I agree with the many of the comments here. I was around 9 or 10 year old when this was broadcast and even the theme tune was so very scary, never mind the stories! I used to watch it with my parents around so I didn't feel quite so scared! I've juts ordered the series to watch again! That theme tune is still scary though!
This was proper scary shit. Which came on 8-8;30 in the evening!!!! The theme tune. The shadow creeping up to sit on the white armchair. That is a sinister combo. But there was another version to this opening title which featured a screaming red face rolling down the chair.That scared the fuck out of me. I was only ten at the time.......
@56postoffice I agree! It was well fucking scary! I was around the same age as you at the time! I remember that it made me feel grown up to be allowed to stay up to watch this! Mind you I was shit scared having to go straight to bed afterwards!
@56postoffice I agree. They don't make these sorts of TV programmes any more. They took more risks in the 70s and drama was bolder, cleverer and more adventurous then the rubbish broadcast now! In the 70s there were no inhibitions and no political correctness. I've just ordered the Armchair Thriller series and can't wait to see it. Hopefully I won't find it too scary this time round!
fucking motherfucking asssholes fuckers!!! This shit was aired on prime time...while we kids were watching the TV! I am tearing up watching this asshole right now...scared! I want to go under the couch and pee but I'm too old!
I want t be hugged by somebody loving and protected!
I remember I was about 9 thinking how spooky the nightime Thames logo was before the programme started. Creativity - so much creativity back then. Oh well at least we have Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor to really entertain us. Sorry I forgot to mention Jeremy Kyle and Eastenders. What lovely world we live in now....
I'm sure they repeated these in the afternoon at some point. The worst ones I remember were 'The Black Nun' rocking in that diabolical rocking chair and - worst of all - the poor little poodle that got nailed to some old dear's front door. I can still see the blood. IN THE AFTERNOON! WHEN SOME ENTERPRISING LITTLE KIDDIES ARE FEIGNING ILLNESS TO GET OFF SCHOOL AND STAY AT HOME WITH THEIR MUMMIES! I'm 40 now and still sleep with the lights on. Thanks Thames!
@aerialkate Aaaaggghhhhh I was just thinking of the black nun when this came up in my recommendations. ha ha ha ha Funny how things stick in your mind.
@RussinTirnaNog - Things were damn sinister in the 70's. I don't care how many teenagers are summarily disposed of in 'Scream 29' and its like - they can't hold a candle to 'Armchair Thriller' or '70s telly.
@aerialkate I agree intirely. Too many special effects now, leaving nothing for the imagination to develope after the shows finished. Do you remember Hammer House of Horror shows and of course Good Old Tails of the Unexpected. The one with the lift, where the floor fell away in the tower block.....
@RussinTirnaNog I remember Tales of the Unexpected. The one that sticks in my mind (for some reason, I don't think it was much cop actually) was the one where the boy has a fascination for those big sea turtles and floats out to sea on the back of one of them and is never heard of again. There is a good clip of Peter Cook spoofing Roald Dahl and Tales of the Unexpected here on Youtube, which is quite funny..
I remember the faceless nun-I remember waking up in a cold sweat the night after watching it. And the episode where the young girl gets harrassed by the creepy man on the bus-and a lady ''chases'' him away.
She takes her back to a caravan to phone the police-can't get through but then the man comes into the caravan. ''Hello dear-you're just in time''! Headfuck!
Looking back on armchair thriller, the stories themselves were pretty much run of the mill. I think childrens imaginations were easier to prey on back then. Children today would probably laugh their socks off at it.
Lol this used to scare my mum can I ask why people found this scary? coming from teenagers generation I won't understand why it would scare someone but I have no idea what's so scary.
This opening used to terrify a friend of mine when we were growing up (not me I'm made of sterner stuff) does anyone remember the episode where a man's face is pressed up against the window of a train? Really horrible, that I admit did scare me!
Well now I know I'm normal :) I used to have nightmares and have to sleep with the light on for some time after watching an episode of this in which a corpse was bricked up in the wall of a house, and there was this creepy rocking chair in which it sat and rocked.
Yeah thats me, a 30 something that needs to be scared shitless again as life dosen't scare me anymore, i see amazon do the box set of this series and i'm ordering one today. Cheers
The three stories I can remember are Rachael in Danger, A Dogs Ransom, and As Quiet as a Nun. The intro was one of four things that genuinely frightened me as a kid in the 1970's. The other three were the 1970's fire prevention ad when the camera panned through a house destroyed by fire with the voices of the perishing children screaming in the background, and two films called The Telephone Box and Theatre of Blood.
