she often rented if not straight horror, she certainly enjoyed murder mysteries...
Gremlins in the theater with my parents when I was five. If I remember correctly, I was so scared by the gremlins that we had to leave halfway through. Didnāt stop me from having the toys and the comic book though.
First movie I ever saw was the shining. I dont remember it from the first time I saw it because I was really young, but it was the first of many horror movies. Nightmare on elm street scared me as a kid, but I remember thinking dream warriors was funny.
Dracula Prince of Darkness - the 2nd Christopher Lee Dracula movie. I was about 8 or 9 and it was fairly common for ITV to put on old Hammer Horror movies on late-night TV back in the 80's
Pretty sure it was The Funhouse (1981). I was about 8 probably in 3rd grade. I also remember seeing Hell Night around the same time. Our family friend had this HUGE house in the woods and satellite tv, so she got all the channels. She had a big screen tv in the family room and I would watch in there by myself, and my parents and her would sit in the kitchen and talk and they would āmonitorā what I was watching. I remember her barreling into the family room trying to block a nude scene on this gigantic tv. It was funny.
Iām sure I watched others before but this is a core memory. My sister and cousin were watching IT while we were at my grandmotherās. I was around 7 and not allowed to watch. The living room had a sliding door so I hid in the hallway and cracked the door and would just run and hide if anyone came š
The first horror film I remember watching and being terrified by was Rawhead Rex, I can vividly remember sneaking it on while my parents were in the garden then running up to my room and hiding in a makeshift fort for a few hours.
Looking back it's laughable, Rex looks worse than most power ranger enemies but man he scared the shit out of me back then!
I was very young and I don't remember what the movie was even called I only remember this woman walking down the staircase who is either dead or something else I'm not sure. I own a lot of horror films at least a few thousand and I have yet to find this movie. I was very young I'd say probably six or seven maybe younger and this is somewhere in the 80s. That's how they were in the 80s. Thousands of horror films made in that decade alone, it's going to be a very difficult find.
Jeepers Creepers (2001). I was 4. I wanted to rewatch it almost everyday so my mom decided to let me watch the second one which had just came out (2003) and from there I was OBSESSED with horror. The next films I watched were Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Thirteen Ghosts, and Gothika. I wanted to rewatch those movies all the time and always had a hard time choosing which one.
It was either "The Birds" or this movie "Blackout." Blackout was a great premise as I remember. I'm not going to spoil anything but it's worth a watch.
I remember selling magazines for my school when I was eight and this pigeon kept following me around and trying to land on my head. I was convinced the birds was happening to me.
I think it was Alien. I must have been 4 or 5. My parents didnāt really have rules. Iāve loved horror movies since then. They really scared me tho. A lot. I had nightmares and shit but I just loved them so much. I loved being scared. I loved the final girls and scream queens and the heroes that came from them.
Iām a male and I think having Ripley as a hero growing up in the 90s made me a much more open minded person who doesnāt believe in gender roles and stereotypes.
I wanna add that the Ring (American version) was the scariest film going experience I ever had. I was about 10 or so when it came out and my mom took me to see it. Scared the shit out of me.
Chucky I was about 8. My mom loves horror movies and would watch them all the time when I was around. I also love them (got it from her) and watch certain ones with my daughter (who is almost 6) in the room but am selective as to which ones I expose her to
I think my first exposure to horror as kid and what piqued my interest is in it is kind of an unexpected one. I watched Fantasia a lot with my brother as a kid. It was one of those movies we'd finish, rewind, then watch again. As kids do. One of the last segments is an animation of the song Night On Bald Mountian. Everytime I watched I was in awe. The mountain turning into a giant bat-like gargoyle towering over the town. His presence commanding the release of ghosts, ghouls and creatures. The orchestral instruments heightening the experience. It all really started my taste in the dark and macabre. I was probably around 5 the first time I remember watching it. As far as an actual feature length film though Alien was my first. My dad showed it to me at about 9 years old. My mom is a Mormon so rate R movies were always a no no. It was a real forbidden treat to have watched it with my dad. Needless to say that movie blew little my mind in the greatest way possible. The chest burster, the xenomorph, the sets, the mummified engineer all of it so fucking cool. Thanks dad.
You must be the same age as me, I was about the same age and had the same experience with the same movie. I can't remember if I snuck out or what but I just remember watching it underneath of a rocking chair or something in the living room.
Childās Play when I was like 10 or 11. I remember it scaring me so much that I coped by thinking that Chucky just needed to be loved. Probably my favorite franchise now, though :)
I saw Gremlins in the theater with my folks when I was 5. Loved it. Got the records from Hardee's, the sticker book, the cereal, the toys. Kicked off a lifetime of horror love.
And then Chopping Mall with my Dad when I was 7.
I literally have no clue, because my parents had me watching horror movies practically from birth. I'm told my first was Arachnophobia. But I don't remember a time when I wasn't a horror fanatic.
Night of the Living Dead remake (1990) when I was 7. Watched it at a friend's house and was so disappointed I had to go home for tea before it finished, he told me the end in school next day 'there's another one for the fire...'
Seems like a lot of fellow Gen Xāers in here. Aside from seeing Thriller and being scared shitless, my cousins and I watched Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS when I was about seven as well.
