Back in the 1980s the threat of nuclear war was pervasive in daily life.
That fear and paranoia made the TV films Threads and The Day After particularly effective. People were genuinely terrified or traumatized.
Both told the story of an atomic apocalypse, with Threads set in the UK and The Day After in the United States. I wasn’t familiar with Threads until about 5 years ago, but The Day After was a TV event everyone seemed to be talking about in the USA.
But fear inducing isn't quite the same as creepy.
For creepy, you need something like The Twilight Zone, Creepshow or Night Gallery.
Reddit user juliacorco asked:
"What is the creepiest tv episode or movie you’ve ever seen?"
Haunting of Hill House
"Haunting of Hill House on Netflix."
"Scary as hell."
"Bent Neck Lady makes the hair on my neck stand up on end every time."
"Same with the ghost looking for his hat. Or whatever was down in the cellar."
~ Pretend-Cucumber-711
GiphyHereditary
"Hereditary"
"That one scene near the end in the dark bedroom…is essentially a reverse jump scare. Something is there the entire time and it’s just a matter of when you notice."
"Sent chills up my spine."
"That movie stuck with me for days."
~ Plus-Statistician80
Doctor Who/Torchwood
"I have two contenders, from the Doctor Who universe..."
"'Blink' from Doctor Who."
"'Children of the Earth' from Torchwood (all 5 episodes)."
"Both are the stuff of nightmares, but in very different ways."
"'Blink' will make you not sleep at night, while 'Children of the Earth' will deeply disturb you."
~ Common_Sense_Dudd
Giphy"The first few seconds I was exposed to the Weeping Angels in 'Blink' I thought it was a dumb, silly conceit."
"By the end of that episode I knew I would have nightmares for months."
~ codyish
"'Children of Earth' was amazing. There was so much complexity to it, and the way they solved it was downright horrifying."
"The 456 just felt so real with their motives, and were really dark compared to other Who-niverse villains."
"It wasn't that they were trying to build a galactic highway, or were trying to save the universe. Just that (SPOILERS) they were drug dealers/addicts and would kill millions if the didn't get their supply of children."
~ NinjaBreadManOO
Paranormal Activity
"Paranormal Activity."
"I was not prepared and only 12 years old."
"Traumatized for years!"
~ Sudden-Star-7190
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode 'Hush'."
~ Malk_McJorma
"The gentlemen were some of the best villains."
~ Sudden-Star-7190
Room 1408
"Room 1408 creeped me out."
"I usually don't find hauntings or ghosts scary, but this one was something else."
"Left me really uneasy when trying to sleep after."
"I had to keep a light on. I'm 46."
~ hartschale666
The Twilight Zone
"I find the The Twilight Zone episode titled 'Living Doll' to be particularly creepy."
~ Ill_Fisherman5547
"Talky Tina was so creepy."
~ peachesfordinner
"The Twilight Zone episode—'Mirror Image'—with the woman at the bus station who has a doppelganger still creeps the sh*t out of me."
~ BurningSlash88
Ghost Ship
"Opening scene from Ghost Ship."
~ teslatinkering
"This movie is 21 years old, I’ve only watched it once and I still remember this scene vividly."
"Props to the creators because I can’t say that about many movies."
~ PainfulPoo411
X-Files
"The X-Files."
"Episodes 'Home'—inbred family in Pennsylvania—and 'The Host'—the Flukeman."
~ True-Mousse4957
"I was going to say season 3, episode 12—'War of the Coprophages'."
"Only due to one little thing."
"Mulder is in a lab with some scientist looking at the weird cockroaches. They're just chatting away when a cockroach walks across 'your' TV screen."
"It's made to look like it's an actual cockroach walking across your in real life screen. We don't even have cockroaches like that in my region of the world, but it still freaked me out for a second."
~ STROKER_FOR_C64
The Blair Witch Project
"Not gonna lie."
"I saw The Blair Witch Project in the theatre after watching some MTV documentary on it the day before."
"I thought it was real and I was afraid to walk to my car."
~ heavymetalsculpture
Are You Afraid of the Dark
"There's an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark—'The Tale of the Dead Man's Float'."
"It's about a school that was built on an old cemetary and there is some sort of creature thing thant comes into the pool while some kids are swimming."
"I still think about that episode every so often."
