Things You Were Afraid Of As A Kid That Still Scare The Crap Out Of You

#1 Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid

Some of us had fears as a kid that were extremely frightening. We could scare easily, and with good reason, things were much different. Even growing up, some of the irrational fears just stuck in our heads and kept us from exceeding, and to be honest, people saying things like 'quit being a baby' and 'oh, grow up' just make things seems worse. I know you feel me, fellow big-babies. These things you were afraid of as a kid still scare you and you're just trying to deal. Don't think you're alone, lots of people still have fears they have harbored since childhood.

#2 Ghosts

Everyone was afraid of ghosts and things they were unable to physically see. The problem with ghosts is that if you thought one was in your house there was nobody to call until Ghostbusters came out. The police wouldn't even help with these spirits. To this day you probably are afraid if you see something moving in a room when you're clearly supposed to be alone. I know I do!

#3 Flying Monkeys

The moneys onThe Wizard Of Oz were horrifying. Looking at them as a grown up, the flying monkeys are so clearly adult men hunched over and clumsily hop-shuffling around. Like many things on this list, the clear eye of adulthood reveals them to be more pathetic than frightening. But seriously, they still creep me out.

#4 The Dark

The cellar, the attic, the closet, it was all off bounds! Bad things happen in dark places. As rational grownups, we fully understand that there's nothing to be afraid of about the dark and we are 100% comfortable in pitch blackness. We promise. We're not scared.

...No, you are! Shut up! We're telling Mom.

#5 Being Without Your Parents on Sleepovers

Why were you automatically terrified of spending the night somewhere where your mom and dad weren't? They were just two regular people. Whatever nutso stuff you were afraid of in the strange uncharted territory of your friend's house (monsters under the bed, alien invasions, etc.), if the shit ever DID actually hit the fan, odds are your parents would be pretty much useless.

#6 Accidentally Summoning A Spirit Through The Bathroom Mirror

Blame this one on those goofy horror movies with a flimsy premise. Bloody Mary, The Candyman, Beetlejuice, anything really. I don't want to spin the wrong way and say the wrong thing after I get out of the shower and be surprise haunted by a malevolent spirit. That's how horror movies start. Duh.

#7 Monsters

Just like ghosts, the monsters came in many forms. OMG! The ones you KNEW were hiding under the bed were worse than the ones in the closet. You know that chilly ankle feeling. It's also why your limbs don't ever dangle off the bed you don't have a death wish.

#8 The Micro Wave Running By Itself

It's micro-wave, right? Those are dangerous things. Nothing turns you into some sort of James Bond bomb-stopper quite like chasing down the microwave and fearing the beep like an IRL explosion. I was afraid of using them as a kid, but even today there's something just not right about a box that can cook food in 20 seconds from the inside out.

#9 The Killer Behind The Shower Curtain

Thanks, Hitchcock! They snuck in in the middle of the night and they've been patiently standing there with a knife waiting for you to take a shower. Or pee. Or go to the bathroom. So you whip back the shower curtain super fast when you go into the bathroom for any reason. To this day I keep my curtain opened unless I am in the shower.

#10 Getting A Shot

You remember the painful feeling and effect of going to the doctors for a shot when you were a kid? Well, nothing's changed. It's a long cold needle with a point on the end of it. That can't be a good thing.

#11 Rabies

Our parents used this tactic to keep us away from stray animals, and I guess that's a good thing. But, there's just something about an animal with rabies that can make you run for the hills. If you ever saw the movie CUJO then you know what I mean. Somehow rabies has become less of an epidemic than I was lead to believe as a kid, but any stray animal makes you stop and think really hard.

#12 Your Loud Aunt or Uncle Who Was Just Being Nice to You

They scared you for no real reason other than because they were sort of creepy and loud. Everyone has that one loud jokey relative you were afraid of as a kid, which is a real bummer when you grow up and realize that they were just trying to bond with you without doing the same old "what's-your-favorite-subject-look-how-big-you've-gotten" schtick as everyone else. It's hard to think of stuff to talk to kids about! They were doing their best! Luckily, as the cycle continues, you now get to unintentionally scare the pants off some poor niece or nephew.

#13 Sharks

Everybody was afraid of sharks. When Jaws came out, it made things three times worse. They say you're more likely to be killed by a cow than a shark, but I'll take my chances. In the water, I know I must look like a seal with dangling legs to them. I'll stay on shore, thank you.

#14 A Flushing Toilet

Be honest, the sound of a flushing toilet was a little scary. Aware that this could just be me, but there was a talking toilet in Look Who's Talking Too and it scared me until I was 16. I used to run out of the room when I heard that sound. I mean, that thing could try and suck you in, couldn't it? The realization of this fear is simply not possible according to basic physics. Even as a small child, you were most likely much, much bigger than the drain in your bathtub. It just was never going to happen. Really. Never.

#15 Finding A Worm In Your Apple

Or finding half a worm. Thank you, playground joke that won't get unstuck from my head. Eeeww!!

#16 Getting Caught In An Escalator And Being Eaten Alive

Seriously, this is a thing. It has happened before, I've heard. The fear was put into me as a kid and now I gingerly step on and off these things or else I'm clearly risking my life. I once watched a woman get a scarf sucked up into the stairs and stopped riding the escalator for several years. If it didn't totally eat her alive, I am sure it could have strangled her.