Horror Films That Scar Children

Deep down, we all hate clowns. They're loud, in your face, and rarely ever funny. Plus, their face paint always make them look like they're frowning and angry. Using a scary clown in your horror film feels almost like cheating.

There have been many scary clowns, but none take the cake like Pennywise. Played to utter perfection by Tim Curry, Pennywise succeeds as both a regular clown and a homicidal one, which is key when it comes to giving kids nightmares for the rest of their life. 

If you're a kid, just keep telling yourself, "It's not real. It's not real." If you're an adult, just keep telling yourself, "It's not just a giant spider. It's not just a giant spider."

This horror film seems tailor made to scar children. As adults, we know better than to fear a stupid little doll that can be thrown across the room. But children don't have this much common sense. Besides, they're a lot closer to Chucky's size, so maybe he would be harder to physically deal with at an age when you have yet to mentally unite dolls and fireworks.

Chucky not only wants to kill and probably rape your mommy, but he fully intends to steal your body first. And because it's a transfer, you get stuck inside a doll for the rest of your life. That's a lot to consider when the lights go out and you're surrounded by stuffed animals.

Pet Sematary would be scary enough for children simply because it features a really cute little kid getting smeared by a semi truck, then coming back to life as a demon child who kills his own mother.

But that's not even the scariest part of the film. Pet Sematary doesn't start supplying nightmares wholesale until Zelda shows up. This memorable movie monster is actually just a girl whose sickness turns her into a twisted witch. The only thing worse than having a monstrous sister is spooning slop into her weird mouth everyday. She doesn't work so well on adults, but no one who met Zelda as a child ever forgot her.

A lot of people see The Exorcist as a nightmare for mothers, but it's very much a nightmare for little kids, too. Unless you think being forced to stab your privates with a crucifix and growing a demon face sounds like a gentle daydream, that is. The idea that your body could simply be abducted and used like that is pretty horrible even to kids who think projectile vomiting and head-spinning sounds like fun.

And in the newer version, kids have the whole "spider-walking" scene to deal with, which will give you nightmares no matter how old you are.