Line #72 NightmareFuel/DrSeuss


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4	Just because Dr. Seuss's works [[SarcasmMode really are]] [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids meant for children]][[note]]After ''The Seven Lady Godivas'', that is.[[/note]], it doesn't mean his books aren't devoid of NightmareFuel ([[AccidentalNightmareFuel even if is unintentional]]), especially not with his [[QuirkyWork surreal art-style]] and [[AlienGeometries settings]].
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7	[[foldercontrol]]
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9	[[folder:General]]
10	* Dr. Seuss draws all his faces very similar with a distinctive and unique style, which is fine for some, but if you combine it with the fact that many of his characters seem AmbiguouslyHuman, they can plunge deep into the UnintentionalUncannyValley for others.
11	** Many of them also have CreepyLongFingers.
12	* In a somewhat similar way, while the buildings and architecture he creates usually seem whimsical and fun, but they definitely [[AlienGeometries don't follow the laws of physics most of the time,]] and would be very dangerous and bizarre in a more realistic setting. Sometimes they can breach into full-on EldritchLocation territory.
13	[[/folder]]
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15	[[folder:Books]]
16	* The Vug Under the Rug from ''There's a Wocket in my Pocket'' is considered by many to be his most frightening creature. Reason? [[NothingIsScarier We don't even know what it actually looks like.]]
17	** The Jertain in the curtain, another case of NothingIsScarier since all we see is the creature's feet.
18	** The same thing goes for the Quimney up the chimney and the Zall down the hall.
19	* The empty pants from ''Literature/TheSneetchesAndOtherStories''. While those empty pants are actually friendly and not only that but quite sensitive, there's a bit of NothingIsScarier in action because you never find out how they ''work''. They levitate along, walking above ground, have feelings, can see and hear without eyes and ears, and on the last page, they ''talk''.
20	* The vicious birds in ''Scrambled Eggs Super''.
21	* The Beasts from ''Oh Say Can You Say''
22	** as well as the Grox in the Grox Box if you spend your whole life seeing its hands as its bottom jaw... [[http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130512003257/seuss/images/thumb/d/d6/And_you_grox_must_be_packed_and_locked_up_in_a_grox_box.jpg/640px-And_you_grox_must_be_packed_and_locked_up_in_a_grox_box.jpg Try it.]]
23	** and the SHNACK IN THE SACK!!!
24	* Hop on Pop has
25	** [[https://seussblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/copy-of-rh-146_2z.jpg the He that is after Me,]]
26	** [[http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/mas/prod/images/acontent/B0054L8ZXY/seuss1%20smaller._SL367_V178197946_.png the Night Fight,]]
27	** [[https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/a/ae/Sad_dad_bad_had.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130518145459 the Sad Dad]] (Geez...)
28	** and [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/_rAr3I3KVy8/maxresdefault.jpg the hill that Will climbs]]
29	* The silhouettes in ''The Shape of Me and Other Stuff''.
30	* The Once-ler in the book of ''Literature/TheLorax'', though all we see are his hands (and occasionally, his eyes).
31	** From the same book, there's the fact that the forest creatures have to be sent away and are all negatively affected (the hummingfish can't hum, the swommee swans can't sing and the barbaloots are sick). Doubles as a TearJerker.
32	* Dr. Seuss' ABC has two examples:
33	** It's a simple, imaginative book about the alphabet... up until we get to the letter X. Then we get [[https://r8chel.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/dr_seuss_abc_x.jpg this.]] That fox's unsettling expression, that large ax... and the picture of the girl, but the girl not anywhere to be seen, makes it worse.
34	** Also, some people find the Zizzerzazzerzuzz at the end scary, although [[NightmareRetardant it is a friendly creature]].
35	* ''Hunches in Bunches'' has the Four-Way Hunch, alongside the yellow super hunch.
36	* "Oh The Thinks You Can Think":
37	** The [[http://i866.photobucket.com/albums/ab227/GunnarMcGriff/rinkrinkerfink.jpg Rink-Rinker-Fink.]] A bizarre structure that looks like a combination of a rock formation and a dinosaur skeleton. The illustration depicts a boy standing on an incredibly precarious ledge, trying to lasso one of its teeth. There are also similar creatures nearby, meaning either that there's more than one of these things, or they're ''[[EldritchAbomination all one gigantic entity]]''.
