History NightmareFuel / ItsAWonderfulLife

-->'''Clarence.''' Your brother Harry Bailey broke through the ice and was drowned at the age of nine.
-->'''George.''' ''That's a lie!'' Harry Bailey went to war! He got the Congressional Medal of Honor! He saved the lives of every man on that transport!
-->'''Clarence.''' Every man on that transport ''died!'' Harry wasn't there to save them [[ButterflyOfDoom because you weren't there]] to save ''Harry!''

* The scene when George stumbles into Pottersville is like an episode of ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959''. Could have inspired it, for all of that.

* If you yourself are an "Uncle Billy", whether it's because you are learning-disabled, have had a TBI, or for any reason are chronically forgetful, what happens to him may be one of ''your'' worst nightmares. Especially the scene where George berates and manhandles him for not being able to remember where the money is, and leaves promising to make sure only he takes the fall for it.
* Nick the bartender, Bert the policeman, and Ernie the taxi driver aren't the most major of characters and while their fates in Pottersville aren't as terrible as Gower's or Harry's, their transformations are still pretty scary. Nick, who has turned into a mean-spirited jerkass in Pottersville, who is the owner of the bar rather than Mr. Martini, and is gleefully [[WretchedHive running the bar straight into the ground]]; Bert is a [[PoliceBrutality brutal cop]] who is implied to be [[DirtyCop in Potter's pocket]]; and Ernie has become a bitter cynic who has given up on life and been deserted by his family. It seems that not only was George singlehandedly holding the town's economy on his shoulders, he was also the only thing between several of his friends and total {{jerkass}}ery.

-->'''Clarence.''' Every man on that transport ''died!'' Harry wasn't there to save them [[ForWantOfANail because you weren't there]] to save ''Harry!''

* Nick the bartender, Bert the policeman, and Ernie the taxi driver aren't the most major of characters and while their fates in Pottersville aren't as terrible as Gower's or Harry's, their transformations are still pretty scary. Nick, who has turned into a mean-spirited jerkass in Pottersville, bought out his boss, Mr. Martini, and is gleefully [[WretchedHive running the bar straight into the ground]]; Bert is a [[PoliceBrutality brutal cop]] who is implied to be [[DirtyCop in Potter's pocket]]; and Ernie has become a bitter cynic who has given up on life and been deserted by his family. It seems that not only was George singlehandedly holding the town's economy on his shoulders, he was also the only thing between several of his friends and total {{jerkass}}ery.

* Just the fact that Potter, the villain of the story, is nothing more than an ordinary man, and an infirm one at that. All that hatred and greed is still confined within a human shell, everything he says and does is within the realm of possibility in reality, and he still wields a frankly frightening amount of power despite his age and health. Plus, as the deleted scene shows, not everyone wants "redemption" as it's commonly understood. Henry Potter could very well be the villain of someone's real life narrative.

* After George's encounter with his alternate universe mother, the close-up of him slowly turning toward the camera in sheer frustration and terror is enough to send a chill up anyone's spine.

* If you yourself are an "Uncle Billy", whether it's because you are learning-disabled, have had a TBI, or for any reason are chronically forgetful, what happens to him may be one of ''your'' worst nightmares.

* From Mary's perspective, meeting George in the Pottersville reality. George chases Mary, grabs her, and holds her in that arm lock men used in old movies where they make the woman's head tip back and it's supposed to be romantic but looks soooo uncomfortable. Mary must be terrified to have a stranger grab her like that - and Jimmy Stewart is a really big man.

* The scene where George comes home and yells at his wife and kids is frightening in [[AdultFear a whole different way]].

* The graveyard scene in the alternate universe can be ''terrifying''. The music doesn't help a bit.

-->'''Clarence.''' Every man on that transport ''died!'' Harry wasn't there to save them [[ForWantOfANail because you weren't there]] to save Harry!

* It’s is not addressed in the film but because George learns through encountering Clarence that there is fact an afterlife and beings that manipulate the universe, this means every bit of suffering, bad luck and misfortune he has experienced has been intended and he is helpless to change or stop it.