@ian1970byrne - I'm with you there Ian but add to that the "spirit of dark and lonely waters" and I'm back cowering under the duvet and performing random obsessive rituals which I thought might stop the ad appearing during the commercial break of The Sweeney.
I am 39 and I can remember that it used to scare the hell out of me too when I was little. I used to shut my eyes and put my fingers in my ears...... even now, it still is a very creepy piece of music and a very disturbing opening title scene...... I believe one of the members of Roxy Music wrote the music. Andy McKay or something....
the picture of red screaming face on the chair still puts the shits up me now thinkin about it. the granada tv announcer would say up next it,s arm chair thriller and that redface would be their ahhhhhhhhh fucken horrible it was.
@reeleyes88 How I remember that screaming red face you refer to...I am 40 now and it still evokes the same feelings...I tried to watch the intro on here but just could not make myself to un-mute the sound...I thought I was the only one who felt/feels like this re Armchair Thriller but reading the comments on here I am obviously not...
I remember the chills it used to send through me, from the Thames TV intro in the dark (The Sweeney was never like that !), to the elongated fingers gripping the arms of the chair....and that empty Habit at the conclusion of "Quiet as a Nun"! Seems silly now, but when I was 10.........
The intro to armchair thriller brought about a sense of fear in many of us because the 'Shadow' in this particular sequence conforms to Jungian archetypes. I'm betting that this intro was far more frightening to many than the programme itself.
@Psychatron Well said. I've thought about the opening sequence(s) in those terms as well. I was born in 1972 and, while I don't actually remember any of the episodes off hand, the sequence did indeed scare the heck out of me. I also found it irresistible, though--as if recognising an archetype ;)
This was on in the evenings. I can remember it like yesterday, The Black Nun will stick in my mind for the rest of my life as an all time classic. Scared the life out of me as a child along with Hammer House of Horrors-Two Faces of Death.
Anyone have the original of The Black Nun? Would love to see it in its entirety again!!
@MrBillUp I clearly remember watchi at lunchtimes if I was ever sick, maybe they were repeats? I know they were put on in place of Crown Court! Wish I could help with The Black Nun episode :(
You guys are wrong, "Armchair Thriller" was on in the evenings...hence the night time Thames ident., and It was a different show just called "Thriller" that was on in the afternoons.
@Eightbanger No, I watched it at lunchtime with my mum if I was ever off sick. I was only young, so would't have still been up if this was on in the evenings! It replaced Crown Court's lunchtime slot, I believe
@jaxd36 My memory is getting foggy!! but this is what I found on Wikipedia...."Armchair Thriller is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in two series in 1978 and 1980. Armchair Thriller was produced by Thames Television. The format was of a twice weekly 25 minute episodes, usually screened on a Tuesday or Thursday at 20:00-21:00."
Your younger than me you lucky sod..lol so maybe you saw re-runs shown earlier in the day. I'd forgotten all about Crown Court...;)
@Eightbanger Oh wow! It could have been re-runs! I would have been 7, so definitely in bed at 8pm. I used to love it! Only vaguely remember the show,but clearly remember the title sequence!
My mum used to be addicted to Crown Court,and I have vague recollections of watching it!
Ditto to all the comments. I'm pretty sure it was on in the early afternoon and our mums would leave us babysat by Hartely Hare or Bod or something not realising that is would segue into a bloodied hand clawing down a tube train window. Genius tv schedules if you ask me. Made me the cowering, jittery wimp of the man I am today:)
@griffinz yeah griff your right it was on in the afternoons, lol at bod, although this used to scare me Hartley friggin Hare scared the crap out of me too! In fact id sit through this and hammer house rather than pipkins! LOL. Jeez 40, and theres us lot thinkin we'd never get old hey!
Just the intro alone, used to set me on edge as a kid, and like the previous post said, even now, with me at 38, it took me back to being an 8 year old, wondering if I was gonna be up at night with the heebie jeebies. It was a toss up between this, and Hammer house of horror.
I'm 39 now, seeing and listening to this theme tune sent a shiver all through me. Used to scare me so much as a child and to evoke the same feelings again is rather a bizarre feeling...
@northbanksy You are correct, Dr Who is/was a big girl's blouse programme compared to this ...and I thought I was the only one who felt/feels like this about Armchair Thriller...