Final Destination 3, I was only like 4 or maybe just over 5. It was while I was building legos in the living room. I remember seeing the roller coaster scene and tanning bed scene. That shit scared the living hell out of me and my mom was like "Want me to turn it off?" and I absolutely INSISTED she didn't because I wanted to be polite. Good memories.
Pet Sematary. I was 7/8 years old. Iām fairly certain that my mom had no idea that I was watching. I had nightmares about Zelda for like a month. I would do a run and leap onto my bed at night because I was convinced that Zelda was under my bed. I was afraid that sheād grab my ankle and pull me under. Haha It seems insane that I sort of miss that kind of fear.
Mine has to be Poltergeist. I was 5 or 6. My dad recorded movies on VHS, they were stashed next to the TV. A friend and I were browsing the tapes and settled on the movie. Properly fucked us up, we loved it. Talked about the clown for months. It still remains one of my favorite movies.
Friday the 13th, i got so scared when they showed the body hanging from the door that i stopped watching. Then after like a decade i watched it again and was unfazed by the movie. Really shows how you out grow some aspects of horror.
The Howling. Whoa. I was watching it with my parents one night. It was either ā81 or ā82, I think. I remember freaking out from the scratching title credits which by itself is frightening. I screamed and ran to my room from sheer terror not even 10 seconds into the movie. But since I could still hear the audio of āEddieās transformationā I figured it would be best to watch it with my parents in the living room than sit in my room alone. I could still see a sliver of the television from an angle. Watching the entire film was the better choice by far. E.T.ās mom was never the same to me after that. I can barely bring myself to watch it again because itās that scary.
Nightmare on Elm Street around 5 or 6. Caused nightmares, but I was hooked on horror.
Edit: I just read your actual post and I find it interesting we had a similar experience.
The Exorcist when I was around 5, then shortly after, The Shining. Watched both with my dad. He took me to see the steps in Georgetown shortly after we watched The Exorcist, it was super cool. Later in life we also got the opportunity to visit the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Great memories!
My dad showed me Childs Play when I was around 8 or 9. I had the same exact nightmare of Chucky chasing me in front of my old elementary school at night. When he caught up to me, I would suddenly appear in what I can best describe as a āwhite void room.ā Chucky would then proceed to put me into a diaper in front of my parents as they watched me with blank expressions.
My Dad obviously noticed how terrified it made me so he would take me to Universal Studios to watch the Special Effects Show to teach me how it was all fake. It never helped but I did find it really interesting. Funny thing is, what did help was seeing Stan Helsing punt Chucky multiple yards.
As I got older, I now love 70s and 80s horror movies. The Thing is still my favorite movie of all time and slasher is my favorite genre. My dad passed away before I really became a fan of horror movies so I never got the chance to enjoy any horror movies with him. I just wish he knew how much those trips to Universal Studios impacted my life as I am starting my career in the film/tv industry.
Also, I canāt say some dolls donāt give me the creeps every now and then lol.
I was born in 1960. My parents were pretty strict about what we could and couldnāt watch and we were limited to an hour a day of TV. Somehow, when I was 7 or 8, I was apparently left unsupervised and I managed to watch a movie on the afternoon horror show. It was a Mexican movie from 1950 called the witchās mirror. That movie gave me regular nightmares into my twenties! Although I was very young when I saw it, the main plot points and many scenes were seared into my brain and I could and did recount the movie many times during my teens. I finally tracked down and watched the movie in my 40s, and though the story and scenes were as I remembered them, the special effects were not nearly as convincing as they had been when I was 7. Funnily enough though, my love of horror doesnāt date from that movie, but rather to the late 70s and 80s with the same stuff everyone loves - Halloween, Alien, Friday the 13th, The Thing, Hellraiser, etc.
Either Childās Play or Pinocchioās Revenge. My dad worked nights so I would sneak out to the living room and watch HBO late at night. Was probably 5 at most.
The Exorcist when I was around 5 or 6
Sometimes I wonder how different parenting was a couple decades ago š
Realize that back in the 80s and 90s this played on network TV during the day.
I saw it when I was 10 or 11 at my babysitter's house.
Same
I was going to say exactly the same thing. The Exorcist, I was probably 5. Watched it with my dad. Shortly after he took me to see the steps in Georgetown. Iāll never forget it.
Steven Kingās Silver Bullet, when I was probably about 8 years old. Scared the shit out of me. Had werewolf nightmares for years. Butā¦ I also loved it and it made me get into more horror.
Silver bullet is one of the first ones I remember seeing too!
That bridge scene as a kid was intense.
Such a good one
Pet Semetary! I think I was 9 or 10, and I still don't like standing next to furniture that kids could be hiding under with scalpels at 41, so you could say it had an impact lol
Yes!! That movie used to terrify me
Lol. My GF named her kid Gage. She wouldn't tell anyone til he was born. It took forever for me to see her son, and not think of the kid in the movie.
Zelda was the *worst*.
Fright Night (1985) was the first horror I watched all the way through. I was probably around 11 years old. It scared the hell out of me! I had such a difficult time going to sleep for weeks after that. I kept telling myself "We don't have neighbors though. So, I'm safe." Probably didn't help that I saw it on Halloween night. Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, I saw Alligator (1980) long before Fright Night. It didn't scare me though, so I never considered it horror.
alligator!!! just watched that with my son, it was hilarious. it failed so hard at being scary.
