What’s a form of entertainment that was common when you were a kid, but is creepy now.
Posted by Dee-Whizz@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 177 comments
Showbiz Pizza
More_Maximum_4522@reddit
Dan Schneider
Emotional_Warthog658@reddit
FACTS!!! How did Dennis from head of the class become so sinister?
copyrighther@reddit
I highly recommend you watch the documentary Quiet on Set
PastGuard8536@reddit
I recommended you don’t defend women touching up their younger sister but you do
Xennials-ModTeam@reddit
Conversation must remain civil. Hate speech, name-calling, rudeness, gatekeeping, trolling or harassment of any kind is not permitted.
maggie320@reddit
Everytime I see his name all I can think of is poor Amanda Bynes. Also I was too old for iCarly, but props to Jerry Trainor.
_buffy_summers@reddit
Cymbal monkey toys. I don't know who decided that was ever cute, though? It always creeped me out.
koei19@reddit
That shit was creepy as a kid too.
Abidarthegreat@reddit
I still get an elevated heart rate around active animatronics.
_buffy_summers@reddit
I don't know why, but the Showbiz Pizza/Chuck E. Cheese animatronics didn't bother me. The costumed characters in The Banana Splits, though? They still give me the creeps. That 'la la la' theme song haunted me for years and took me a very long time to figure out where it came from. I know they made a Banana Splits horror film to try to compete with the FNaF movie, but I will never watch it.
dumbass_sempervirens@reddit
I just wanted to play skee ball. Didn't need those things.
ValancyNeverReadsit@reddit
I just wanted to hop in the ball pit and not have the attendant pull me out because I was a tall kindergartener
Roklam@reddit
The last thing I remember was sitting under a stage as the animatronics began to fail.
Nothing evendramatic, just sad and confusing.
35+ years later I can't get ol Razz Ma Razz out of my head.
LtPowers@reddit
You could hear the mechanics inside!
PapaTua@reddit
THE CLACKING MOUTH NOISES.
One time I was at one of those places for a birthday party and they band went on and the animatronics were working, bit there was NO SOUND.
Nightmare Fuel. FNAF could never match it.
Acceptingoptimist@reddit
That's what I remember. Hearing the clicking and gears turning destroyed any realism especially with their "voices" coming from speakers in the ceiling.
Sparkle8022@reddit
One year I had my birthday at Razz-ma-tazz and those electronic animals spooked me so much I cried.
Turbografx-17@reddit
True. I remember watching Fatz Geronimo (the keyboard-playing gorilla in the Rock-a-Fire Explosion) from the foot of the stage as a child, and he would do this thing where he'd be playing keyboard and looking straight ahead, and then his eyes would suddenly turn and stare directly at me - just his eyes - until I got so freaked out that I ran off.
Also, sometimes the animatronics would be turned off and just sitting there in the dark behind the curtain in between shows... and then suddenly twitch. Just a little head movement or arm movement or something. If you happened to be peeking under the curtain during this time, it could really scare the hell out of you - especially if the glitch was Fatz Geronimo's eyeballs suddenly deciding to twitch by darting to the right and straight into your soul without his head moving.
Fuck you, Fatz. You could play the hell out of that keyboard, but you were a scary motherfucker.
goat_penis_souffle@reddit
Then came Brand Unification
thebarnacleez@reddit
The damn gorilla was terrifying
stavago@reddit
And they put his face on several of the games and rides!
Remote-Moon@reddit
Even as a kid I found the Showbiz Pizza animatronics as creepy.
anOvenofWitches@reddit
Clowns. If you were to tell me the Xennial generation put clowns out of style, I would believe you.
Bozo was OK but I think that had more to do with the Grand Prize Game
Lou_Skunnt69@reddit
Bozo the clown? Never heard of him! https://youtu.be/BLXtHU_HGXs
SeaChallenge4843@reddit
Bozo did the dub
Clean_Usual434@reddit
Haha, I have a random memory of a thanksgiving episode of the show that really scared me as a kid. Not sure why, though.
larryb78@reddit
How could you call yourself a clown and not know who bozo is!