@ritaedu1 I'm 38 and I know exactly what you mean. This stands out as the most single scariest thing I remember from my childhood, even the Thames logo set at night.
@chompypunk890 It does indeed. Even if I was offered a huge sum of cash to watch the opening titles and a entire episode on my own in my house I would still have to decline it..
somehow watched this as a kid and scared the living daylights out of me, just watching the intro for the first time in 33 years just sent a tingle down my spine!!!!
Well I consider myself a man of the world. But this 36 YEAR OLD turns to a shivering wreck when I see and recall this. It terrified me as a child. I would never go upstairs alone. Even in the day. Great memories.
I did not realise they had been brought out on DVD. I was an extra on Dead Man' Kit . A lot of it was shot onboard HMS Diamond and HMS Russel and they pulled the crew in as extras. They even had us do a Sods Opera. Never did see it as I was at sea when it showed on TV. I will have to get the DVD and see if I made it to screen !
This is one of my most vivid tv memories as a child. So used to the daytime Thames tv but that nighttime picture really scared me as much as the opening credits. Then the added horror of watching Rachel In Danger. The body of her father falling out of the wardrobe was so real and terrifying to an impressionable kid!
The scariest thing about this show was the titles. Very simple but so effective. They did do one truly scary episode and I think most of you know which one I'm going to mention. Yep the one with the nun in the attic!! EEK!!
I'm sure one episode featured a bomb built into an empty cigarette packet.... detonating when stood on.... I wouldn't stand on an empty packet for years afterwards !!!!!!
Like a lot of you, a child of the 70's it scared me to bits as well, even though I was allowed to stay up to see it and not allowed to watch the sweeney as my dad feared Id become a driving lunatic,,lol, Havent seen this in years and still got a does of the goosebumps now.
There was a lot of creepy stuff on in late 70's, very early 80s TV. Great AT titles which creeped me out after even today...and great to see the nightime Thames logo too! Sweet
@markirish37 Exactly the same with me!! I wish I could've stayed up for Sweeney and this, but at eight years old, the only place I was allowed was my bed!!!! Still sends wonnnderful shivers through me now. But I don't want my childhood back!!!!!
i was about seven or eight.and my late father told me and my brothers.you lot will av nightmares for the rest of your lifes...im 38.and im still scared of that fella in the chair....classic tv
OMG... All you people in your 30s who remember this.... You're bang on... still scares the crap out of me ! They shouldn't have shown it so early ! I'm sure it was on before 9pm.
Yeah, 8.30 as far as I remember, possibly on a Monday. I was about four and I used to have to hide behind the chair at the start. I remember doing the same during Doctor Who when Tom Baker was the Doc.
I used to get this theme tune mixed up with the Emmerdale Farm tune... I then thought did I just imagine this show when I was a kid but alas here it is!!!
OMG! It is real!! Ive been harping on for years about a shadow sitting on a chair freaking me out when I was a kid, and nobody knew what the heck I was on about.. still creepy! Thanks for putting this on!
ohh yeah, i remember this all too well, i used to watch this with my mum and just the opening used to frighten me to sickness...but cool seein it again tho still frightens me
Does anyone remember the still picture of the poodle? (A Dog's Ransom.) It appeared at the breaks. I used to sit closest to the t.v. so the rest of my family wouldn't realise I had my eyes shut. I'd love to see it again.
I'm exactly the same...my Gran, who's now passed used to watch it and i would sit there with Her and shit myself!!....especially the nun in the rocking chair scene...i had bloody nightmares for weeks after...would love to own them all on dvd somehow.
fuck,,,, the scariness all comes flooding back to me,,,, was only about 9 at the time and dunno how i was allowed to watch it...... remember the black nun episode most of all........x
A bit scary? This show used to be on and we were somehow allowed to watch it...it fucked me up. From there on I didn't trust anybody or anything...FUCKERS!
I agree with the many of the comments here. I was around 9 or 10 year old when this was broadcast and even the theme tune was so very scary, never mind the stories! I used to watch it with my parents around so I didn't feel quite so scared! I've juts ordered the series to watch again! That theme tune is still scary though!
MrCityboy1968 3 weeks ago
This was proper scary shit. Which came on 8-8;30 in the evening!!!! The theme tune. The shadow creeping up to sit on the white armchair. That is a sinister combo. But there was another version to this opening title which featured a screaming red face rolling down the chair.That scared the fuck out of me. I was only ten at the time.......