38	** The Jibboo, who is depicted as a shadowy, bird-like figure walking toward a small boy in the street in the middle of the night. The caption somehow makes it worse. For the brave... [[http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac191/Just1RandomGuy/ref_post_pics/a_jibboo.png here.]]
39	--->What would you do if you met a Jibboo?
40	*** In fact the Jibboo makes an appearance in the Paraphernalia Wagon cllip.
41	*** A significantly "high-octane nightmare fuel" version of the Jibboo no less. [[http://i.imgur.com/O469Klm.png Compare]]. It seems that Dr. Seuss knew the effect that that creature had on people.
42	* The Wickersham Brothers, especially when accompanied by a [[VillainSong villain song]]. It gets worse when their uncles and cousins are introduced.
43	* Foo-Foo the Snoo, a goat/satyr-like creature in a gimp suit with eyes [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou glaring at the reader.]] [[http://seuss.wikia.com/wiki/File:Dr_Seuss_Foo_Foo_the_Snoo_I_Can_Read_With_My_Eyes_Shut.jpg Click if you dare ]]
44	* In One Fish Two Fish, the two children find [[https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/8/83/Clark.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20150105042435 a walrus-like creature with bright yellow eyes and curved teeth in a big glass jar]] in the park in the dark. They decide to take him home and name him [[CreepyGood Clark]]. Clark will live with them. Clark will grow and grow. Will their mother like this? They don't know.
45	** Technosagery's "[[http://archiveofourown.org/works/1627229 Out of the Dark]]" offers a take on what happened after Clark started growing.
46	** The yelling monkey-like creature isn’t too scary in the book itself. However, in the [[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zmTeKf-Yf4E Beginner Book Video of the story]], the part with the creature in question is accompanied by discordant music cues that can be ''very '' unsettling.
47	* The Oobleck that kept everyone in Didd [[AndIMustScream rooted in one place]] and would have [[BuriedAlive buried them alive]] if the king hadn't made his apology.
48	* At the end of ''Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose,'' the scene where Thidwick's [[http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5338/280/1600/seuss2a.jpg unwanted guests]] ended up being stuffed and mounted when Thidwick threw his horns away is a bit disturbing.
49	* In ''The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins'' Bartholomew sentenced to have his head chopped off. He walks down to the dungeon and meets an executioner with an enormous ax. The magicians were pretty spooky too.
50	* The ending (or rather [[NoEnding lack thereof]]) of ''Literature/TheButterBattleBook'', with two sides of an [[SillyReasonForWar utterly pointless war]] [[MexicanStandoff standing face-to-face, ready to drop their respective world-destroying bombs]]. What makes this especially horrifying is that [[RealitySubtext it's a metaphor for the]] UsefulNotes/ColdWar.
51	* The fact that the Zax never moved for years just because they were so stubborn. Imagine standing in one place without moving for years. Sleeping could be dealt with if they lay down but you'd have to wonder how they'd eat, go to the bathroom or entertain themselves.
52	* [[https://teachmama.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/dr.-seuss-4-450x337.jpg This]] illustration of the titular character from ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas''. The Grinch is looking down from Mt. Crumpet at Whoville, with a ''very'' [[NightmareFace angry and ominous expression]], and the only SplashOfColor in the drawing are his [[RedEyesTakeWarning angry red eyes]].
53	* Many of the aforementioned scenes can be even scarier in the Beginner Book Videos, due to the moving illustrations and creepy music cues.
54	[[/folder]]
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56	[[folder:Oh, the Places You'll Go!]]
57	So many examples from this book:
58	* It depicts [[https://juliesarkisscoach.files.wordpress.com/2015/07/youll-look-up-and-down-streets.jpg streets you don't want to go down,]] riddled with holes that reveal huge lizard-like monsters. Good thing the protagonist walked the other way...
59	* One of the first signs that things might not be all smooth sailing for you in life is when the protagonist crashes his balloon, and the others leave without him. Coming down from the lurch, he ends up in a "a Slump" which is apparently [[http://photobucket.com/gallery/user/PlatinumOx/media/bWVkaWFJZDo2MTgyMDgyNQ==/?ref= a dark place filled with big, shapeless]] ''[[NothingIsScarier ...things.]]''
