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Yakima Valley Residents Reveal Childhood Movie Trauma
Listeners share the films that still haunt their nightmares decades later.
Mar. 28, 2026 at 5:20pm
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The unsettling images from childhood horror movies can leave a lasting imprint on the mind.Washington TodayWhen asked about the scariest movies they saw as children, listeners in Washington's Yakima Valley shared a range of terrifying experiences, with two films standing out above the rest: the original IT, which instilled a fear of clowns, and Poltergeist, which featured a particularly unsettling scene involving a scary clown.
Why it matters
The movies that scare us as children can have a lasting impact, shaping our fears and phobias well into adulthood. This story provides a window into the collective movie-going experiences of an entire region, highlighting the power of cinema to traumatize young minds.
The details
Respondents mentioned a variety of horror classics that frightened them, including slasher films featuring Jason, Freddy, Chucky, and Michael Myers. Some even cited unexpected titles like The Wizard of Oz and Clash of the Titans as unexpectedly terrifying. However, two movies stood out above the rest: the original IT, which instilled a deep fear of clowns, and Poltergeist, which featured a particularly unsettling scene involving a scary clown.
- The original IT was released in 1990.
- Poltergeist was released in 1982.
The players
Whitley Strieber
The author whose true story inspired the 1989 film Communion, which featured a disturbing scene of an alien peering through a doorframe that haunted one listener's dreams.
Christopher Walken
The actor who starred in the 1989 film Communion, based on Whitley Strieber's true story.
Craig T. Nelson
The Yakima, Washington native who starred in the 1982 film Poltergeist.
What they’re saying
“The scene of the alien poking his head into the door frame still haunts my dreams to this day.”
— Bruno Guerrero
The takeaway
The movies that scare us as children can have a lasting impact, shaping our fears and phobias well into adulthood. This story highlights the power of cinema to traumatize young minds, with the original IT and Poltergeist standing out as the two films that left the deepest scars on the psyche of Yakima Valley residents.