56postoffice 1 month ago
@56postoffice I agree! It was well fucking scary! I was around the same age as you at the time! I remember that it made me feel grown up to be allowed to stay up to watch this! Mind you I was shit scared having to go straight to bed afterwards!
MrCityboy1968 3 weeks ago
@MrCityboy1968 I still think to this day its the scariest opening credit to any show I've seen. They got away with enough shit in the Seventies! :O
56postoffice 3 weeks ago
@56postoffice I agree. They don't make these sorts of TV programmes any more. They took more risks in the 70s and drama was bolder, cleverer and more adventurous then the rubbish broadcast now! In the 70s there were no inhibitions and no political correctness. I've just ordered the Armchair Thriller series and can't wait to see it. Hopefully I won't find it too scary this time round!
MrCityboy1968 3 weeks ago
fucking motherfucking asssholes fuckers!!! This shit was aired on prime time...while we kids were watching the TV! I am tearing up watching this asshole right now...scared! I want to go under the couch and pee but I'm too old!
I want t be hugged by somebody loving and protected!
Thumbs up if you feel this way!
Btw..this from Ethiopia!
JofeAmoraw 1 month ago
This used to shit me right up as a kid. The one I remember vividly is when the dead body fell off the roof of a train. *shudders*
robskyd 3 months ago
I remember I was about 9 thinking how spooky the nightime Thames logo was before the programme started. Creativity - so much creativity back then. Oh well at least we have Strictly Come Dancing and the X Factor to really entertain us. Sorry I forgot to mention Jeremy Kyle and Eastenders. What lovely world we live in now....
quantumquantum 3 months ago 2
I'm sure they repeated these in the afternoon at some point. The worst ones I remember were 'The Black Nun' rocking in that diabolical rocking chair and - worst of all - the poor little poodle that got nailed to some old dear's front door. I can still see the blood. IN THE AFTERNOON! WHEN SOME ENTERPRISING LITTLE KIDDIES ARE FEIGNING ILLNESS TO GET OFF SCHOOL AND STAY AT HOME WITH THEIR MUMMIES! I'm 40 now and still sleep with the lights on. Thanks Thames!
aerialkate 4 months ago
@aerialkate Aaaaggghhhhh I was just thinking of the black nun when this came up in my recommendations. ha ha ha ha Funny how things stick in your mind.
RussinTirnaNog 3 months ago
@RussinTirnaNog - Things were damn sinister in the 70's. I don't care how many teenagers are summarily disposed of in 'Scream 29' and its like - they can't hold a candle to 'Armchair Thriller' or '70s telly.
aerialkate 3 months ago
@aerialkate I agree intirely. Too many special effects now, leaving nothing for the imagination to develope after the shows finished. Do you remember Hammer House of Horror shows and of course Good Old Tails of the Unexpected. The one with the lift, where the floor fell away in the tower block.....
RussinTirnaNog 3 months ago
@RussinTirnaNog I remember Tales of the Unexpected. The one that sticks in my mind (for some reason, I don't think it was much cop actually) was the one where the boy has a fascination for those big sea turtles and floats out to sea on the back of one of them and is never heard of again. There is a good clip of Peter Cook spoofing Roald Dahl and Tales of the Unexpected here on Youtube, which is quite funny..
aerialkate 3 months ago
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aerialkate 4 months ago
Im not sure I remember this now, I need to watch more... Aaagh!! Brilliant..!!
Bevoin1970 5 months ago
I remember the faceless nun-I remember waking up in a cold sweat the night after watching it. And the episode where the young girl gets harrassed by the creepy man on the bus-and a lady ''chases'' him away.
She takes her back to a caravan to phone the police-can't get through but then the man comes into the caravan. ''Hello dear-you're just in time''! Headfuck!
MALCBAGGIE 6 months ago
Used to scare the hell out of me-genuinly creepy. I should have sued for all those nightmares!
MALCBAGGIE 6 months ago
Oh no,it cut off before the best bit,when he grips the arms of the chair in fear!..hehe.Thanx 4 posting another memory!
GunnerMilligan 7 months ago
having just recently seen this series, it was really fun. it really has that eerie feel to it, but it is still awesome and fun to watch.
Destroysall 7 months ago
I'm 11 watched it with mum she was freaked and I laughed!!!!
sus99111 7 months ago
Man, this is disturbing.Still gives me the creeps.Brrrrr..........
postoffice56 8 months ago
That used to scare the f**kin shit out of me.