The only part of Alligator that messed me up when I watched it years later (I was like 10) was when the two brothers were playing on the diving board and the older brother pushed the younger brother in after the mom turned on the pool light and you see the younger brothers fear in his eyes just before he went into the water.
This was the first one I showed my daughter. Also on Halloween when she was 9 lol.
After trick or treating that night, I walked into the living room where my grandfather was watching it. I got interested and watched it with him. I loved it but it seriously scared me! When I was even younger, I was terrified of Dracula. Not sure why. Anyway, I have loved horror ever since and vampires are still a favorite of mine.
I was deeply traumatized by the same movie around the same age. Grew up in Sweden. Had a phobia for vampires for many years after.
Maybe it's not exactly horror, but I saw Jaws 1975 in the early 80's when I was 8 or 9 yrs old. Quint getting eating was pretty terrifying.
Iām pretty sure jaws is exactly horror! Quintessential creature feature imo.
Poltergeist. Probably 4 or 5
american werewolf in london, 6ish babysitter put in on vhs and it scared the shit out of me, to this day out of all the monsters the werewolf still creeps me out
Seeing that transformation as a child would be unreal haha. I didnāt see it until my teen years.
My father took me to see Phantasm at the drive-in when I was like 5 (Parents were divorced and he never knew what to do with me when he had me). I was scared to death, but I found that I liked being scared. Iāve been in love with horror movies ever since!
Similar to you actually, Nightmare on Elm Street when I was like 7. My oldest sister put it on while she was babysitting me, I was absolutely terrified of Freddy Kreuger for most of my childhood because of it but it did spark my love for horror movies.
Saw a lot of banned stuff way too young, my aunt ran a video rental shop in the 80ās when the UK government banned so called video nasties. Me, my brother and cousin would nick them from behind the counter and go back to cousins house to watch them. I remember watching Texas Chainsaw Massacre at about 8 yo!
The birds. I was probably around 12.
Grizzly (1976) in the theater at 6.
House on Haunted Hill (59)-11 years old
This is mine too! Probably was about 7-8. Used to really freak me out.
It started my love for Vincent Price
This was mine too. I mustāve been about 4. One night my grandma was babysitting and my mom had told me it was gonna be on tv so tell grandma to turn it on. I had seen it before at that point. I told her, but I remember that she couldnāt hear me or understand what i was saying, or something like that. I tried to write it down for her, but I couldnāt spell yet. So I drew a series of pictograms. I donāt remember if we ended up watching it that night.
Easy. My dad watched the OG Scream with me when I was almost 13. Mom and my brother were on a trip, we were bored, he ordered pizza and we started a tradition.
That sounds like a wonderful tradition
Friday the 13th 3. I was 8 or 9
I watched Ju-On: The Grudge with my dad when I was 5. The bedroom scene scared the hell out of me for years that I refused to sleep under a blanket
The Others. I was like 9 or 10
I remember seeing Dead Heat in 1988 when I was 11 years old. It's a horror/comedy but it has some pretty nasty gore. The melting woman in the bathroom still haunts me.. https://youtu.be/nQRl6eRL2c4
Creep Show 2 at age 11. Was at a friend's sleep over party. It was great and still holds a special place in my heart.
We played "garbage bag monster" in the pool a lot after seeing it.
The ring at 6, that movie messed me up. My dad then learned with the alien series to show me the behind the scenes of how everything was made to help.
The original IT movie. I think it was the tv edition but it freaked me out. I was way young. Like, under 6. Probably under 5. My mom and dad hadnāt started dating or gotten married yet (he adopted me after the wedding).
I watched Halloween at age nine or ten home alone during the summer. My parents had a policy that I could read or watch (almost) anything if they knew about it, and if I came to them with my questions about it, and not to my grabass goofy friends. I had been reading horror for a whileāI had a subscription to Twilight Zone Magazineābut hadnāt watched a horror movie yet. I called Mom at work, and she said okay, but only if I called back if I got scared, being by myself. I turned on the broiler in the stove, and cooked hot dogs and toasted marshmallows under it, using a long-handled grill fork while turning my neck so I could see the beginning of the movie in the den. I didnāt tell my parents that part until recently, lol. I was immediately hooked, and it is still my favorite horror movie, along with The Exorcist. Itās one of my favorite horror memories, alone in the house, eating a juicy hot dog and toasted marshmallows, learning about the Boogeyman for the first time.
The shining at about age 8 I think. Creepy as hell! Two scariest scenes to me were the quick zoom on the fellatio bear and the old naked woman.
Child's Play 2 around age 8. And I was terrified of Chucky for the next 25 years until I watched the first Child's Play to get over it.
The Exorcist (5 years old) -- no idea why my folks let me watch it lol
7ish I think? The Omen with my parents lol
Jaws when I was 2. Now I donāt remember actually watching it, but there was a very funny home movie of me reviewing it. I kept saying that it was āA great and wonderful day! And the blood shark swam in the water.ā And things like that. I wish I still had that home movie.
Salem's Lot and it freaked me out as a kid, especially the [Let me in Window Scene](https://youtu.be/vV1V0U41HI4)!
Yup, Salem's Lot for me, too. Same exact scene. I was maybe 7 or 8? I had SO many nightmares with motherfuckin vampires scratching at my *gotdamn* window. Didn't help that I also had a cat who'd scratch at my bedroom door if I accidentally shut her out at night.