~ streetsoulja31
"There’s that one episode—'The Tale of the Frozen Ghost'—where a kid froze to death at some point and the ghost kid just appears and says 'I’m cold' in such a weird inflection…."
"It still creeps me out now. And whenever I am cold, that’s the only way I can say it in my head."
"Man that series had no business being that scary!!"
~ mistresssweetjuice
GiphyFor me, children in horror can always produce the creepiness factor.
Who doesn't feel unsettled after seeing the twins in The Shining?
So what movies or TV episodes creeped you out?
Tough guys put on a facade that indicates to others that they always know what's going on.
But their confidence doesn't always match their intellect, which is probably why they cover their insecurities by walking around and trying to show everyone who's really the boss.
If that's the case, they should keep their mouths shut because not everything that comes out of their mouth needs to be heard.
Yet, it can be amusing to everyone else.
Curious to hear examples of these, Redditor PrototypeShadowBlitz asked:
"Reddit, what is the stupidest thing you've heard from the 'alpha male' community?"
You might find these guys at a bar.
The Dude Must Be Hungry
"Had a run in once with a group of young lads about something in a bar and one of them said we are top of the food chain bro and you will be the prey."
– insertitherenow
"'Whatever, mall ninja" -proper response."
– TheEighthLord
If The Shoe Fits
"That they were an alpha male."
– I_Have_A_Name37654
"The use of 'Alpha Male,' unironically is every indication that you're dealing with a child's understanding of manhood."
– 88Dubs
Brat Pack
"Me and my bros are all alpha males."
– SonOfDadOfSam
"I was skiing one time and rode the lift with a guy that said, 'I don't feel no pain. I live with 5 roommates and none of us feel any pain.' Okay, bud. That's a really interesting coincidence."
– NicPizzaLatte
They sure thrive on making sexist comments.
Contagious Femininity
"A coworker said, 'I don't spend too much time with my girlfriend because I'll become too feminine.'"
– Lazy_Natural6154
"FELLAS IS IT GAY?!"
– aliebabadegrote
Sexist Categorization
"I have been called a beta for saying that my wife makes more money than I do. She works in a more lucrative field and is more educated than I am, so it makes perfect sense that she makes more than I do."
"So I came back, and this post has really blown up. There's just a few things I want to clarify."
"1- I have only ever been called a beta online."
"2- I work full-time in project management. I have a master's degree. I have a 6 figure salary."
"3- My wife has a PhD and works in finance. She also has a 6 figure salary, it's just a higher salary than my own."
"4- I'm sorry to anyone who might feel as though my original post misled them."
– ExaminationDouble240
It's Teamwork
"A real man would be proud of his wife for achieving success, and not fall for that sort of insecure bullsh*t."
"It's not a contest, that's the real joke here. Good on you for seeing the big picture."
– Mrbeardoesthethings
Do these roles about parenting sound familiar?
Childish Things Are Too Girly
"Real men don't take their kids trick or treating is one that I heard recently."
– constructionguy89
"Related. Guys who brag about not changing diapers, not playing 'girly' games, etc. Essentially guys who brag that their only contribution to fatherhood is money and masculine things like fishing or football. Even then some of them brag about not paying a lot of child support to prove they didn't let the system take advantage of them."
"I can't imagine a life so empty my only accomplishment worth bragging about was being a terrible parent."
– Green7000
This Woman's Work
"I was told that taking care of my kids is woman's work. Apparently it's concerning that I try to spend so much of my free time with them. Oddly enough the meatheads at my grappling club think it's sweet I occasionally have my daughters' hair clips on and nails painted."
– MrFunktasticc
People discussed rules in the bedroom.
Never Submissive
"That a man is turned off when their wife/girlfriend seduces them, because if she wants sex and shows it she is a sl*t, also making the man the submissive one…"
– kamalaophelia
Stifling Emotions
"Not the whole community, but was cuddling with a guy once and could tell he was trying not to get emotional over something that was bothering him. He said, quite literally, 'it's not alpha male behaviour.' I told him that I liked that he showed emotions sometimes, and he looked disgusted by the fact that I pointed it out."
– LambLifts
In high school, a classmate who was on the football team said I was a "sissy" for listening to classical music.
The other classmates laughed at me, which was hardly surprising since all of the guys on our unbeatable football team were considered stars on campus.
This kind of mockery was a typical day for me.
I can laugh at their idiotic comments now but back then, I don't know why I ever let them get under my skin.