Just got a shiver now watching that. Thanks for the post.
huggiebear100 10 months ago
this used to be on at 7 30 pm on a school night fuck me it was ace - really scary
geoffdoor 11 months ago
Looking back on armchair thriller, the stories themselves were pretty much run of the mill. I think childrens imaginations were easier to prey on back then. Children today would probably laugh their socks off at it.
ian1970byrne 11 months ago
The Black nun!!! blood chilling!
leeejack 11 months ago
AAIIEEEEEE!!!! Flashbacks!! 9pm watch the play and off to bed!! Them fingers.....
MegaCaine11 11 months ago
Lol this used to scare my mum can I ask why people found this scary? coming from teenagers generation I won't understand why it would scare someone but I have no idea what's so scary.
bobandnorman 11 months ago
This opening used to terrify a friend of mine when we were growing up (not me I'm made of sterner stuff) does anyone remember the episode where a man's face is pressed up against the window of a train? Really horrible, that I admit did scare me!
RighteousBrother 1 year ago
Remember this one very well nightmares all night
jimmypa100 1 year ago
Well now I know I'm normal :) I used to have nightmares and have to sleep with the light on for some time after watching an episode of this in which a corpse was bricked up in the wall of a house, and there was this creepy rocking chair in which it sat and rocked.
brunster64 1 year ago
Scared the hell out of me back in the day!
Posthuman2003 1 year ago
Yeah thats me, a 30 something that needs to be scared shitless again as life dosen't scare me anymore, i see amazon do the box set of this series and i'm ordering one today. Cheers
TheGodParticle 1 year ago
all 30 somethings arive here wanting to be scared shitess again like in their youth :-)
Elibobbob 1 year ago
I remember this opening sequence! Used to scare me as a child!
thefrecklepuny 1 year ago
Still creeps me out!
RavenCK 1 year ago
The three stories I can remember are Rachael in Danger, A Dogs Ransom, and As Quiet as a Nun. The intro was one of four things that genuinely frightened me as a kid in the 1970's. The other three were the 1970's fire prevention ad when the camera panned through a house destroyed by fire with the voices of the perishing children screaming in the background, and two films called The Telephone Box and Theatre of Blood.
ian1970byrne 1 year ago
@ian1970byrne - I'm with you there Ian but add to that the "spirit of dark and lonely waters" and I'm back cowering under the duvet and performing random obsessive rituals which I thought might stop the ad appearing during the commercial break of The Sweeney.
leggybird100 11 months ago
I remember there was one about a nun without a face who lived in the attic, that one gave me nightmares for months.
mcskillby 1 year ago
I am 39 and I can remember that it used to scare the hell out of me too when I was little. I used to shut my eyes and put my fingers in my ears...... even now, it still is a very creepy piece of music and a very disturbing opening title scene...... I believe one of the members of Roxy Music wrote the music. Andy McKay or something....
BADSIMONEMAD 1 year ago
me too ,was crapping it when it used to come on.
gwoopy1 1 year ago
armchair thriller ....this opening title use to scare the shit out of me when i was a kid
smiglips 1 year ago
the picture of red screaming face on the chair still puts the shits up me now thinkin about it. the granada tv announcer would say up next it,s arm chair thriller and that redface would be their ahhhhhhhhh fucken horrible it was.
reeleyes88 1 year ago
@reeleyes88 How I remember that screaming red face you refer to...I am 40 now and it still evokes the same feelings...I tried to watch the intro on here but just could not make myself to un-mute the sound...I thought I was the only one who felt/feels like this re Armchair Thriller but reading the comments on here I am obviously not...
ritaedu1 1 year ago
god remember this so well used to scare the shit out of me!!!!! i was only 45!!!!!!!
westha1233 1 year ago
I remember the chills it used to send through me, from the Thames TV intro in the dark (The Sweeney was never like that !), to the elongated fingers gripping the arms of the chair....and that empty Habit at the conclusion of "Quiet as a Nun"! Seems silly now, but when I was 10.........
zoetrope35 1 year ago
this really scared me as a child, i hated hearing the theme turn
cchellybeann 1 year ago
That's the way TV should be scare the shit out of the kids it might keep them off the streets at night
paulallan1000 1 year ago
lol..still makes me jump very effective and the music is scary too
wolfinspirit 1 year ago
dont think there was an episode of this that used to scare me..just the the opening titles of mr shadow zooming at you lol
wolfinspirit 1 year ago
Andy Mckay from Roxy Music wrote this theme tune!
youboob1981 1 year ago
Same here, i mean they werent even that scary it was the suspence that eeked ya.
tarapowers79 1 year ago
The intro to armchair thriller brought about a sense of fear in many of us because the 'Shadow' in this particular sequence conforms to Jungian archetypes. I'm betting that this intro was far more frightening to many than the programme itself.