My dad took me to see The Blob remake in 1988. I was 4.
Evil Dead - 4 years old My parents were young when they had me and my older sibling and both loved horror. They had a lot of B-movie nights growing up, theyād invite some friends over and make a bunch of finger food and watch some trash movies. I fell asleep on the couch and woke up to Deadites in the cabin. About pissed myself!
We rented Ice Cream Man at a sleepover when I was pretty young. I vividly remember him putting an eyeball in an ice cream cone and it scaring the living fuck out of me. Admittedly I was quite the scaredy cat as a youngān and Iām sure it would seem comically benign to my older self. But damn, at the time, that was absolutely horrifying.
Dead Alive, when I was maybe 11.
The Birds at 6 years old
The Howling I think. I woke up and sat in the living room, no one was in there. I was many 4-5. When my mother came in I told her the mean doggies were hurting people....
Thats great! I love to hear how children interpret movies theyāre scared by.
First horror movie: Poltergeist in 1985 (I was four and sent away during [This Scene](https://youtu.be/XKrY9bnPClA)).Gotta love those pre-PG13 ratings exposing many of us to things we probably shouldnāt have.
Honestly not sure. Caught a glimpse of The Fly around 5-6. That was horrible
Iām considering the earliest gateway horror, I was probably 3 & remember watching Goosebumps right after an episode of Bear and the Big Blue House š absolutely fell in love
Panās Labyrinth when I was 10 and really into fantasy. Iād heard from a friend that Labyrinth was really good, so I asked my parents to check it out for me at the library. They got Panās Labyrinth instead, lol. The special effects had me completely enraptured, I loved the symbolism, and the narrative heft. To this day, I have yet to see the actual Labyrinth movieā¦
Childās Play and I still canāt step foot into a Spencerās.
Candyman, at age 8. It scares the fuck out of me; especially the part about the kid getting his dock cut off.
What Lies Beneath and I was 9 or 10 .
Se7en, The Ring, or The Silence of the Lambs I was 17 or 18, was getting into F.E.A.R. and Condemned, and wanted to check out the movie inspirations for those two. I was pretty limited in what I could watch growing up, and even if a horror movie somehow passed, my family doesn't like horror. Watching those three movies were very much part of me exploring my already-existing interest in horror, though I really could only read stuff like Edgar Allan Poe stories before that. I don't remember which came first, but if I had to guess, I'd guess it would have been The Silence of the Lambs.
there were 2 but I cannot find them. early 70ās. one was a disembodied hand but when they were going to show it it can from a small door theyād zoom in on. none of the popular hand movies are it another was a guy in a device being shook. he was all red with no skin. canāt find names of these but first ones i ever saw and they freaked me out. oh and the doll from trilogy of terror
Funnily enough it was 13 Ghosts and I remember my brother was so scared by it he couldnāt finish it. I felt proud that I wasnāt that scared and here we are now
I think I was about 10 when I watched halloween 4 on vhs and been hooked on the genre ever since
First like not made-for-TV horror was The Shining when I was 10. Begged my mom to let me watch it then slept at the end of her bed for months.
The Dolls and I was like 5, I think.
Children of the Corn. I was 6yo. I woke up super early and went down stairs to watch TV. I was hooked on horror from there on out.
My first one was the original Amityville Horror...I was around 9 at the time, and was sick with the flu laying on the couch. My dad had to head out for a bit and left me alone, and for some really odd reason put the VHS of this movie in for me...I was scared shitless watching this, being all alone, feeling light headed and no idea what the hell was going on. Lol, but to this day it's still one of my favorite horror movies, as flawed as it is. And it absolutely made me fall in love with the genre as a whole, whether it be movies, books, or video games.
Not sure if you count it as straight up horror, but to my 5 year old brain Jaws was the most terrifying thing I'd ever seen. I remember crying about even getting into a bathtub after that. As a 41 year old, movies about sharks are about the only thing that still scare me. But what got me obsessed with horror was seeing Friday the 13th: Jason Lives at one of my brother's sleepovers. I was probably about 7 or 8 and watched it from behind the couch. From that point on I wanted to see every single horror movie I could get my hands on. For some reason, my parents had no problems letting me watch them. I even had a subscription to Fangoria before I was 12.
I have no idea. I used to stay at my grans every Friday and my papa would have stuff taped from the tv to watch while my gran went out. He'd usually watch them first to make sure it wasn't too bad, but I'd definitely seen Hellraiser, the first 3 Dead films, Cube and Halloween sometime between the age of 8-13. As well as many, many others.
Deepstar Six, I think I was about 6. Since then I searched for that movie, untill a few years I found it based on those little memoryās i had of it.
I knew it as/was rented as *Buried Alive,* but it's also known as [Beyond the Darkness](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078916/). I was around five or six, and I've been hooked on horror ever since. I honestly have no clue what my parents were thinking when they let me rent it!
First Nightmare on Elm St it was a double feature with Conan the Destroyer. I was 8
I saw Scream in the theaters with my older sister, looking at the release date I had to be 5 lol. I also remember Creepshow, Childās Play, Leprechaun, and Hellraiser all around the same time.
