1. The "Scary Stories" illustrations
The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books by Alvin Schwartz, the first of which was published in 1981, aren't really all that scary. The thing about them that made you sleep with a light on from third grade through yesterday were the accompanying illustrations by Stephen Gammell, which look like what creamed corn feels like: wet and cold and unnatural.
2. The Library Ghost from Ghostbusters
3. Aughra from The Dark Crystal
4. The StoryTeller
Everything from this 1988 Jim Henson-produced series was absolutely scarring.
5. The Crypt Keeper
6. A Teddy Ruxpin doll when its batteries have run out
7. Randy from Pee-wee's Playhouse
NOPE.
8. The trolls from The World of David the Gnome
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The World of David the Gnome was a very sweet cartoon about gentle wood-dwelling folks that also featured awful trolls with cloudy eyes that starred directly into the darkest parts of your psyche.
9. The hallway scene from Return to Oz
10. ...and "the wheelers."
Mommyyyyyyyyy!
11. Chucky
12. Freddy Krueger
13. Hell as depicted in All Dogs Go to Heaven
14. Mommy Fortuna's gruesome death in The Last Unicorn
15. The goblins from The Labyrinth
16. The Watcher in the Woods' mirror scene
17. Gremlins
18. The clown from Poltergeist
Nine times out of 10, building on an Indian burial ground results in clowns who want to maim and eat children.
19. Slap bracelets
First introduced in the late '80s, slap (or snap) bracelets were equal parts fashion accessory and torture device. They usually came in the decade's most iconic colors: purple, pink, and "rainbow cheetah print." What '80s kid doesn't remember chasing people (or, alternately, being chased) around the playground with one of these dangerous fashion statements?
20. The Hugga Bunch
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Just watch the video.