This is discussion archived from a time before the current discussion method was installed.
Some Sort Of Troper: Clean up of Nightmare Fuel, currently ongoing (cf discussion
) The page says and has always said it has to be unintentional and to be targetted to kids. The use of the trope namer was to emphasise that point.
This trope is named after the phrase "Good Old-Fashioned Nightmare Fuel", used by Mike and the 'bots at least three times in Mystery Science Theater 3000 to describe trauma-inducing sights and objects in films that appeared by design to be originally intended for children. Three criteria:
- For kids
- unintentional
- gives nightmares
That's not a lot of criteria for a trope, they're simple and if people want their "crowning moment of scary"-ish page that's what the High Octane Nightmare Fuel was made for.
The clear out was a while ago and I forgot to make a note but two points that have recurred that I think I should address: 1- the stuff from Boy, you know the stuff that formed the unpleasant parts of his youth, that he relates to us as his lingering nightmares and which he draws upon in other works to make intentionally scary stuff? That stuff doesn't fit here. This is when kid's stuff goes horribly wrong not when it becomes disturbingly effective. Second- the Witches, intentionally scaring (which ties into the first bit), doesn't count. Take that to High Octane Nightmare Fuel... or better yet note the things that made it scary and take it to other Horror Tropes.
