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If you were an ’80s kid, there were certain things that terrified you . . . and possibly scarred you for life.
The Internet was kind enough to produce a list of them. It includes things like creepy vans, razor blades in Halloween apples, and Tylenol.
(No, not because of the pretend autism risk. In 1982, seven people DIED from Extra Strength Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. The case was never solved, and the main suspect died in 2023.)
There were also some pop culture moments that freaked us out. Including:
1. “The Day After”: The 1983 movie about the aftermath of nuclear war. (The 1984 British drama “Threads” is way more effective.)
2. Big scary dogs: Thanks to movies like “Cujo” and “The Omen”.
3. The covers of the “Flowers in the Attic” books: A staple of those V.C. Andrews paperbacks was a child in distress, with his or her head sticking out of a hole in the front cover.
4. Quicksand: Thanks to about a million cartoons and reruns of “Gilligan’s Island”, ’80s kids thought you could fall into it walking to school.
5. “Dungeons & Dragons”: You either played it, or you thought the kids who did were communing with Satan.
6. UFO abductions: Thanks, “Unsolved Mysteries”!!!
7. The Bermuda Triangle: Thanks again, “Unsolved Mysteries”.
8. Bigfoot from “The Six Million Dollar Man”: It’s hard to forget Andre the Giant in a big fur suit and freaky white contact lenses. Although these probably remain the best-loved episodes of the series.
(Check out more here. And I would add the vampire kid at the window in the 1979 TV version of “Salem’s Lot”. I know grown adults who still can’t watch it.)