GhostwriterGHOST@reddit
I’m not the one hung up on some clown from the 60s, man.
FGFlips@reddit
Homey the Clown, tho
Funkopedia@reddit
It's hard explaining to people that a killer clown is supposed to be a surprise subversion, not a definite indicator that murder was about to happen.
PapaTua@reddit
kinkyslc1@reddit
drhbravos@reddit
At some point I remember reading an article about Bozo. Some kind of feel good also sad story. I’ll try and find it. I think I learned that Bozo was regional like Girl Scout cookie names, with a similar show by a different name clown in other cities.
copyrighther@reddit
Bozo was originally produced in Boston and local markets would pay a franchise fee to show it in theirs. However, they kept raising the fee, and it eventually became so expensive that many local markets decided to just produce their own clown shows.
My hometown city had its own local show with “Tiny the Clown.”
DenvahGothMom@reddit
Denver had Blinky the Clown.
kinkyslc1@reddit
lakatos_intolerant@reddit
I never minded clowns, but I was partial to artistic depictions of clowns (like a logo or brand) or a cartoon clown. Seeing actual clowns could be a bit creepy.
The clown in "The Little Engine That Could" or something similar = adorable
The clowns in the likes of Killer Klowns from Outer Space, IT, etc = creepy as fuck
Albedo101@reddit
The amount of 80s horrors involving clowns and clown-like villains just rewired our brains permanently. It was a trope of the genre.
This just cemented it, forever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5JO8wtNnzQ
OllieFromCairo@reddit
There is still one functional showbiz pizza band at some entertainment thing in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia
SkiHerky@reddit
Hi, welcome to Chuck E. Cheese. Everything is visibly dirty and our mascot is a rat, eat some pizza near a sneezing child. Come on down for some rat pizza at our child casino.
So many childhood memories of Showbiz (and Chuck E Cheese) pizza, where a kid can be a kid!
brainvheart143@reddit
lol. We went to Chuck E. Cheese a bunch when my kid was smaller, for parties and just to go have fun in a/c. The pizza is actually not bad, and if you get a good location it’s cleaner than some other spots. I also love that they have protocols to make sure your kid leaves only with you/who they came in with and also they let you buy tickets for cheap if kid needs a bit more to get the prize. Child casino lol, so true!
groovemonkey@reddit
I unironically love Charles Edward Cheese and his rat child casino. They serve alcohol, I really like the crust of their pizza and my kid can run around unsupervised and I feel he’s “mostly” safe. (I keep an eye on him for the most part).
But right now they’re running a promotion, unlimited visits until Labor Day for like $60 (30 credits on your play card with each visit). I haven’t made that solid of a purchase in a long time.
brainvheart143@reddit
We did that promo deal for 2 summers, it is great! And I forgot about the drinks - right on.
Weird_Squirrel_8382@reddit
Iconic tweet! We grew up with our parents calling it The Rat, same way they called casinos The Boat
NoIncrease299@reddit
"Charles Entertainment Cheese" if you're not down with the whole brevity thing.
Ok_Percentage5157@reddit
It was creepy then, and so were all the McDonalds weirdos.
drhbravos@reddit
In-person Ronald McDonald at birthday parties.
OneManGang2001@reddit
There was a McDonalds here that had a train caboose for birthday parties
FGFlips@reddit
I'm old enough that I remember going to more than one birthday party in one as a kid.
Play in the McDonalds Play Place, the ice cream cake and Orange Drink.
avalonfaith@reddit
I 100% had a McDonald's b-day party. It was kind of AWESOME!!!! It was next to the beach so it was a beach/McDonald's party. The main thing I remember is going into the deep freeze walk-in.
I think I only remember that because every time a murder show inevitably does the trope of a restaurant walk-in deep freeze killing, I think about how close I was to death.
cityshepherd@reddit
You got Ronald??? All I ever got was a Gacy knock-off.
urbandk84@reddit
John wayne gacy?
punkminkis@reddit
polipolimist@reddit
He didn’t stutter.
cityshepherd@reddit
That’s the one
CarobAlarming3741@reddit
As a woman, this unlocked a memory I didn’t even know I still had. Those birthday parties used to feel so magical.
tronassembled@reddit
Why 'as a woman' specifically?
balding_git@reddit
typo, they meant to say “as a bot”
capthazelwoodsflask@reddit
Making Saturday morning cartoons out of rated R movies
Having every property that was aimed at boys be just an excuse to put guns on something. And then when you have a billion guns shooting you never show any negative consequences.
