Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Children's Shows Are Surprisingly Creepy

People Break Down Which Children's Shows Are Surprisingly Creepy
Image by Vidmir Raic from Pixabay
Make us preferred on Google

When we're little kids watching cartoons on TV, we rarely ever consider the adult human beings behind those creations. As kids, we like the bright blue light, the colors, the physical comedy, and the general silliness of it all.

But revisit those same old television shows as an adult and prepare for some new, shocking discoveries.


You'll quickly realize that adults were at the helm of those shows, and not just any adults. We're talking creators with absolutely bizarre imaginations, fascination with the visually grotesque, and, at worst, problematic ethical tendencies.

Some Redditors gathered to reminisce about the weirdest ones they could call to mind.

Classic_Contract7560 asked, "What children's shows are surprisingly creepy?"

Picking and Choosing

"My dad thought Invader Zim was creepy and weird, but we had the episodes on DVD where I would watch them a lot."

"They didn't mind CatDog, but my mom always said it was disturbing that a cat and dog were attached."

-- Lady03

Formative Influences

The Secret of Nimh is one of the darkest and creepiest things ever produced for children. I still love watching it."

"It's stuff like this that I watched as a kid that made me like scary stuff as an adult."

-- Anon-Ymous929

All About Setting

"Courage the cowardly dog" -- misochunky

"I was gonna mention that one. F*** me it's actually horrifying" -- GrigorijRasputin

"First saw Courage when I was a kid living in the rural desert filled with creepy stories and such. As far as I am concerned, that show was a historical account of my childhood." -- softdoorhandle

The Long Game 

"I'm sorry but flapjack and teletubbies are something different" -- oooglybooogly12

"Flapjack was from that weird era of Cartoon Network when they started making shows that would attract some Adult Swim viewers." -- eddmario

"Yes. Teletubbies is just creepy as sh!t. Especially the older ones. I see my nephew happily watching it like it's the best thing ever. And I'm sitting there disturbed." -- Not_A_Bot2020

A New Lens

"The animation on Jay Jay the Jet Plane is much more horrifying than I remember as a child." -- theSuburbanAstronaut

"JAY JAY THE JET PLANE. Just no...." -- psf919

#1 and #2

"Boobah. What the f*** even was that sh**?" -- AdolphDiddler

"Boobahs were created when a TV exec checked what demographics watch TV during a particular slot and discovered that the top two were children and people on drugs." -- SloanWarrior

Early 90s: the Wild West of Grotesque Cartoons

"Ren and Stimpy" -- SymphonyForTheDevil

"My god. When they did the close-ups. I still get nightmares. What even was the age rating for that show?" -- unbearablytolerable

"The one where Ren took off his fur to get in the bath and there was a crowd of people watching through the window messed me up pretty good. Still don't like bathrooms with windows." -- RobinMagic

Discoveries About Cheese

"Cow and Chicken" -- FultonHomes

"Their friend the devil who always had an a** crack and when their neighbouring town was in civil war and they used cheese as ammunition until they were shown that cheese is food. Brilliant show" -- Recessjoe

Yup, Totally Creepy 

"Some of the episodes of Hey Arnold legitimately still give me the creeps YEARS later when I think of them." -- abigiggle_n

"Him and Gerald fighting as old men on the bus, then his dead grandfather decomposing infront of him was f***ed." -- Soulger11

"I mean, Helga has a f***ing stalker shrine of Arnold with his hair and chewed gum that 'makes her girlhood tremble'" -- shewy92

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Paul Rudd
Valerie Terranova/Getty Images for Cunard

Paul Rudd Was Just Spotted Peering Into The Brooklyn Store That's Feuding With Kelly Clarkson—And The Jokes Are On Point

Celebrities: They're just like us!

They get annoyed when they get bad customer service, like Kelly Clarkson, and they get hella nosey when the drama goes viral on the internet—like, it turns out, Paul Rudd.

Keep ReadingShow less
screenshot of Lisa Kearns' vandalized mayoral campaign sign
Lisa Kearns/Facebook

Canadian Candidate Goes Viral After Turning Defaced Campaign Signs Into Hilarious Viral Video

After pouring time and effort into a project, seeing all your hard work disrespected can draw justified anger. But a Canadian woman running for political office decided to turn the lemons life—or, more specifically, vandals—handed her into pitch perfect lemonade.

Lisa Kearns is a former city councilor who vacated her Ward 2 seat to run for mayor of Burlington, Ontario, Canada—a city of about 187,000 people on the western shore of Lake Ontario. Kearns discovered several of her campaign signs featuring her photo had been vandalized over the Canadian Thanksgiving (observed the second Monday of October) long weekend.

Keep ReadingShow less
Christina Ricci; Donald Trump
Gilbert Flores/Deadline via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Christina Ricci Just Dropped A Brutal Truth Bomb On A 71-Year-Old MAGA Voter—And Fans Are Applauding

Yellowjackets star Christina Ricci did not mince words after a 71-year-old MAGA voter on Threads vowed to "vote straight Red" in the upcoming midterm elections.

Threads user @janhunterlan, with the midterms just under two weeks away, identified herself as a 71-year-old with an entire family "in California, Texas, Arizona, and Michigan, plus Pensilvania [sic]" that "will be voting straight Red" on November 3.

Keep ReadingShow less
James Talarico; Elon Musk
Sergio Flores/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

James Talarico Just Clapped Back Hard After Elon Musk Said There's 'Something Deeply Wrong' With Him

Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico responded after trillionaire Elon Musk claimed "there's something deeply wrong" with him.

Just days ago, news outlets reported that Musk donated $158 million to a Republican super PAC, the Senate Leadership Fund, in September. The money he donated swelled the coffers of Texas PAC, a group that is backing Paxton, the Texas attorney general. Musk also made a $10 million donation to Lone Star Liberty PAC, another group that has thrown its support behind Paxton.

Keep ReadingShow less
LaMelo Ball #1 of the Minnesota Timberwolves celebrates a three-point basket against the Detroit Pistons.
David Berding/Getty Images

NBA Star Sparks Backlash After Saying That Changing His Infant Son's Diapers Is 'Not My Job'

It's 2026, but NBA star LaMelo Ball apparently hasn't gotten the memo that fatherhood has moved beyond the 1950s. The Minnesota Timberwolves point guard is catching heat after declaring that changing his infant son's diapers is "not my job."

The 25-year-old made the eyebrow-raising admission during an Inside the NBA interview with Ernie Johnson Jr. ahead of his October 21 debut with Minnesota.

Keep ReadingShow less