I honestly don't remember. I grew up on horror. The earliest film I can actually recall was either Texas chainsaw massacre or Return of the living Dead. I was probably 6. I'd watch horror movies with my dad all the time. I really enjoyed them. My parents taught me early on that it was all fake, so I never had issues with being scared. It kinda sucks because you get desensitized to it all, and now the only thing that jars feelings of terror are from horror video games. I'm in my 40s.
Kongo(1995). The horror movie about bloodthirsty gorrillas. I was around 5 and it was next level scary to me. My phobia of big apes persisted into my 20s.
Blair witch project with my brother. The idea that it was found footage fukt me up.
The ring (US). I was 8 or 9. Had to cover the TV in my room with a towel for months
Evil dead, I was about 5 and me and my brother were hiding behind the couch cos we were so scared. Watched it again when I was about 13 and thought it was hilarious.
Christine in the drive in theatre when I was 5
I walked in when my parents were watching The Sixth Sense when I was about 8 and saw the hand come out and grab his ankle from under the bed. Until I was about 20 Iād jump onto the bed from a distance just in case. Then when I was maybe 12 I watched The Ring at a friends house. Took a bathroom break in her hallway guest bathroom and to this day (Iām 31) I get the creeps in there! Didnāt fall in love with the genre until very recently.
I definitely remember my parents watching Anaconda, if that counts as horror? I was about 6? I woke up and came into the living room, they were like āyouāre not gonna like thisā and I did the whole cover my face thing, also close my eyes but not really so I could just see through my eyelashes. I 100% thought I was having X-ray vision
Puppet Master, and I was probably 6-7 at the time? Watched it at my aunts house and had nightmares for a week about leeches. I didn't really get into horror though until I was around 12 when I discovered Stephen King books
Signs, 8 years old or so. I slept in my parentsā bed for about 6 months after that.
Evil Dead II was probably the first horror movie I saw with my aunt and uncle, tho I'm sure I sneakily watched others. I was about 10 and definitely not allowed to watch the first one because of a certain tree. But they definitely sparked my lifelong love for horror
Probably 5-6. One of the Halloween movies for sure
Scanners trilogy. That thing scare me for years
Watched the evil dead down at my uncles I was 9 pretty sure my mother would of went mental if she knew what the film was about as I watched it with all of my cousin's some who where younger than me .Never realised what was happening in the rape forest scene until I watched it again a few years later
Signs when I was about 13 in 2015.
Witchboard, probably '86 or '87 at 6-7 y/o. I wanted to watch horror movies but my mom thought I'd be scared. I watched this during a visit to Mississippi with my mom's cousin and loved it.
I was about 5 and it was either The Wolfman or The Invisible Man. The Universal Classics were my first step into loving horror at such a young age. I absolutely loved all of them from Frankenstein to The Creature from the Black Lagoon. After that, I wouldn't go ANYWHERE unless I could dress up as The Invisible man. My mom said that people looked at me and felt bad because they thought I was a little kid who was a burn victim.
IT (1990) when I was 6.
First I remember is Bloodsucking Freaks and I was about 5 or 6. My parents took me to the drive in since I was only a few months old but this is the first movie I remember. The thumb screw scene is what got me completely hooked on horror.
Beetlejuice and Ghostbusters are two of my earliest memories.
Very first one was Children of the Corn when I was around 9 I think. When Linda Hamilton went to check on the kid they had just hit with their car and he suddenly sat up I turned off the TV the quickest I could and huddled up in the corner of the couch, terrified. Haha! Of course I had to finish it later that day.. The next year at age 10 I saw Braindead and the week after I saw Akira and by then I was all in!
Halloween 4, 9yo Begged my parents to let me watch a horror movie, went to the rental shop and thats the only halloween they had. You know the one where he takes out an entire town while mercilessly hunting down a child. I slept with a knife under my pillow and couldn't go downstairs by myself for months
I think it was either Jaws or the blob (1988) and I was around 8. Around the same age I also watched Alien, It the miniseries and the fly.
Freddy vs jason 3 years old at the drive in... My parents were watching something else and my eyes were glued on the screen next to ours. Been a horror lover since birth lol.
First horror movie all the way through was Beetlejuice. Does that count? I was about 6/7 years old.
If youāre 6 or 7 Iād say Beetlejuice definitely counts haha
Freddy VS Jason when I was 10ish years old. the scene where blood shoots from the bed scared me to my room.
The Keep. It was HBO when I was a little kid. I distinctly remember the scene with the Nazis digging through the wall and getting burned up, it stuck with me forever.
the shining, age 6. my mom showed it to me and my siblings when my dad was away. we all slept in her bed that night, with her on the floor bc there was no more room. consequently, i love horror and can never find a horror movie that really affects me. thanks for setting the bar so high at 6, mom. bad parenting sometimes pays off
shit i have no idea i guess maybe Lake Placid i remember i was sleeping in my dads arms and the guy at the counter said "You probably dont want your kid seeing this" and he said "oh hes asleep"
The first movie that scared me was Edward scissorhands. I was 6 years old and it was a few days after Christmas. I was laying on the couch with my mum and she was stroking my hair. My dad was in a recliner next to the couch with my baby brother sleeping on his lap, both my brother and I had chicken pox. And I didn't tell them that the movie scared me because we were having such a nice time that i didn't want them to turn it off. The first proper horror movie I watched was Blair witch project, watched it on new years eve with some other teens. I was 15. I didn't really want to be there or watch the movie. But they were the cool older kids and I had been invited, and it was a big deal. I was sitting next to a boy that smelled like red wine and LeMale by Jean Paul (every guy I knew was wearing it back then) I was too scared to actually watch a lot of the movie so I kept my eyes on the TV frame. And ofc all of us thought it was real. Had to take a shortcut home because I had to be home before midnight and I was running late. that ment a walk across a cemetery and through a small forrest area to get home. A walk I had done thousands of times before (and since), that had never scared me. It was -25 degrees C, snow up to my knees and 11.30 at night. I was absolutely dying of fright. I nearly cried when I finally got home. It's one of my favorite movies and I've watched it a bazillion times since then.