Psychatron 1 year ago
@Psychatron Well said. I've thought about the opening sequence(s) in those terms as well. I was born in 1972 and, while I don't actually remember any of the episodes off hand, the sequence did indeed scare the heck out of me. I also found it irresistible, though--as if recognising an archetype ;)
RussMoxham 1 year ago
Comment removed
Psychatron 1 year ago
This was on in the evenings. I can remember it like yesterday, The Black Nun will stick in my mind for the rest of my life as an all time classic. Scared the life out of me as a child along with Hammer House of Horrors-Two Faces of Death.
Anyone have the original of The Black Nun? Would love to see it in its entirety again!!
MrBillUp 1 year ago
@MrBillUp I clearly remember watchi at lunchtimes if I was ever sick, maybe they were repeats? I know they were put on in place of Crown Court! Wish I could help with The Black Nun episode :(
jaxd36 1 year ago
This really used to scare me as a kid....nowt's changed.
darrenpotts 1 year ago
You guys are wrong, "Armchair Thriller" was on in the evenings...hence the night time Thames ident., and It was a different show just called "Thriller" that was on in the afternoons.
Eightbanger 1 year ago
@Eightbanger I used to sag school on Wednesday afternoons, that's the first time I shat meself to this intro...different sceduling praps
JapStrangler 1 year ago
@Eightbanger No, I watched it at lunchtime with my mum if I was ever off sick. I was only young, so would't have still been up if this was on in the evenings! It replaced Crown Court's lunchtime slot, I believe
jaxd36 1 year ago
@jaxd36 My memory is getting foggy!! but this is what I found on Wikipedia...."Armchair Thriller is a British television programme, broadcast on ITV in two series in 1978 and 1980. Armchair Thriller was produced by Thames Television. The format was of a twice weekly 25 minute episodes, usually screened on a Tuesday or Thursday at 20:00-21:00."
Your younger than me you lucky sod..lol so maybe you saw re-runs shown earlier in the day. I'd forgotten all about Crown Court...;)
Eightbanger 1 year ago
@Eightbanger Oh wow! It could have been re-runs! I would have been 7, so definitely in bed at 8pm. I used to love it! Only vaguely remember the show,but clearly remember the title sequence!
My mum used to be addicted to Crown Court,and I have vague recollections of watching it!
jaxd36 1 year ago
Love the nighttime Thames indent.
iblob666 1 year ago
I was also terrified of this programme. I was only 8 years or so old and I remember being frightened of the opening titles.
donnygirl28 1 year ago
The red face on the armchair always scared the shit out of me,just too scared to go to bed by myself....check it out on google images.
sw877 1 year ago
God that used to scare the crap out of me.
wenger1972 1 year ago
god I remeber this when I was a kid - still scares the sh#t out of me now
Bradyzzz 1 year ago
used to be so frightened of this..it gave me nightmares for years
decka71 1 year ago
thanks for this video.
Do you have full chapters?
bassmoster 1 year ago
Ditto to all the comments. I'm pretty sure it was on in the early afternoon and our mums would leave us babysat by Hartely Hare or Bod or something not realising that is would segue into a bloodied hand clawing down a tube train window. Genius tv schedules if you ask me. Made me the cowering, jittery wimp of the man I am today:)
griffinz 2 years ago
@griffinz yeah griff your right it was on in the afternoons, lol at bod, although this used to scare me Hartley friggin Hare scared the crap out of me too! In fact id sit through this and hammer house rather than pipkins! LOL. Jeez 40, and theres us lot thinkin we'd never get old hey!
zu1875lu 1 year ago
Just the intro alone, used to set me on edge as a kid, and like the previous post said, even now, with me at 38, it took me back to being an 8 year old, wondering if I was gonna be up at night with the heebie jeebies. It was a toss up between this, and Hammer house of horror.
glacie8 2 years ago
I'm 39 now, seeing and listening to this theme tune sent a shiver all through me. Used to scare me so much as a child and to evoke the same feelings again is rather a bizarre feeling...
ritaedu1 2 years ago 24
@ritaedu1 And me - when the those hands spread out - forget Dr Who this made me shit my pants - we are the same age.