OtiumInUmbra@reddit
Toxic Avenger was awesome though.
capthazelwoodsflask@reddit
That is the exception to the rule. Too bad they didn't give more Troma characters cartoons.
Aquatichive@reddit
Show biz pizza was creepy THEN too
Workamania@reddit
Clowns 🤡
FoppyRETURNS@reddit
Clowns, Puppets, German matching bands, Musicals, etc.
MoarFlavor@reddit
Yep. I’m always telling people “The stuff viewed as horror movie material these days didn’t used to be that way” — but to be fair, Stephen King and the clown in Poltergeist kind of changed that trajectory. I still think all these things were far more kid friendly than they are today.
The puppet thing especially. I mean just think of all the shows we grew up with that featured puppets and it’s pretty staggering.
blacktrufflesheep@reddit
My brother, as a young adult, confided in me that he was terrified of the Lady Elaine puppet from Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. This may explain why, as a toddler, he was suddenly scared of the clown in my Mattel jack-in-the-box, which then led to his lifelong fear of clowns.
MoarFlavor@reddit
I can explain this one. Lady Elaine is not a puppet… that is a live action demon that Mr. Rogers was too kind to judge. Plus, even if he moved she would follow him because that’s how they work.
Same-Joke@reddit
Yea I believe Mr. Rogers had to summon it before every show.
MoarFlavor@reddit
Something like “Ade due Damballa, give me the power I BEG OF YOUUU!”
blacktrufflesheep@reddit
Well, its been publicly known that he based Lady Elaine Fairchilde after his sister. She even confirmed it in an interview for the documentary, Won't You be my Neighbor?
Personally, I'd be mortified to have my likeness associated with such a hideous looking puppet!
MoarFlavor@reddit
I don’t know if I should feel bad about my comment now or just mortified by the information.
PurpleCatBlues@reddit
Your comment was hilarious! And if Mr. Rogers had a relationship with his sister anything like the one I have with mine, she'd also find it funny. To this day, we STILL send each other pictures of "ugly" animals we see at the zoo and say something like, "man, you're looking GOOD today!" Never mind the fact we bare a very strong visual resemblance and people used to think we were twins.
MoarFlavor@reddit
That’s super funny. Also, he had to know what he was doing. No way they used that creepy abomination and thought it was a good look for his sister. Pure nightmare fuel. I’m guessing he didn’t have her do the voiceover for her because she was appalled. Hahaha
Emotional_Warthog658@reddit
I get it.
BabySlothDrivingFast@reddit
As a kid I always stopped watching once they went to the Land of Make Believe. As soon as that train got fired up, I'd bolt. Hated all those puppets. Loved the parts of the show with real people only though.
Born_Local_1477@reddit
Oh the poltergeist clown. With the Chewbacca head. Oh god
serotoninOD@reddit
John Wayne Gacy certainly didn't help either.
space-to-bakersfield@reddit
What about Austrain puppet shows about goatherds?
marcos_MN@reddit
This answer might be a little dark for this crowd:
Jimmy Savile
thetrickstergib@reddit
With a drawing session and cartons with Rolf after…
marcos_MN@reddit
I’m not from the UK so I don’t get the reference. I just listened to the Last Podcast series about him, and I’ve never thought a human could be so awful
thetrickstergib@reddit
I used to love (honestly) watching his program where he would draw with big thick marker pens and show cartons in the afternoon. So weird to think what he was now
marcos_MN@reddit
So, I’ve been mentally wrestling with this since I’ve learned about his numerous crimes:
Who is worse — the guy victimizing people, or the folks who helped him cover it up?
Both are sickening to me, to the point that I’m not sure who I’m more upset with.
