Top 20 Creepiest Kids Movies Ever
#20: “Dumbo” (1941)
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Maybe it’s the carnival setting, maybe it’s the fact that the main character’s mother is locked up indefinitely, but “Dumbo” pretty much maintains a feeling of “creepy” throughout its runtime. Add to that a scene where the big-eared elephant and his mouse friend get drunk on champagne and start hallucinating, and things get legitimately weird. How often do Disney characters get blitzed on screen? Children watching this scene most likely had some tricky questions for mom and dad.
#19: “The Watcher in the Woods” (1980)
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Strange things start to happen when a family moves into an old English manor: You could slap that synopsis onto a lot of movies from the ‘80s but this one takes the creepy cake. Young Jan witnesses eerie lights and overhears scary stories about a young girl who disappeared in the area 30 years ago. It doesn’t help that a 72-year-old Bette Davis is creepily watching her from behind bushes and trees. A haunting atmosphere and dark subject matter make this Disney movie a little scary for young kids.
#18: “The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” (1987)
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One of those rare films with the coveted 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, “The Garbage Pail Kids Movie” was tailored seemingly to no demographic. Lacking any real synopsis, the film seems to be about how disgusting prosthetics and fake vomit can actually be. There isn’t really any comedy and too many people seem to get killed to make this a family friendly film. The result is a highly disturbing mess of a movie that you would never show to a child – or anyone else for that matter.
#17: “The Peanut Butter Solution” (1985)
Top 10 Creepy Kids Movies
This one is more like a peanut butter-laced night terror. There are so many odd twists and turns for a children’s film, including the ghosts of a couple that died in a fire, ever-growing pubic hair, and a sweatshop full of kids. Who knew that something as simple as peanut butter could come with a whole host of disturbing imagery? It didn’t help that the movie’s trailer gave the impression it would be a family friendly romp about a boy that didn’t fit in.
#16: “The Black Cauldron” (1985)
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A cadaverous wizard who could put Skeletor to shame; a black cauldron that can revive the dead and create an evil army; sounds like pretty normal stuff for kids back in the ‘80s. Eerie atmospheric animation and high-tension string music really get the heart pumping regardless of your age. The movie is a Tolkien-esque adventure but with gothic elements and subject matter that might not be for kids. But this was the ‘80s so no one paid attention too closely to what children were watching. We guess.
#15: “Watership Down” (1978)
You would think that a movie about cute rabbits looking for a new home would be harmless, but you would be wrong. So wrong. The movie based on the novel may have bunnies, but it also has bloody murder and rabbits fighting to the death. There are also a number of scenes that have you wondering if they should’ve just skipped marketing this movie to kids altogether. With that said, you have to commend it for giving a more realistic depiction of the animal world.
#14: “Ernest Scared Stupid” (1991)
For those of us who grew up watching Ernest get into all kinds of crazy trouble, this movie was one of our favorites. In retrospect, a 40-year-old man inviting a group of kids up into his treehouse all alone should’ve been creepy enough. But Ernest does it again when he awakens an ancient curse that allows trolls to run rampant around town. A combination of great prosthetics, animatronics and buckets-full of gross goo make this movie just creepy enough for kids to enjoy and not be severely traumatized.
#13:“Labyrinth” (1986)
There’s something about stolen babies and masked cotillion balls that adds a special touch of strange to a children’s film. Maybe it’s the puppets, maybe it’s David Bowie stalking a teenager – but there’s a darkness throughout the film that makes it a little bit questionable. Jim Henson has a particular skill in making puppets a little bit scary, and it’s on great display here. Not to mention, who wants to be chased through an MC Escher painting by an ‘80s pop star?
#12:“Hocus Pocus” (1993)
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It’s Halloween in Salem, and you know what that means. Three wacky witches are brought back to life by an ancient spell and start to wreak havoc on a town that really should’ve expected something like this. While the movie is charming enough, there are a few creepy things that may not be suitable for all audiences – like a young boy transformed into a cat for all eternity or capital punishment involving witches or a cursed zombie tearing stitches out of his lip or... Bette Midler. Scary!
#11:“The Neverending Story” (1984)
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Our next entry was a box office hit and brought the imagination of a young boy to life. Aside from the looming threat of world destruction, there are a number of elements in this classic that make it a creepy delight. From the murderous wolf out to kill the hero, to a horse that literally drowns in a swamp of sadness, there are just so many things for parents to explain away.