northbanksy 1 year ago
@northbanksy You are correct, Dr Who is/was a big girl's blouse programme compared to this ...and I thought I was the only one who felt/feels like this about Armchair Thriller...
ritaedu1 1 year ago
@ritaedu1 I'm 38 and I know exactly what you mean. This stands out as the most single scariest thing I remember from my childhood, even the Thames logo set at night.
matthewakian2 7 months ago
@matthewakian2 The red faced man screaming when it was advertised was disturbing enough....
ritaedu1 7 months ago
@ritaedu1 Well does it consolate you if I tell you than you are not the only one who feels that?
chompypunk890 1 month ago
@chompypunk890 It does indeed. Even if I was offered a huge sum of cash to watch the opening titles and a entire episode on my own in my house I would still have to decline it..
ritaedu1 1 month ago
Great intro. So simple yet so scary.
mutinyonthekitkat 2 years ago 2
somehow watched this as a kid and scared the living daylights out of me, just watching the intro for the first time in 33 years just sent a tingle down my spine!!!!
leschampkinu2 2 years ago 2
still sends a shiver down the spine. at least i don't lose sleep now!
zoetrope35 2 years ago 2
Well I consider myself a man of the world. But this 36 YEAR OLD turns to a shivering wreck when I see and recall this. It terrified me as a child. I would never go upstairs alone. Even in the day. Great memories.
erebus73 2 years ago 2
I did not realise they had been brought out on DVD. I was an extra on Dead Man' Kit . A lot of it was shot onboard HMS Diamond and HMS Russel and they pulled the crew in as extras. They even had us do a Sods Opera. Never did see it as I was at sea when it showed on TV. I will have to get the DVD and see if I made it to screen !
sidders1 2 years ago 2
This is one of my most vivid tv memories as a child. So used to the daytime Thames tv but that nighttime picture really scared me as much as the opening credits. Then the added horror of watching Rachel In Danger. The body of her father falling out of the wardrobe was so real and terrifying to an impressionable kid!
tabitha501 2 years ago
I remember this series well, and it was the first time I saw Ian Mckellen. He played a lonely, paranoid man in an episode called 'Dying Day'
IntellectualAmy 2 years ago
The scariest thing about this show was the titles. Very simple but so effective. They did do one truly scary episode and I think most of you know which one I'm going to mention. Yep the one with the nun in the attic!! EEK!!
cylon6 2 years ago
I'm sure one episode featured a bomb built into an empty cigarette packet.... detonating when stood on.... I wouldn't stand on an empty packet for years afterwards !!!!!!
o dear.... I think i've soiled myself again ! lol
smidsyonfire 2 years ago
Definately remember the nun episode!
camrok13 2 years ago
It was called "A dog's ransom" shown in1978.."Good gog Tina", scarey stuff indeed.
Rawlinson18 2 years ago
I remember this programme including the scary shadow at the beginning. Dont laugh but that shadow sent a shiver down my spine.
Anyway, does anyone remember the episode that featured a mysterious orb of light which created a strange sound causing things to shatter?
Thanks for posting the clip it brings back memories...
MIGHTYXD 2 years ago
Like a lot of you, a child of the 70's it scared me to bits as well, even though I was allowed to stay up to see it and not allowed to watch the sweeney as my dad feared Id become a driving lunatic,,lol, Havent seen this in years and still got a does of the goosebumps now.
markirish37 2 years ago 6
There was a lot of creepy stuff on in late 70's, very early 80s TV. Great AT titles which creeped me out after even today...and great to see the nightime Thames logo too! Sweet
radiodarkhorse 2 years ago 2
@markirish37 Exactly the same with me!! I wish I could've stayed up for Sweeney and this, but at eight years old, the only place I was allowed was my bed!!!! Still sends wonnnderful shivers through me now. But I don't want my childhood back!!!!!
terrycharnley 11 months ago
i was about seven or eight.and my late father told me and my brothers.you lot will av nightmares for the rest of your lifes...im 38.and im still scared of that fella in the chair....classic tv
stephenm6100 2 years ago 3
That darker-than-usual Thames logo is quite spooky...
Banner1979 2 years ago
WOAH!!!!!
Fond childhood memories!!
Like to think this helped form my taste in horror/thriller today!
BIG THUMBS UP!!
