“What Terrified You As A Kid That Isn’t Scary Now?”—20 Stories

11. 

“Looking at mirrors in the night. Thought they would become haunted in the dark.” — TudoCasual

12. 

“Opening a can of Pillsbury biscuits. Just waiting for that POP! after unraveling the paper.” — Mother_TITresa

13. 

“Running up the basement stairs after turning off the light.” — WillowStKnifeBois

14. 

“Escalators. Many thanks to Rescue 911 for convincing me I was going to get eaten by one if my shoe was untied.” — brimchars

15. 

“Nothing. Everything is 1000000 times scarier now than it was when I was a kid.” — MarvinGoldHeart

16. 

“Balloons. Specifically, balloons popping. When I was really young my dad popped one near my face as a joke, but it really traumatized me. I hated going to birthday parties because there were always games where you had to pop a balloon in some form.” — -eDgAR-

17. 

“Quicksand. Really thought it was a major issue.” — mangoeffect

18. 

“Toilets. I was afraid of getting flushed.” — KrustyRustyDusty

19.

“The Beast from the Sandlot. Freaked me out back then, but now that I can see how low budget the dog looks (still an amazing movie by the way) I find it a bit less scary.” — unnaturalorder

20. 

“There is this creepy crawl space behind our furnace in the basement, which is right next to our washer and dryer. The furnace/air ducts block most of it from view when doing laundry, but a quarter of it is still about ten feet to your left. It’s like an evil black hole where your worst nightmare is hidden, just staring at you and waiting for the perfect moment to strike.” — jdall87

More creepy kids:

Patricia Grisafi

Patricia Grisafi, PhD, is a freelance writer and educator. Her work has appeared in Salon, Vice, Bitch, Bustle, Broadly, The Establishment, and elsewhere. She is passionate about pit bull rescue, cursed objects, and designer sunglasses.