People have been sharing the ‘creepiest’ TV themes and they’re unlocking a lot of childhood trauma. Dare you listen?

Back in the 1970s and 80s it seemed that the makers of kids’ TV thought that the best way to entertain children was to scare the crap out of them. Shows such as Doctor Who, Chocky, Children of The Stones and the notorious Noseybonk from Jigsaw were responsible for a lot of childhood sleepless nights.

But back then, even the most harmless and innocuous TV shows seemed, for some reason, to have hauntingly creepy theme tunes.

Over on Twitter, Andy Bush, an Absolute Radio DJ and host of the wonderful and aptly named Scarred for Life podcast, shared what he thought was the creepiest of them all.

For those of us of a certain age, this should come with a trigger warning.

Creepiest theme tune ever?#scarredforlife pic.twitter.com/uyCXMhT2rs

— Andy Bush (@bushontheradio) August 9, 2026

Truly terrifying. Others agreed and shared their own suggestions.

1.

Remember the big telly being wheeled in to the classroom to watch this

— Mully (@johnmully1) August 9, 2026

2.

The start of Jamie & the Magic Torch is up there with scary theme tunes too pic.twitter.com/Z7fVWC7yHx

— North_Lites (@North_Lites) August 10, 2026

3.

The Tomorrow People pic.twitter.com/XGtkoTFSS7

— The Music Man (@DavidJa51216245) August 10, 2026

4.

No, The Book Tower *shudder* https://t.co/k7IZ6dRljW

— Your Favourite Englishman (@BinRory) August 9, 2026

5.

‘Thriller’ in the seventies used to scare me https://t.co/8fx12sYdDU

— Elle May (@ElleMay44) August 10, 2026

6.

When I win the lottery, I’m buying an ice-cream van and making it play this.

— Oscar_Dowson (@Dr_Oscar_Dowson) August 10, 2026

7.

Oh my God that takes me right back. How am I this old?!!!

— Penneth_Official (she/her) #ChildlessCatLady (@OfficialPenneth) August 10, 2026

8.

The Magic Fountain was an eerie one and the series had some great synth sounds as well. https://t.co/kpiySHHN3x

— Keith Seatman (@KeithSeatman) August 10, 2026