:o)
Krystaltipps 2 years ago
Anyone remember Fear on Friday on tyne tees? not on the internet anywhere
ClockworkDonkey 2 years ago
OMG... All you people in your 30s who remember this.... You're bang on... still scares the crap out of me ! They shouldn't have shown it so early ! I'm sure it was on before 9pm.
smidsyonfire 2 years ago 2
Yeah, 8.30 as far as I remember, possibly on a Monday. I was about four and I used to have to hide behind the chair at the start. I remember doing the same during Doctor Who when Tom Baker was the Doc.
harper1875 2 years ago
Yep, just shit myself all ove again.
emnonwodog 2 years ago 2
the opening sequence used to totally freak me,still sends shivers down the spine,creeepy
nicki043 2 years ago
Used to scare the absolute shite out of me when I was a kid. . . .
mentalist1973 2 years ago
38 now and it still gives me the willies! There should be more tv like this these days...
WinsterMoves 2 years ago 2
As rapstertee said, I'm in my thirties and this is stil terrifying 25 years later! Thames night ident gives me the creeps.
goonerreed 2 years ago
Wasn't the Thames TV night bit the only time you saw it at night.... I don't recall anything else showing it.
smidsyonfire 2 years ago
Still spooky after all these years!!!
ffjkhguhgft 2 years ago
Isn't it strange this all frightened us as kids etc! It's still got that spooky thing about it now!
bobross95 2 years ago
I used to get this theme tune mixed up with the Emmerdale Farm tune... I then thought did I just imagine this show when I was a kid but alas here it is!!!
azrael666ethereal 2 years ago
I remember this and remember running behind the sofa to hide!!!!
sexysenco 2 years ago
OMG! It is real!! Ive been harping on for years about a shadow sitting on a chair freaking me out when I was a kid, and nobody knew what the heck I was on about.. still creepy! Thanks for putting this on!
Xxlo0byxX 2 years ago 2
Hell i remember this tune alright. Sunday evening... 6 or 7 years old and afraid to come out from behind the sofa! Down memory lane eh!
flipback1234 2 years ago
Brief and excellent.
JackassPenguinShow 2 years ago
ohh yeah, i remember this all too well, i used to watch this with my mum and just the opening used to frighten me to sickness...but cool seein it again tho still frightens me
DATRUTHURTS 2 years ago
Music by the great Andy McKay of Roxy Music!!!!!
captainkundalini999 2 years ago
Does anyone remember the still picture of the poodle? (A Dog's Ransom.) It appeared at the breaks. I used to sit closest to the t.v. so the rest of my family wouldn't realise I had my eyes shut. I'd love to see it again.
Crenshaw68 3 years ago
I'm exactly the same...my Gran, who's now passed used to watch it and i would sit there with Her and shit myself!!....especially the nun in the rocking chair scene...i had bloody nightmares for weeks after...would love to own them all on dvd somehow.
nightwolf0077 3 years ago
They are out on DVD mate. Can even buy them by the episode. Amazon and also E-Bay got a load of them too.
Just went on E-bay and has 'Quiet a as Nun' for fifteen quid.....
Sorely tempted.
coolcelt 2 years ago
I remember this well! I remember my Grandmother who's now passed, She would watch it religiously every week!!!
I got some really good memories now thinking bk!!
=]
DoNtBeEfWiThEeF 3 years ago
anyone remember the dead body in the cupboard episode, people going near it but not opening it... VERY scary!
EngineerCymru 3 years ago
i remember!!! and the guy had some kind of fold up knife...scary
frutangclan 2 years ago
Brings back the memories that does and I love the night Thames logo
radiodarkhorse 3 years ago
fuck,,,, the scariness all comes flooding back to me,,,, was only about 9 at the time and dunno how i was allowed to watch it...... remember the black nun episode most of all........x
psbtrc 3 years ago
hey i just pooed in my armchair,,very scared i was.shit i have to clean now..oh bugger it i will do it tomorow now that im sitting down.
JOHN02099 3 years ago
This completely freaked me out as a kid, the shadow coming over the chair. ARGH!
zaftra 3 years ago
A bit scary? This show used to be on and we were somehow allowed to watch it...it fucked me up. From there on I didn't trust anybody or anything...FUCKERS!
libdash 3 years ago
Lol....priceless mate!!....i'm the same...everytime i see a shadow now i through a fucking armchair at it.
nightwolf0077 3 years ago
thats a bit scary...
apeandbirdgang 3 years ago
i just soiled myself slightly
justwoozynow 3 years ago
Still terrifying after all these years...brilliant.
TheeDarkBarometer 3 years ago
Me & my girl we love each other.
borgduck 3 years ago