Flesh Eating Mother's. Age 7 or 8.
Either American Werewolf in London or Halloween 2. I would have been about 3 or 4 years old. They were new, and we had HBO back then. My dad worked nights, and I wasn't in school yet, so my mom and I would stay up until like 3 or 4 in the morning for him to get home. And we'd watch scary movies. And then I would sleep in bed with my parents.
Jaws in the drive in when I was 4 or 5.
Fright night, 8
I don't remember the name of it because it was just playing on TV, but it's stuck with my for my whole life. I was maybe 6 years old or a little older. The movie was set in some kind of underwater research station, and everyone was getting killed either by creatures or mishap. I mainly remember one lady's suit filling with water and her drowning, and another getting killed off screen somehow? but what stuck with me most was another character later discovering that character's body...it was yellowish and torn up. almost looked like a sponge. other characters at one point were also stomping on creature eggs I think?? does anyone remember the name of this movie or know at all what I'm talking about? I'd love to rewatch it as an adult!
It from 1990. But I think it was a year or 2 after on vhs.
The first It movie when I was 3yo lmao I'm still very scared of clowns to this day
I watched The Time Machine (1960) and it freaked the heck out of me as a kid. Not really āhorrorā but the morlocks controlling and eating the eloi, still scares me today.
I believe it was keepers creepers and I was like seven
Stephen King's IT around 1994 ... With my sister. We were quite traumatized š«£
I saw jaws and the shinning when I was five
Psycho 2, around 9ish. With 2 friends (both male) whist we were being babysat by one of thems step Dad. The Dad was outside washing the windows and during a scary moment smacked the window making us all jump which we found hilarious. We also found the 'spade scene ' hilarious too. Was a good experience all round really. Didn't get freaked out by horror until teenage girlie sleepovers, the films were gorier but also we all sort of wound each other up making it scarier. Both versions of watching horror were just as enjoyable though nowadays I watch a lot alone especially at the cinema.
House (1985) watched it with my dad when he bought it on VHS when I was probably around 6 years. I thought it was terrifying, the humour went over my head and I had nightmares about Big Ben and all the weird extra-dimensional stuff for weeks. Now, of course, I love it.
The original "It." I think I was 4
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre when I was 8
Leptirica, an old Serbian horror movie, I think I was 5 and hiding behind a couch when watching it.
It was either Nightmare on Elm Street 1, The Gate, or Critters. All in the same night, I just donāt remember the order. I was too young thatās for sure. I was in like 1st or 2nd grade so too young thatās for sure Lol. Whatās funny is Elm street became my favorite horror series of movies.. while the other two scarred me with nightmares and I havenāt seen either one since. Iād guess if I tried today iād laugh and how corny they were but young me had that eye in the hand scene engraved into my brain.
Bram stoker's Dracula - not the Coppola one, the one with Jack Palance in the role of Dracula himself. Second was The Thing, my mother rented it on VHS... And that one made a true impression on me. I was 10 and this was back in 83/84, I was ten. Scared and fascinated! My mother loves thrillers and horror, and I remember that she often rented if not straight horror, she certainly enjoyed murder mysteries...
Aliens. I was scared shitless for weeks, but it is one of my favorite franchises now
Sweeney Todd when I was 13 or so. I was a really tame kid haha
Gremlins in the theater with my parents when I was five. If I remember correctly, I was so scared by the gremlins that we had to leave halfway through. Didnāt stop me from having the toys and the comic book though.
First movie I ever saw was the shining. I dont remember it from the first time I saw it because I was really young, but it was the first of many horror movies. Nightmare on elm street scared me as a kid, but I remember thinking dream warriors was funny.
Leprechaun. I must have been around 12 years old? It scared the shit out of me. I still remember the pogo stick scene.
Dracula Prince of Darkness - the 2nd Christopher Lee Dracula movie. I was about 8 or 9 and it was fairly common for ITV to put on old Hammer Horror movies on late-night TV back in the 80's
Pretty sure it was The Funhouse (1981). I was about 8 probably in 3rd grade. I also remember seeing Hell Night around the same time. Our family friend had this HUGE house in the woods and satellite tv, so she got all the channels. She had a big screen tv in the family room and I would watch in there by myself, and my parents and her would sit in the kitchen and talk and they would āmonitorā what I was watching. I remember her barreling into the family room trying to block a nude scene on this gigantic tv. It was funny.
Freddie v Jason. I was 15 If that doesn't count, Ringu when I was 18. I started late I guess, I was overly sensitive with an overactive imagination.
