People Single Out Kids Movies That Are So Creepy, They Even Spook Adults

Publish date: 2024-05-09

Next time you’re looking for a good horror movie, try watching Pinocchio or Dumbo. Seriously. As we get older, we discover the dark side of our favorite stories, and some old childhood movies can really make us sweat in horror. We decided to gather ordinary people’s opinions and find the most disturbing kids’ movies that they’ll probably never show to their own children.

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

It’s no surprise that the movie is quite bone-chilling, as it was directed by Tim Burton himself. Willy Wonka is hard to understand — we’re unsure of his motives. Besides, weird things were happening to the children in the factory, and Wonka didn’t even consider helping them. Some describe him as antisocial and incapable of having any remorse.

He walked 5 kids into a factory full of traps and watched as his little workers sang a song and carried them off after they set off the traps, creepy is understating what he is.
skyderper13 / Reddit

I got scared when Violet turned into a huge violet balloon and when the fat kid gets stuck in the tube. I thought he drowned after being in all that chocolate.
LaST_LiGHT / thetoptens

It really scared me when I was a kid! Especially when you see the boy who becomes very long. I couldn’t sleep for days!
Unknown author / thetoptens

2. Coraline

Although the story is supposed to be moral, it’s a bit too much to handle for kids and even for adults. The antagonist, Beldam, fed on children and made them stay in her world by taking their eyes and replacing them with buttons, which is already enough to send shivers down your spine.

It’s just so...creepy. It doesn’t present anything someone might consider “real” danger, it’s like a cutesy version of a Lovecraftian nightmare. The entire animation style just feels like it activates some primal fear that I don’t understand.
MidgetSwiper / Reddit

I think a lot of scary movies made for kids are scarier than scary movies made for adults. Obviously they aren’t usually as gory or overt in their horror, but their vibes or implications can get under your skin real good.
funkyibis / Reddit

I remember watching Caroline when I was about 7–8 years old. It was very vivid and eerie. It starts out good, but there’s something that makes you feel like something’s wrong.
Because of all the built-up suspense, it’s way creepier than 70% of all cheesy slasher films. Nothing against horror movies, but Caroline is a movie you’ll remember forever.
BeansInMyTea / Reddit

3. Return to Oz

The 1985 Disney film is considered to be one of the most terrifying movies for kids. Dorothy’s home was destroyed by a tornado, then her chicken was punished for not laying eggs, and, last but not least, those “electric healing treatments” that were supposed to tame Dorothy’s imagination.

The pumpkin head freaked me out. What really freaked me out was the Hall of Heads! I was like, what?
LaST_LiGHT / thetoptens

4. Dumbo

Tim Burton added his own personal touch to the story. The freaky clown parade and sad animals that are forced to live in a spooky circus definitely left an imprint in viewers’ minds. Even if we aren’t talking about the new version, the story itself is still quite disturbing, according to many.

I have not watched that movie since I was a kid and will not. Won’t let my daughter watch it either. Freakishly traumatizing.
Frejathewitch / Reddit

I always found the original Dumbo really depressing as a kid, and to this day, I have no desire to ever watch it again.
r05590 / Reddit

5. Pinocchio

The cartoon is remembered for bringing up some disturbing topics, like brutal behavior and kidnapping. Plus, Pleasure Island, where boys turned into donkeys and never returned home, is especially dark. Even Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican movie director, said, “I saw the Disney film at a very early age, and it’s one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen.”

It scarred me for life. I literally cannot even watch it as an adult because of how much it scarred me as a kid.
AuraSweet / Reddit

It’s a movie based off a really dark and twisted book. The movie’s dark too, but oh my Lord, the book’s just terrifying!
Unknown author / thetoptens

Think about it — if you’re a bad kid, you’ll enter into a systemic and unavoidable transformation that will turn you into a donkey, and you’ll ultimately be sent to the salt mines where all the bad kids go.
No second chances. Unless your old man is willing to be swallowed by a huge whale to save you. Even then, not 100% sure you make it out alive. What a dark children’s movie.
WanderingTrader11 / Reddit

Watching the same movie again after some time can definitely give you a different perspective. You can also rewatch The Addams Family and check out the new cast here. Don’t forget to check out the most attractive villains, according to ordinary people, and finish it off with a curious read about the fears most of us have thanks to horror movies.

By the way, you can also take a look at what the most famous celebs looked like in their first movies, as some of them were quite cute (and they still are).