Obviously Jimmy was a horrible person who preyed on the most vulnerable people. But what about the countless producers and executives who allowed it to keep happening? The staff at the hospitals he frequented?
What. In. The. Living. Fuck.
JustAGreenDreamer@reddit
Bill Cosby
Basic-Pair8908@reddit
Top of the pops
DrewBaron80@reddit
The Behind the Bastards podcast about this guy was awful, but really well done.
Powerful-Parsnip@reddit
I wrote to Jim'll fixit when I was in primary school asking for me and my friends to be driven in the A-team van. That might be the most eighties sentence I've ever written and thank god Saville didn't fulfill my request.
MitchellSFold@reddit
Basic-Pair8908@reddit
Yep, bang on what i meant
MitchellSFold@reddit
I wonder if he ever knew Epstein. Then again, maybe Savile was a bit older. And also he liked to mix with a different class of people, such as Margaret Thatcher or Peter Sutcliffe.
Basic-Pair8908@reddit
Thats one rabbit hole that would get me arrested if i went down it 🤣🤣🤣
cityshepherd@reddit
Last Podcast On The Left (and I believe Behind The Bastards as well if I’m not mistaken) recently put out a fairly in-depth couple episodes on that topic recently if you want to get sick to your stomach whilst learning about some history without poisoning your algorithm / search history.
MitchellSFold@reddit
I read In Plain Sight a few years ago. That was enough for me on this particular subject. Absolute punishment to read.
Basic-Pair8908@reddit
The louise theroux docs are a watch, did one before it all came to light and one after. Louise couldnt apologise enough in the after one
blacktrufflesheep@reddit
He looks like the dad from the Turpin family
maggie320@reddit
As an American the first I learned of this guy was a clip of a performance from Top of the Pops and thinking the guy looked weird. This was well before anything came out about him.
Allezgatta@reddit
Birthday
TangFiend@reddit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-yLxKsPdV8
SlackerDS5@reddit
Going to people’s houses. Love doing it as a kid. I shy away from it now. Especially family members, I just don’t go. Baby shower, family reunion, funeral…naw, imma just stay home.
BabiestMinotaur@reddit
Creepy now? That shit was creepy back then too.
RememberCakeFarts@reddit
Billy Bob! The fact that you went with him and not Fatz is something. It was just a gorilla but he was scary. Glad that I never saw someone in a Fatz suit walking around.
CharismaticAlbino@reddit
I would like to argue that Show Biz Pizza/Chuck E Cheese was creepy even back then. Maybe Boomers didn't think so, but the rest of us did lol
al_rey503@reddit
Okay, so as a kid I remember during Halloween a few houses would do walk through haunted houses and it was really cool to see the creativity, but it’s faded in popularity and would be kinda looked down upon in today’s society. I do miss them though, Halloween in general has changed.
6ynnad@reddit
“pee-wee’s playhouse.” But I still watch the shit outta Pee-wee‘s big adventure
copyrighther@reddit
There’s nothing creepy about Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. It was campy and quirky, but there was nothing sinister about it.
liza9560@reddit
Agreed. Everything looked like a big cartoon…fun and kooky, not scary.
capthazelwoodsflask@reddit
What's wrong with Peewee's Playhouse? It was subversive but still very kid friendly.
dkglitch82@reddit
The puppets from Mr. Roger's were super creepy. It was part of the show but it's weird segment looking back on it.
liza9560@reddit
I agree so much. What a great show, but damn those puppets were creepy! The royals were gin blossoms, the kitties looked like taxidermy, and even the owl was stern and scary. Thank god for the angel Lady Aberlin. Sheesh.
SlackTied@reddit
'Birthday spankings'
Miami_Mice2087@reddit
second grade teacher made you stand on a chair and pick birthday spankings, tickles, or hugs. She'd be on a list living under a bridge today. The parents thought she was a great teacher bc she was really strict and terrified "problem" children.
liza9560@reddit
“On a list living under a bridge” ha!
gramma-space-marine@reddit
Oh my gosh yes, as an anxious child I would dread my birthday and cry. People would give birthday spankings at school!! They would call the principal to do it 😭
Miami_Mice2087@reddit
Clowns at birthday parties. It was a normal thing, we weren't scared of clowns until IT was on tv in about 1990.