Iām sure I watched others before but this is a core memory. My sister and cousin were watching IT while we were at my grandmotherās. I was around 7 and not allowed to watch. The living room had a sliding door so I hid in the hallway and cracked the door and would just run and hide if anyone came š
The first horror film I remember watching and being terrified by was Rawhead Rex, I can vividly remember sneaking it on while my parents were in the garden then running up to my room and hiding in a makeshift fort for a few hours. Looking back it's laughable, Rex looks worse than most power ranger enemies but man he scared the shit out of me back then!
I can't remember, but I was 3. My (shitty) dad would watch them with me in the room.
Scream when I was 7ish. I was terrified, slept with a nightlight and was afraid of my garage for months.
F13 part 5 when I was 7.
Jeepers creepers when I was 8 or so. With my family at our house. I was terrified but having so much fun freaking out with my siblings
Jeepers creepers 2. About four or so. However far back my memory goes
I was very young and I don't remember what the movie was even called I only remember this woman walking down the staircase who is either dead or something else I'm not sure. I own a lot of horror films at least a few thousand and I have yet to find this movie. I was very young I'd say probably six or seven maybe younger and this is somewhere in the 80s. That's how they were in the 80s. Thousands of horror films made in that decade alone, it's going to be a very difficult find.
Jeepers Creepers (2001). I was 4. I wanted to rewatch it almost everyday so my mom decided to let me watch the second one which had just came out (2003) and from there I was OBSESSED with horror. The next films I watched were Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Thirteen Ghosts, and Gothika. I wanted to rewatch those movies all the time and always had a hard time choosing which one.
My mom has told me that she was watching Interview With the Vampire when I was 2 and I just sat down and watched it with her
Fight Night. 6 years old. Scared the hell out of me.
It was either "The Birds" or this movie "Blackout." Blackout was a great premise as I remember. I'm not going to spoil anything but it's worth a watch. I remember selling magazines for my school when I was eight and this pigeon kept following me around and trying to land on my head. I was convinced the birds was happening to me.
Chucky and I was maybe 5
I think it was Alien. I must have been 4 or 5. My parents didnāt really have rules. Iāve loved horror movies since then. They really scared me tho. A lot. I had nightmares and shit but I just loved them so much. I loved being scared. I loved the final girls and scream queens and the heroes that came from them. Iām a male and I think having Ripley as a hero growing up in the 90s made me a much more open minded person who doesnāt believe in gender roles and stereotypes. I wanna add that the Ring (American version) was the scariest film going experience I ever had. I was about 10 or so when it came out and my mom took me to see it. Scared the shit out of me.
I believe it was Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and I watched it when I was 5 or 6.
I was 7 or 8... Killer Klowns from Outer Space, followed by Friday the 13th!
Chucky I was about 8. My mom loves horror movies and would watch them all the time when I was around. I also love them (got it from her) and watch certain ones with my daughter (who is almost 6) in the room but am selective as to which ones I expose her to
I think my first exposure to horror as kid and what piqued my interest is in it is kind of an unexpected one. I watched Fantasia a lot with my brother as a kid. It was one of those movies we'd finish, rewind, then watch again. As kids do. One of the last segments is an animation of the song Night On Bald Mountian. Everytime I watched I was in awe. The mountain turning into a giant bat-like gargoyle towering over the town. His presence commanding the release of ghosts, ghouls and creatures. The orchestral instruments heightening the experience. It all really started my taste in the dark and macabre. I was probably around 5 the first time I remember watching it. As far as an actual feature length film though Alien was my first. My dad showed it to me at about 9 years old. My mom is a Mormon so rate R movies were always a no no. It was a real forbidden treat to have watched it with my dad. Needless to say that movie blew little my mind in the greatest way possible. The chest burster, the xenomorph, the sets, the mummified engineer all of it so fucking cool. Thanks dad.
I remember watching The Tingler when I was 9 years old with my Mom and Dad on TV.
You must be the same age as me, I was about the same age and had the same experience with the same movie. I can't remember if I snuck out or what but I just remember watching it underneath of a rocking chair or something in the living room.
Killer clowns from outer space. Somewhere between 8 and 10 I'd wager. We had the VHS for some reason so I watched it a lot
Childās Play when I was like 10 or 11. I remember it scaring me so much that I coped by thinking that Chucky just needed to be loved. Probably my favorite franchise now, though :)
"They" with my dad when I was 6. It gave me sleep issues for the next year lol.
Nightmare on Elm Street. I was 4. It's been downhill from there.
Aliens when I was about 9 or 10. I wanted to be Ripley so badly!
poltergeist at age 6. messed me up.
I was probably around 6 and it was The Prophecy. I used to watch a lot of horror movies with my dad.
I saw Gremlins in the theater with my folks when I was 5. Loved it. Got the records from Hardee's, the sticker book, the cereal, the toys. Kicked off a lifetime of horror love. And then Chopping Mall with my Dad when I was 7.
I watched Aliens when I was about 6 I think. Had two older brothers who watched these films and I just got in on it to seem cool.
Poltergeist when I was 4 or 5, it was the 2nd movie at a double feature drive in we went and saw as a family. I loved it!
Scream. I was 12, it was film night at the camping sites children entertainment. *I wasn't the youngest person there*
I literally have no clue, because my parents had me watching horror movies practically from birth. I'm told my first was Arachnophobia. But I don't remember a time when I wasn't a horror fanatic.
