When I was a child, I was in the supermarket with my dad and brother. At the checkout line, I saw some random magazine (I can't remember the name), but the cover had a cartoon picture of a man and a woman in a movie theater with the Grim Reaper sitting in between them. There was blood all over both of them, I remember specifically that the man had a knife stuck in his chest, and the Reaper was laughing. That really scared me.
Also, I took a book called
Scared Silly out of my elementary school library and had my mom read it to me just before bed. It was fine until we got to the final story, which was about a girl named Tilly, who was afraid of going to bed. Each night, she'd hear a voice that would call out "Tilly, I'm on the first step" or "Tilly, I'm on the second step". This goes on for some nights, and the girl is scared but her parents don't believe her when she tells them. At the end of the story, the voice says "Tilly, I'm in your room", and then "I'VE GOT YOU!" The final picture shows a green furry hand reaching into the picture and grabbing the terrified girl by her ankle. I spent many a night after that terrified that I'd hear such a voice.
Oh, and I just looked up that book now to see if I'm remembering it correctly. Apparently, the book was written to help kids get over nighttime fears. Mission accomplished.
