Fright is weird.

Some of the things people find scary are weird.

Like candles, clowns or cows.

But little kids (and some adults) find the oddest aspects of something to be afraid of.

With it being Halloween eve, I thought it would be fun to share ridiculous aspects of games, shows, what have you that scared you as a kid. Little things that are not even scary, but for whatever reason, it really struck something with you as a kid. I’m not looking for the obvious scary elements, like zombies or monsters, I’m looking for the ridiculous and laughable.

Back when Donkey Kong Country released, it was an advancement in graphical possibilities on aging SNES hardware. 3D characters and 3D environments, popping with color, recognizable style and smart usage of the hardware limitations. What’s not to like?

Candy Kong.

Of all the enemies and elements in DKC, I was afraid of Candy Kong.

Something about her really bugged me. Was it the eyes? The pink spandex? Both? It’s hard to say. Something about her really made playing the game a scary experience, and she wasn’t even featured THAT much, but all it took was one look to kill the game for a 5-year-old me.

It got to the point where I wouldn’t even go into the same room where the copy of DKC was, loaded into the SNES cartridge slot.

(Years later I would have similar experiences with Oregon Trail and Tomb Raider, but neither of those were as ridiculous.)

My parents, who were so proud in presenting me the game, eventually had to return the game within the week because it bugged me so bad that Candy Kong was, for some reason, disturbing to me. I had to have the game taken away. That’s completely ridiculous and weird, but that’s part of finding the littlest, weirdest things as scary.

I laugh now. But even in looking up the images for this article, that nostalgia of being afraid of it is more memorable than I thought it was.

Now, feel free to embarrass yourself with your own stories. What is so completely ridiculous, looking back, that terrified you as a child?