Salty-Tea6815@reddit
We had a roller skating rink where the arcade/play area was Mark Twain/riverboat themed!! Whoever thought this was a cool idea for kids was off their rocker!!
copyrighther@reddit
I had to google this bc I thought, “that had to have been in St Louis.” Nope, Miami. Why would anywhere in South Florida have a Mark Twain theme or better yet, a Mississippi riverboat theme? The ocean and Everglades are right there.
Salty-Tea6815@reddit
Actually it was in the northeast. Went out of business long time ago. I’m guessing they probabky chose their theme based on what the cheapest decor was at the time! I just remember a big paddle wheel by the pizza counter and a couple random bigger than life statues of old men that had a very colonel sanders look to them and there was a painted mural of huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer in the kiddie play area.
Franciscojerte@reddit
Being 17 and meeting the local looney scientist at the mall parking lot at 1am. This is heavy.
Zeqhanis@reddit
Mall Santas. Plus, you never know who's under those Disney Park costumes.
NoIncrease299@reddit
You can go to Hollywood and Highland nowadays and find out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-uaIDcivEI
😂
Zeqhanis@reddit
I live that the newscaster referred to the individuals by their characters' names in such a matter-of-fact way. I'd like to think a child was in the room when someone was watching that story, and thought that is was really them.
NoIncrease299@reddit
I lived in Hollywood for many years and it was always funny to be in line at McDonald's behind a filthy, maskless Spider-Man.
iwantmy-2dollars@reddit
I firmly believe that Chuck E Cheese planted a seed of terror deep in my psyche that I didn’t know existed until I visited the Salem Witch Museum and freaked the f out seeing all of those animatronics with the disembodied voices. :::shudder:::
NoIncrease299@reddit
Haha During one of my old band's tours several years ago, we were in the vicinity of that spot on a day off and went to check it out ... not expecting, well, THAT.
"Dude, I'm too fuckin hungover for this."
The actual museum part was cool though!
iwantmy-2dollars@reddit
Could you imagine going there on hallucinogens? Never tried them but that would be the only thing worse than going there hungover lol
Agreed, actual museum was cool! Still have my bottle of sage from the gift shop.
Occams_AK47@reddit
When Chuck e cheese bought them, the showbiz near me was one of the few (if not only) that kept the name.
It was also the film location for the Bill and Ted scene where Napoleon was at an icecream parlor.
jcstrat@reddit
Showbiz was creepy then too.
59apache01@reddit
Circuses, especially the ones with the seedy-looking sideshows. Run-down carnivals at night are a close second.
Showbiz Pizza was just weird to me as a kid. Only went there once for a cousin's birthday party. The arcade section wasn't bad, but I could've done without the animatronic show.
lakatos_intolerant@reddit
To this day any kind of carnival/circus sideshow gives me the creeps. There's something deeply unsettling about freak shows and similar entities.
I used to watch American Horror Story and I could not get through the circus/freak show season. It was too much fo rme.
postinganxiety@reddit
Do they still have traveling carnivals? I remember riding squeaky, sketchy rides run by a grizzled carny… those were the days. Graviton, scrambler, the zipper, pirate ship.
59apache01@reddit
There's still a few around, but they're not the same ones with the rusty, rattle-trap rides that I remember. The ones that came through my area back then claimed to be real gypsies. Have no idea if they really were or if that was just part of their act.
Mr_SunnyBones@reddit
Ok ..maybe a regional thing , I hate circuses , but there is one that tours and does shows nearby where I live in Ireland a few times a year , and it seems to be doing well , so fair play to them.
Global-Jury8810@reddit
I wouldn’t say it’s creepy but being a 40-year-old Sailor Moon fan is not a good look, even if you were a fan when you were younger. I could stop being able to enjoy it for that reason.
hamburgler26@reddit
Chuck E. Cheese scared the crap out of me as a kid.
OwieMustDie@reddit
Jimmy Saville.
