15 Movie Covers That Terrified Me as a Child

When I was a kid in the 1980s, I actually loved being dragged to the grocery store. While Mom and Dad were shopping, I got to go to a very special place: the video aisle.

I spent hours of my childhood there, poring over all the rental videos, and, to be frank, the only movies I ever wanted to look at were the horror movies.

Okay This may not count as horror but WHAT EVEN <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwcedmagiccomv title databasedarkcompromising positions 1html target= blank>SOURCE<a>

As an artist, this isn’t hard to explain. Whereas your typical comedy or romance movie generally has a photograph of the chief actors on the cover, a horror movie is a boundless vista of weird art, lurid colors, and grotesque subject matter.

Horror covers are generally more interesting than the covers of almost any other genre, and this was especially the case back in the 1980s when we were all a bunch of politically incorrect cavemen.

So, without further ado, I would like to terrify you with the same shocking movie covers that captivated me as a child…

Here we have the granddaddy of all my nightmares since about age 7<br><a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpsenwikipediaorgwikiProphecy film target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Snake throne guy is only minorly less terrifying to me than the horrific blue pig creature in the background <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httphorrorpedia54rssingcomchan 25840554latestphp target= blank>SOURCE<a>
To this day I do not know why we must never go down to the cellar <strong>Also I am <em>never<em> going down to the cellar<strong> <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwpinterestcompin434808539018999764lp=true target= blank>SOURCE<a><br>
For whatever reason this chair has always terrified me Not the shadow of the boy just the empty chair <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpshouseofmysterioussecretscomthe changeling posterhtml target= blank>SOURCE<a>
To be fair I also felt the same way about Pink Floyds The Wall <a href=httpswwwetsycomlisting596700187berserker movie poster print 1987 horror target= blank rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab>SOURCE<a>
Possibly the creepiest depiction of a child you will ever see <a href=httpswwwkinolorbercomfilmthepit target= blank rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab>SOURCE<a>
Dont ask me how I blocked this image and the one above out of my mind long enough to have children <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpsenwikipediaorgwikiThe Kindred film target= blank>SOURCE<a>
I finally saw this movie as an adult and loved it but to be honest it still wasnt as terrifying as the lifelong nightmares this cover has given me <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpsenwikipediaorgwikiScanners target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Those eyes will haunt me into my next life <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwimdbcomtitlett0083624 target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Its hard to go into how many ways this is grotesque and repellant in one caption but suffice to say GIANT MAN EATING ROACHES <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwpinterestcompin432627107946630739lp=true target= blank>SOURCE<a>
In spite of the agonized choking scream coupled with The Stuff flowing like unholy tears from this poor mans eyes this cover pales in comparison to Chocolate Chip Charlie <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpwwwtriskaidekafilescomreviews20111126the stuff 1985html target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Forget Chucky For me <em>this<em> is the ultimate scary doll <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwimdbcomtitlett0092906 target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Evidently theres a tamer version of the <em>Creepers<em><em>Phenomena<em> movie cover Lucky me our video aisle had the one with the grinning fleshless Jennifer Connelly face <a rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab href=httpswwwpinterestcompin368380444491241683lp=true target= blank>SOURCE<a>
Im just going to assume whoever inflicted this pants wettingly terrifying abomination onto the world saw this right before they died <a href=httpswwwpinterestcompin517773288379037578 target= blank rel=noreferrer noopener aria label=SOURCE opens in a new tab>SOURCE<a>

And there you have it!

Trust me when I say there are plenty more. I’ve been asking my friends which movie covers scared the pants off of them when they were kids and I’d love to hear about the movies that warped YOUR fragile childhoods too!

Share your personal pathos in the comments below.


Written by Heather Landry

Heather Landry, usually known as Sandpaperdaisy, is an artist, a geek, and a weirdo who lives for the horror genre.


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