60	* He then comes upon [[https://i.ytimg.com/vi/p_2muj6fxpc/maxresdefault.jpg a mysterious town,]] where there are few lights, no street markings, [[GhostCity and no sign of any life.]] [[NothingIsScarier We never do find out what the deal with this place is, either.]]
61	* Confused and scared, he starts to run at "break-necking speed" through [[http://hopeandcourage.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/start-into-race.jpg "weirdish wild space"]] (a phrase Lovecraft might be proud of), which leads him to...
62	* The [[https://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/6/61/The_Waiting_Place.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121119234340 waiting]] [[https://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/2/26/The-waiting-place.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140828194813 place.]] Imagine just ''waiting'' for something. [[AndIMustScream Forever. Forever. Forever. Forever.]]
63	* Imagine playing on [[https://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/seuss/images/e/e6/Dr_seuss_house.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130117202644 this building.]] Heck, imagine doing ''anything'' on that building.
64	* It talks about times when you will feel alone and scared, and demonstrates this by [[http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2015/03/25/635629231048550945-829518010_alone.imgopt1000x70.png showing our hero being menaced by dark creatures with evil eyes.]]
65	* ...followed by a spooky boat ride, surrounded by things called [[http://i1.w.hjfile.cn/slide/201204/19_4173.jpg Hakken-Kraks,]] giant [[SeaMonster sea monster]]-like creatures that ''howl''. Sure, it might not ''seem'' like the scariest thing in the book, but imagine what it would be like, from the boy's POV, in real life. Just think about it...
66	* Similarly, [[http://i1.w.hjfile.cn/slide/201204/21_4173.jpg the following illustration]], of the protagonist getting "mixed up with many strange birds" doesn't seem too scary at first glance, but again, imagine doing it in real life. It's even worse than that building...
67	* Not to mention [[https://seussblog.tfiles.wordpress.com/2014/02/oh-the-places-you-ll-go-dr-seuss-screenshot-4.jpg?w=640 the green and black-striped creature that fills up two pages, even though the boy didn't seem very scared of it.]]
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70	[[folder:Adaptations and Other Media]]
71	* Trophy heads of Dr. Seuss creatures.
72	* ''WesternAnimation/HalloweenIsGrinchNight'' has [[NightmareFuel/HalloweenIsGrinchNight its own page]].
73	* ''Literature/TheButterBattleBook'' has [[NightmareFuel/TheButterBattleBook its own page.]]
74	* ''Film/The5000FingersOfDrT'' , a film written by Dr. Seuss. The whole movie has a [[SurrealHorror nightmarish feel,]] but a few moments stand out:
75	** The elevator operator, and those eyes! It doesn't help that the elevator itself is swinging like a flag in the wind.
76	** An antropomorphic bust of Terwilliker's head gives Bart this advice: "Bartholomew Collins, the years you spend with Dr. Terwilliker will be the happiest years of your life! But if you get homesick, don't try to escape. The barbed wire around the Terwilliker institute, is ELECTRIFIED! ELECTRIFIED! ELECTRIFIED...!"
77	*** Bart's pretty scared by it too....
78	* ''WesternAnimation/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'': The [[SlasherSmile face the Grinch made]] when he got his "wonderful awful idea" is not very child-friendly...
79	** And when he sneaks into the bedroom, that same creepy SlasherSmile he makes at the sleeping kids before he steals their candy canes. It was even edited out in broadcasts for some time.
80	** Remember, stealing children's candy canes while they're sleeping is NOT [[UnusualEuphemism a euphemism]] for anything. [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial cough]]
81	** The Grinch in general has a penchant for making various {{Nightmare Face}}s.
82	** The unsettling Film/{{Nosferatu}}-esque wall shadow which all but consumes Cindy Lou Who as he's lying to her.
83	* While not all of them are dark, many of Dr. Seuss' personal paintings (known collectively as ''[[https://www.drseussart.com/secretandarchive The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss]]'') can lean towards this, especially in those that show Seuss's already bizarre architecture and art style in a rougher style and juxtaposed against dark, surreal backgrounds.
84	[[/folder]]

Context NightmareFuel / DrSeuss