PA_Blue9@reddit
Yep. Hurry up and eat your pizza so you can back to the arcade and the hell away from this guy and his pals.
SilverAsparagus2985@reddit
I went to Disney world for damn near every field trip growing up. There was nothing not creepy about their animatronics.
Educational-Tie00@reddit
Clowns
No_Today_4903@reddit
Just about everything I think lol. What a weird childhood we had 🤣
Horror_Garbage_9888@reddit
RealityOk9823@reddit
Croft's stuff has always been creepy to me.
blondeviking64@reddit
Clowns at a birthday party.
fictionalbandit@reddit
Animatronics are awesome don’t you slander Billy Bob like this
TheDivine_MissN@reddit
Billy Bob’s Wonderland was a treat!
HopelessMagic@reddit
What do you mean "was"???
TheDivine_MissN@reddit
Sorry, the one that I went to as a kid near Ashland, KY (Northeastern KY) closed years ago, but Barboursville, WV is still open.
HopelessMagic@reddit
Show Biz is NOT creepy! You take that back!
It's OK Billy Bob... We'll go where they can't hurt you.
😂 I'm making a trip to Billy Bob's Wonderland this summer specifically to see them again. 😍
Difficult_Mix_3620@reddit
The circus and Seaworld
railmanmatt@reddit
See world or Seaworld?
DirtyDoog@reddit
Mr_SunnyBones@reddit
I mean its not quite seaworld , but
https://i.redd.it/t1s3vu2dwo1h1.gif
SB4_Camaro@reddit
Nope still cool
Moons_of_Moons@reddit
https://youtu.be/9yUnwZ0HgBo?si=kwzESir_v453lxpc
The_Abjectator@reddit
Those ball and socket armature stop motion christmas mivies like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.
They are super creepy to me now.
Deep-Interest9947@reddit
Rudolph’s Shiny New Year is my favorite movie to watch on drugs.
Zefury83@reddit
Sergeant Singers was creepy when I was a kid and is creepy now.
Wallie_Collie@reddit
I had nightmares about these animals
windupshoe2020@reddit
The Cosby Show
bognostrocleetus@reddit
People that say animatronics are creepy are so 2010. Billy Bob Brokalli isn't creepy!
Polkawillneverdie17@reddit
If you love the Rock-a-Fire Explosion, it's time for me to introduce you to The greatest thing you will ever see.
TheFroman69@reddit
I had a Michael Jackson impersonator at my 7th birthday party
al_m1101@reddit
YMCA and school lock-ins. Meaning, errrebody came with their sleeping bags and camped out in the gym together. It was kinda weird to do with strangers.
I guess sleepovers to a certain extent, too. Sometimes you had friends that were cool, but their older siblings and/or parents...weren't.
nicgk@reddit
Having a birthday party at a McDonald’s Play Place.
Legitimate_Radish159@reddit
Jim’ll Fix It.
SidFinch99@reddit
FewResearcher819@reddit
The sound of tying up balloons into ballon animals. It was as cringe to me as the sound of scratching a chalkboard.
Nuker-79@reddit
Helkat757@reddit
Clowns. Balloon animal. All. Of. It.
larryb78@reddit
They still have the one at Chuck E. Cheese…it’s still creepy…my kids love it…my kids are weird
LoideJante@reddit
Where is Dick the birthday boy?
Accomplished_Bed7120@reddit
I loved him in Electric Feel.
DayManFOTNightMan@reddit
Michael Jackson
jbradforda@reddit
Al Albert’s Showcase
allieballie1122@reddit
🎶where a kid can be a kid 🎶
MasterPhilip@reddit
If you were a ShowBiz fan, you should watch this video:
https://youtu.be/t2uzCYPcE3I?si=SPARJ-GxmB7X9TuU
Jupitersd2017@reddit
I was creeped out by all of it as a kid and by any adult trying to talk down to kids as if we were idiots haha. But my husband always says I don’t have a good sense of humor so maybe that’s the real problem
Stang1776@reddit
Showbiz was great. I did pickup games on bubble hockey. Id just stand by the machine waiting for another kid to show up and say "wanna play?"