What spooked you most as a kid — the thing you still feel in your chest even though you know better now? We go deep into the odd and unforgettable fears that shaped our UK childhoods: the icy prickle of the World In Action theme, the way Doctor Who’s opening could send you behind the sofa, and why the BBC Test Card felt like it might blink if you stared too long. From there, we unravel the pop-culture logic that made quicksand seem like a weekly threat and how public information films turned lakes and canals into silent traps.
We also take on the fears that were people-shaped. Jimmy Savile’s omnipresence felt wrong even before the truth surfaced; we talk about that instinct, and how certain performers carried an aura that kids picked up on. Dogs, both real and animated — from the local German shepherd to Cardinal Richelieu in Dogtanian — made streets and screens feel riskier than they were. And then the existential stuff: the Bermuda Triangle, a one-line warning about Ouija boards, and the mind-bending vastness of infinity that made “forever” sound more frightening than hellfire. If you ever lay awake trying to imagine the edge of the universe, you’ll recognise the chill.
Music and media leave their marks too. Queen’s I’m Going Slightly Mad video — black-and-white, theatrical, and threaded with the knowledge of Freddie’s illness — blurred humour and horror in a way that got under our skin. We round things out with everyday hazards that grew into legends: escalators that “suck you under,” showers that turn treacherous, and late-night Medium Wave radio drifting into unfamiliar languages that sounded like secret codes in the dark. It’s a funny, candid, and oddly comforting tour of the myths we swallowed, the truths we learned, and the shivers that never quite left.
Enjoyed the ride? Follow the show, share it with a friend who loved the Beano and dreaded quicksand, and leave a review with your most irrational childhood fear — we’ll read our favourites on a future episode.