#10:“The Monster Squad” (1987)
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In this romp, a group of young misfits must fight an ancient evil that has infested their town. The Wolfman, Gill-man and even Frankenstein himself show up to flip tables, chase teenagers and just generally cause havoc. If you’re a kid and you haven’t experienced the Hammer horror films or Universal monster movies, then “Monster Squad” can be a lot to handle in one sitting, but it is a great modern take on some old classics.
#9: “The Dark Crystal” (1982)
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“Dark” is definitely the operative term for this puppet-based children’s film. The entire movie seems encased in shadows, and the main puppet characters are just human-looking enough to be disturbing. Throw in scary looking “Skeksis” villains on a quest to take over the world and you’ve got a creepy stew going. It certainly doesn’t help that one of the main characters gets stabbed.
#8:“Monster House” (2006)
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Ever wonder what would happen if a creepy old house came to life and started attacking people? No? Ridiculous, you say? Well “Monster House” explores this hackneyed premise with all the relish of a vindictive parent in a gorilla costume on Halloween night. The film makes appropriate use of the same motion capture technology that freaked everyone out in “The Polar Express” and adds in a few classic Halloween scares to create a creepy atmosphere that is sure to unsettle.
#7: “The Secret of NIMH” (1982)
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When it was released in 1982, The Secret of NIMH received praise for not toning down its subject matter. The real secret though, is that it will haunt a child’s dreams. There are glowing owl eyes, rats with homicidal intent and animals with human intelligence getting stabbed in the neck. While there are plenty of cute mice and happy crows to keep the kids entertained, watching rats plot to kill each other takes things in a different direction.
#6: “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993)
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Maybe one of the most terrifying things conceived for the enjoyment of children, this Tim Burton movie caused all kinds of nightmares and changed a lot of kids’ reactions to Halloween and Christmas. An actual skeleton plots to become the next Santa Claus and delights in delivering presents that are as disgusting as they are deadly. Soon he realizes the true meaning of the holidays and returns to his Halloween land and young children everywhere are left almost too traumatized to cry. Traumatized in an endearing way, of course.
#5: “The Witches” (1990)
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Jim Henson is all over this list, and this next entry is among his best received in the genre. There aren’t many children’s films that feature villains who basically just want to kill all children, but “The Witches” makes no apologies for it. Based on a Roald Dahl book, the film manages to feel like a dedicated horror pic. Watching a witch remove her face makes you wonder if everything you ever knew was a lie.
#4: “Little Monsters” (1989)
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Grown men in crazy costumes live under children’s beds and try to convert them into monsters like themselves. So went the studio pitch that eventually got this nightmare to the big screen. Brian is being blamed for all kinds of shenanigans around his house that he swears he didn’t do. Howie Mandel, dressed much like a stage version of Sully from “Monsters Inc.,” shows up to take the blame. He befriends Brian and things go pretty smoothly… until the monsters kidnap Brian’s brother but that’s… “a long story.”
#3: “Return to Oz” (1985)
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If you were expecting a happy, shiny sequel to the “Wizard of Oz,” you’ll be sorely disappointed by this cult classic. The Lollipop Guild is replaced with disembodied heads, a talking chicken, and a humanoid jack-o-lantern that is just…..not cool. There are also talking walls with demonic faces, an evil king, and kids receiving electroshock therapy. Also also, WHEELERS. It seems like every now and then, Disney likes to talk a walk on the dark side.
#2: “Coraline” (1997)
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As kids, many of us fantasized about finding a secret passageway to somewhere more interesting, and our next entry did exactly that.“Coraline” makes no pretense about being a cutesy children’s film: it’s a fantasy flick with nice stop-motion animation that makes it appealing to children, but it’s a creep-fest from start to finish. The black button eyes on Coraline’s parents in the alternate universe are enough to make you “nope” out of the movie and curl up into a ball. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions: - “Fantasia” (2000) - “Mr. Horatio Knibbles” (1971) - “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005) - “The Brave Little Toaster” (1987) - “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit” (2005)
#1: “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” (1971)
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If some of your greatest childhood fears included drowning in a river of chocolate or expanding into a giant monstrous blueberry , then you probably watched this terrifying gem. The movie appears to tell the story of an eccentric candy maker who gives tours of his magical factory to happy children. Past the midway point, viewers are privy to several cases of suspected child-murder. Throw in some orange dwarves who don’t bat an eyelid when a kid is literally dropped into a furnace and a boat ride that looks like it came straight out of a ‘60s bad trip and you’ve got yourself a movie the whole family can enjoy.