Pets can be wonderful companions. Many studies show the physical and psychological benefits of pet ownership.
But...
If you think about some of the things our pets routinely do, in the context of their role as someone sharing our living space, pets can be kind of jerks.
Reddit user LakotaGrl challenged people to consider just that conundrum when they asked:
"Referring to your pet as only 'My roommate', what's something your roommate does?"
Here are the hilarious results.
Bedtime yoga.
My roommate likes to sleep with only his butt on the bed, the rest of his body on the floor. He also likes it when you slap his butt repeatedly.
GiphyToo close for comfort.
I once woke up to my roommate slipping and falling off the head of my bed and landing on my face. The first thing I saw that day was his butthole. Close up.
This is how you get pink eye.
GiphyCan't hold his licker.
If I bend over (to pick up somethingoff the floor or whatever) and my trousers get slightly pulled down, my roommate will try to lick my butt. I have to tell him to stop it multiple times before he listens.
GiphyFeline recreation
My roommate attacks a stuffed toy filled with drugs, then runs around and attacks table legs. After he tires himself out, he licks his butthole and falls asleep in a cardboard box.
GiphyCollege roommate?
One time I was really impressed with my roommate because they managed to open the fridge all on their own.
GiphyNot so sneaky.
My roommate crawls into bed with me and my girlfriend at night thinking we won't notice.
GiphyRoomba of Doom!
My roommate is getting rather chubby because my husband has been traveling and she hasn't kept up the strict exercise program of running 20+ miles a week while he's gone. Instead, she's been stealing our kids' sandwiches and sleeping on his side of the bed.
Our roommate is scared of Roomba and tries to bite it. I have to be vigilant to make sure our roommate doesn't poop on the floor before Roomba runs.
GiphyCock-a-doodle-who?
My roommate screams when the sun rises in the morning. He has also pooped on me before and hisses at vegetables.
My friend has a roommate like that. Has anger issues. Low key, but I think he's a pimp. He surrounds himself with multiple women and will fight you if you look at the girls.
GiphyJust making sure he didn't miss anything good.
My roommate sniffs my mouth whenever he returns to the room just to check if I ate anything during his absence.
GiphyPorch Surfing
We found one of our roommates on our porch one day, he yelled at us until we fed him and he's been camping on our porch ever since. Sometimes he comes in the garage when it's really cold. We wanna bring him in, but the other two roommates don't want him in the house, so he stays on the porch.
GiphyNobody wants to go in the cold.
My roommate wouldn't just go poo in the snow, instead she waited until it hit critical mass and went behind the curtains
GiphyKeeping an eye on you.
When I walk the dog, my roommate stalks us through the neighborhood, hiding behind trees and cars, then running ahead and jumping out at us.
GiphySometimes you need tough love...
Neither of my roommates will voluntarily bathe. When they really start to stink, I have to physically wrestle them into the bathtub. Both of my roommates will try to escape so it's pretty tricky.
Giphy...or a good bribe.
To convince my roommate baths are a good idea, I smear a small part of the tub with peanut butter and he licks it off while being bathed.
GiphyHigh Maintenance Relationship
My roommates were homeless when we met. I offer to let them live with me, but now they expect me to clean up after them and feed them. They're always complaining about the food I buy. All they do is lay around all day. They aren't even paying any rent!
GiphyPracticing for the hotdog eating contest
Once I stepped outside to check the mail, and in the minute or two it took me to leave and come back, my roommate had eaten an entire pack of hot dog buns.
GiphyA sudden wind.
My roommate wakes herself up with farts then acts super surprised
My roommate is just scared of her farts and stares at/sniffs her own butt every time it happens
GiphyThat led to one heck of a hangover.
A former roommate of mine was wild as hell, he was his own man. One morning he left our house hastily, didn't mention where he was off to.
A few hours later he gets picked up from the drunk tank no worse for wear—we brought him home and put him to bed to sleep it off. Not more than an hour later he was vomiting chunks of dead bird and some sort of mammalian road kill.
GiphyNumber one method of communication.
My roommate pees on my bed when he is mad at me.
One of my roommates has done this twice recently since he has been started on a diet. He wanted to show his feelings about the situation.
GiphyInappropriate decorum.
My roommate thinks it's cute to run around the house showing guests my underwear
GiphySo what does your furry, finned, feathered or scaly roommate do?
Let us know in the comments.