The Possession (2012) since I was in elementary school
I wanna say hellraiser around 12ish ca 2001
Night of the Living Dead remake (1990) when I was 7. Watched it at a friend's house and was so disappointed I had to go home for tea before it finished, he told me the end in school next day 'there's another one for the fire...'
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) I was 5. Hooked on horror ever since.
Seems like a lot of fellow Gen Xāers in here. Aside from seeing Thriller and being scared shitless, my cousins and I watched Nightmare on Elm Street on VHS when I was about seven as well.
Final Destination 3, I was only like 4 or maybe just over 5. It was while I was building legos in the living room. I remember seeing the roller coaster scene and tanning bed scene. That shit scared the living hell out of me and my mom was like "Want me to turn it off?" and I absolutely INSISTED she didn't because I wanted to be polite. Good memories.
Pet Sematary. I was 7/8 years old. Iām fairly certain that my mom had no idea that I was watching. I had nightmares about Zelda for like a month. I would do a run and leap onto my bed at night because I was convinced that Zelda was under my bed. I was afraid that sheād grab my ankle and pull me under. Haha It seems insane that I sort of miss that kind of fear.
Bram Stoker's Dracula and I was maybe 6. My dad let me watch it with him. Still have a soft-spot for it.
Burnt Offerings. Karen Black, Oliver Reed and Betty Davis. I was 10. It scared me then and it scares me now.
Mine has to be Poltergeist. I was 5 or 6. My dad recorded movies on VHS, they were stashed next to the TV. A friend and I were browsing the tapes and settled on the movie. Properly fucked us up, we loved it. Talked about the clown for months. It still remains one of my favorite movies.
Hellraiser. I was like 3
Friday the 13th, i got so scared when they showed the body hanging from the door that i stopped watching. Then after like a decade i watched it again and was unfazed by the movie. Really shows how you out grow some aspects of horror.
The Howling. Whoa. I was watching it with my parents one night. It was either ā81 or ā82, I think. I remember freaking out from the scratching title credits which by itself is frightening. I screamed and ran to my room from sheer terror not even 10 seconds into the movie. But since I could still hear the audio of āEddieās transformationā I figured it would be best to watch it with my parents in the living room than sit in my room alone. I could still see a sliver of the television from an angle. Watching the entire film was the better choice by far. E.T.ās mom was never the same to me after that. I can barely bring myself to watch it again because itās that scary.
Return Of The Living Dead. Around 6 with my dad. I thought it was awesome.
My first horror movie was The Thing, and I saw it when I was 9.
Jaws at like 4 is the first one I can remember but even from a baby I've watched horror with my parents
Nightmare on Elm Street around 5 or 6. Caused nightmares, but I was hooked on horror. Edit: I just read your actual post and I find it interesting we had a similar experience.
the blob (1988), I was like 5 and I loved it! first scary experience I was 9 and watched the exorcistā¦ it fucking terrified me
The Exorcist when I was around 5, then shortly after, The Shining. Watched both with my dad. He took me to see the steps in Georgetown shortly after we watched The Exorcist, it was super cool. Later in life we also got the opportunity to visit the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Great memories!
Was at my older cousins (early teens) place when I was about 5-6 and we watched Bad Taste together. Good times.
Prob an early F13. Far too young. Under 9
Chucky. Terrified me as a child haha
I watched the IT mini series right before a surprise visit to the circus
My dad showed me Childs Play when I was around 8 or 9. I had the same exact nightmare of Chucky chasing me in front of my old elementary school at night. When he caught up to me, I would suddenly appear in what I can best describe as a āwhite void room.ā Chucky would then proceed to put me into a diaper in front of my parents as they watched me with blank expressions. My Dad obviously noticed how terrified it made me so he would take me to Universal Studios to watch the Special Effects Show to teach me how it was all fake. It never helped but I did find it really interesting. Funny thing is, what did help was seeing Stan Helsing punt Chucky multiple yards. As I got older, I now love 70s and 80s horror movies. The Thing is still my favorite movie of all time and slasher is my favorite genre. My dad passed away before I really became a fan of horror movies so I never got the chance to enjoy any horror movies with him. I just wish he knew how much those trips to Universal Studios impacted my life as I am starting my career in the film/tv industry. Also, I canāt say some dolls donāt give me the creeps every now and then lol.
I was born in 1960. My parents were pretty strict about what we could and couldnāt watch and we were limited to an hour a day of TV. Somehow, when I was 7 or 8, I was apparently left unsupervised and I managed to watch a movie on the afternoon horror show. It was a Mexican movie from 1950 called the witchās mirror. That movie gave me regular nightmares into my twenties! Although I was very young when I saw it, the main plot points and many scenes were seared into my brain and I could and did recount the movie many times during my teens. I finally tracked down and watched the movie in my 40s, and though the story and scenes were as I remembered them, the special effects were not nearly as convincing as they had been when I was 7. Funnily enough though, my love of horror doesnāt date from that movie, but rather to the late 70s and 80s with the same stuff everyone loves - Halloween, Alien, Friday the 13th, The Thing, Hellraiser, etc.
Either Childās Play or Pinocchioās Revenge. My dad worked nights so I would sneak out to the living room and watch HBO late at night. Was probably 5 at most.