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Movies That Traumatized You As A Kid

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For many moviegoers, mention of the classic film The Wizard of Oz conjures up images of Dorothy and her little dog Toto skipping along the yellow brick road.  She frolicked with her newfound friends and sang happily of her travel towards the Emerald City.

But one scene diverted from the fun-fillled theme and at the instruction of the Wicked Witch,. It was the stuff of nightmares. The evil witch and her posse of monkeys are just one example of the movie characters that terrified viewers in childhood.

North Carolina State film professorand North Carolina Museum of Art film curator return to The State of Things to talk with host Frank Stasio about those movies that traumatized.

But first, we want to hear from you. What movie traumatized you as a child?

Send us an email (sot@wunc.org) with your name, city and favorite movie scene. Tweet us at  or use the hashtag #sotmovie. Your suggestion may be included in the show.

Laura Lee was the managing editor of The State of Things until mid February 2017. Born and raised in Monroe, North Carolina, Laura returned to the Old North state in 2013 after several years in Washington, DC. She received her B.A. in political science and international studies from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2002 and her J.D. from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law in 2007.
Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
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