As a kid, the world can seem like a scary place. Some of us never outgrew the fear that came with supposedly kid-friendly stuff. For example, did anyone else find the Cheshire Cat too disturbing? With the release of the latest “Alice in Wonderland,” we started thinking of things that we should have loved as a child, but still freak us out, even as adults.
Jeff Brown, news editor
1 Barney the Purple Dinosaur — My kids liked him, but he was always creepy to me. Now that they’re grown up, they haven’t let their kids watch him.
2 Teletubbies — We never watched them, but I can’t imagine why kids would not be scared to death of them.
3 The Marlboro Man — Cigarette advertising aimed at macho-ness and also to get boys to smoke. He was cool until we found out everyone who played him died of lung cancer.
Brian Citino, staff writer
1 Japanese cartoons — What ever happened to shows like “The Real Ghostbusters” or “He-Man”?
2 Mr. Bucket — Youtube the old commercial and you’ll see what I mean.
3 Those roller skate sneakers — Childhood obesity is a problem, so why do we create shoes that make them do less walking?
Doug Denison, staff writer
1 The puppets in Mr. Rogers’ “Neighborhood of Make-Believe”
2 Hello Kitty
3 “It’s a Small World” ride at Disney World
Jayne Gest, staff writer
1 Barney — He’s always seemed so creepy to me, bouncing around with that high-pitched voice and flapping his short stubby arms.
2 Lightning Reaction — It’s a toy — it is marketed for older kids, but still ... — that tests reaction time and the slowest person gets shocked. A little too torture-like for me not to be weirded out.
3 Teletubbies — Bizarre and scary at the same time.
Sarika Jagtiani, staff writer
1 Clowns – I still think there’s something sinister underneath that face paint.
2 “Mary Poppins” — It has something to do with the mix of animation and real people, the pigeon lady, and the fact that I overheard my parents talking about Ted Bundy during “Chim Chim Cher-Ee.”
3 The woods – I grew up in the suburbs, so my main association with wooded areas came from “Watcher in the Woods.” I still won’t go in alone. Too afraid of Jason and the Blair Witch.
Maureen Raitz, editor
1 “The Wizard of Oz” — No matter how many times I’ve seen it, I can’t get past the flying monkeys. It’s freaked me out for as long as I can remember.
2 “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” — It’s the girl turning into a blueberry that did it for me.
3 Anatomically correct dolls — Someone bought one for my nephew’s first birthday and I found it disturbing and unnecessary. Teaching young kids a little too much at too young of an age most likely will lead them to becoming the creepy kid on the playground.
