1 - Battlestar Galactica.
I’m sure I’ve already recalled it here at some point on this blog, but for those who missed it: I was about 5 or 6 years old. It was Christmas Eve. I was rapidly becoming very tired and had actually starting sleeping with my eyes open. Subsequently I went to bed and I started snoozing. At that time I was heavily into the 80s Battlestar Galactica TV series and had the bedspread and the curtains. Well, I went to bed that night and after a while I woke up and thought I saw Cylons gathering together to sing Christmas Carols. If that wasn’t bad enough, I hid under the blankets and then saw Zippy, George and Bungle from Rainbow walking towards me as if the blanket was a tunnel. Then I saw my grandmother enter my room and then enter a wardrobe. And never came out.
Now I started to panic. I got up and left my bedroom only to find that spiky thing from Star Wars (used to interrogate Princess Leia) making it’s way towards me. I was edging towards the stairs. It was at this point my parents woke up and managed to wake me up. From that point the Battlestar bedsheets and curtains were consigned to the cupboard. Permanently.
2 - The aliens from Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Never seen the whole film. The only thing that stands out in my mind is the ending when the spaceships land and the aliens (built by E.T’s special effects maestro, Carlo Rambaldi) stepping out. What really freaked me out was the lack of noses, big eyes, elongated limbs and well, it just freaked me out. It took me a while to repeat the phrase, “IT’S A PUPPET!!” (thank you Brian Connelly).
3 - E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial.
How the hell could ET, a cuddly space alien be frightening? Well, what spooked me as a kid was when ET screams. At the beginning when he encounters Elliott, and a little further along in the film. Also when he was dying and turned white. And his croaky voice. Still, that didn’t put me off asking for a cuddly ET doll which I cherished until I lost it one day.
4 - The dying alien from Cocoon.
It kind of resembled a dried prune. And I didn’t like prunes at that time in my life.
5 - The Library Ghost from Ghostbusters, and Zaul’s voice.
This film caused me to scream and run out of the living room, desperately begging my mum to switch the video off. Mum explained the irony in the scene, but that still didn’t work for me. And Zaul’s voice when he takes over Sigourney Weaver’s body sent the screaming heebie-jeebies through me. But it was this film that made me want to get into special make-up effects and visual effects. And I partly succeed in that, so thank you Ghostbusters.
6 - Children of the Dog Star.
Children’s TV series. They looked weird, were weird, and quite frankly it spooked the living crap out of me.
7 - Chocky.
That blasted voice haunted me for a good while, I tell you.
8 – Aliens in the Family.
Until Ralph Fiennes came along and MPC digitally removed his nose in his role of Voldermort, I had hated anything that had no nose. These aliens had no noses (how did they smell? Terrible!) and had put the wind up me a good ‘un as a youngster.
There. Now you know. I was a wimp.
