28
Apr
08

Childhood Fears

“My images are not photoshop collages.I use photoshop to finesse details and to adjust color and contrast for printing.I use friends and family members as actors and crew.Everyone works for free. We do it for fun.” says Joshua Hoffine whose eye catching artworks may remind us of our very own childhood fears!


These are available for sale on his website.


488 Responses to “Childhood Fears”


  1. 1 Lisette Apr 29th, 2008 at 9:28 am

    These are amazing.. I never had any childhood fears, but these creep me out anyways. Good work.

  2. 2 wladek Apr 29th, 2008 at 9:30 am

    this is really sick…

  3. 3 C Apr 29th, 2008 at 10:15 am

    Great Pics.

  4. 4 Melinda Stanley Apr 29th, 2008 at 11:23 am

    Wow! This is some amazing/scary stuff!!

  5. 5 amanda Apr 29th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

    makes you curious about the type of mind that would create and enjoy images like these.

  6. 6 sarah Apr 29th, 2008 at 12:16 pm

    these are amazing!

  7. 7 great work Apr 29th, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    really…just stunning

  8. 8 eatmeamanda Apr 29th, 2008 at 12:39 pm

    Hey Amanda — go f*** your judgmental smug little self. Not everyone was a f****** happy-go-lucky little cheerleader running through the sprinklers on their well-manicured lawn, but I guess you would be clueless about that. I’ll bet you have loads of creative and artistic talent though, since you’re so critical of others’ work. Right?

  9. 9 jack Apr 29th, 2008 at 12:47 pm

    Wow incredible. Totally captures the imagery of our darkest imagination.

  10. 10 wtf Apr 29th, 2008 at 1:39 pm

    that is scary

  11. 11 Linker Apr 29th, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Wow! I have no words!
    That’s really gets terrible :S

  12. 12 Divaliscious Apr 29th, 2008 at 1:45 pm

    wow, must have been great fun to create said images - the quality is surreal and fantastic! Keep up such excellent work!

  13. 13 jocky300 Apr 29th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    Absolutely fucking horrific.

  14. 14 imaginearea Apr 29th, 2008 at 1:54 pm

    The monster under the bed was one of my childhood fears…I like this picture. I don’t like the ‘dead mother and child’ ones though…they are too gruesome for me. Great Photography.

  15. 15 Jess Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:00 pm

    Amazing, I really like your pictures. They’ re amazing!!!

  16. 16 purple_dragonfly_fairy Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:07 pm

    I love it, you did a great job. Keep up the good work. I think you should think about movie’s or something.

  17. 17 GoofyMonkey Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:14 pm

    What about.. “The floor is LAVA!!!” The Florr is LAVA!!

  18. 18 Ron Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    Dude! I bet Halloween ROCKS at your house!

  19. 19 Max Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    I was always terrified to go in my basement as a kid… It was always dark and since our house was made of wood, it creaked alot, so it made scary noises. I remember being scared of looking under the bed and everything… Those replicate really well childhood fears… (except the one wit the lady being pulled into the floor… that’s not really childhood)

  20. 20 dave Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    You are sick or summat for getting that girl to pose partially naked for your pics, call that art?

  21. 21 jazz Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

    if there not photoshoped, then i invented the computer!!

    still good work tho!

  22. 22 Kreg Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:45 pm

    The monster under the bed one - Any particular reason for the “Daddy No” spelled out in blocks?

  23. 23 May Apr 29th, 2008 at 2:49 pm

    Absolutely LOVE his work. Awesome stuff!

  24. 24 Hawk Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Fucking awesome work. I love it. I thought I was the only one who was afraid of being grabbed from behind, at night, watching tv.

  25. 25 Dan Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    I absolutely hate clowns. Nice Work!

  26. 26 Majoris Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    O_O Stumbled on this…very awesome.

  27. 27 John Smith Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    Scary

  28. 28 Jurgen Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    Wow what an amazing photo gallery! Pure Art… creepy but really cool! Cheers for sharing!

  29. 29 wow scary Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:52 pm

    the monster under the stairs was my fear tha’ts why i always run up the stairs espessialy my basement stairs

  30. 30 Kat Apr 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm

    Absolutely amazing!!! I love that the wolfs leg on the stairs is a human hand and arm! I was completely afraid of the dark as a child and these monsters look a lot what I imagined ;) Love it! OK I do want to say to all of the people who want to find something negative to say like the guy who commented on the girl being naked in the picture ummm hello dumb ass the monster is in the CLOSET where the CLOTHES are its like they just have to find negativity in the world or the girl who questioned who would think up these things or enjoy them well…. most children imagine much scarier monsters than these and the appreciation comes in from having a visual to express those fears and also just looking at these pictures from an artistic point of view they are very very good as for the photo shop I believe that you have only enhanced them using photo shop I can see that you use a lot of props and make-up along with the right lighting so I say Congratulations!!!! a job well done

  31. 31 Parker Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:02 pm

    Everyone is entitled to their own opinions. I think this is magnificent. Great work!

  32. 32 Carlos Rivera Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:15 pm

    It really makes you wonder what kind of childhood the author of these pictures must have had.

    I don’t argue about the technical quality of the pictures themselves, that is understood, but the underlying mental structure of someone with those childhood fears must have had some important issues that now by means of photography can encounter some sort of sublimation.

  33. 33 sarah Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:25 pm

    wow

  34. 34 mallovestrees Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:41 pm

    At first glance, I was really creeped, but as I kept looking, I started to see the beauty in the portrayal of your fears. The little girls really capture how horrified they would be if what they were seeing was real. Great work!

  35. 35 Fallin Apr 29th, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    wow… that really creeped me out.. these pictures reminded me of my childhood and put a freakishly accurate visual in my mind… these are amazing!!!! Excellent work!

  36. 36 Fearful Apr 29th, 2008 at 5:21 pm

    I’m going to have trouble sleeping now, just like being a child again!

  37. 37 Mooner-one Apr 29th, 2008 at 5:42 pm

    These are perfect! I think I suffered from just about all of these things at one time or other growin’ up. I’m blown away and flashin’ back! Thanks for the memories, as Jackie Gleason would say!

  38. 38 ManlyBallsiness Apr 29th, 2008 at 6:00 pm

    It’s OK, I can’t say I was as scared as everyone here. Still, it’s very well done. Maybe I’m just more manly and ballsier than anyone else (jkjkjk).

  39. 39 jakko Apr 29th, 2008 at 6:28 pm

    Amazing. Love them.

  40. 40 Steve W Apr 29th, 2008 at 6:44 pm

    Most of these are still my fears now as an adult. Especially the gasmask one.

  41. 41 Mokevo Apr 29th, 2008 at 6:49 pm

    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!! That’s so awesome!

  42. 42 LBG Apr 29th, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    Very cool stuff! I was very impressed by the artwork and the technical skill involved. I also really liked the theme and just how well you took the canonical childhood fears and translated them into such real images.
    I loved the one with the witch in hte cottage - perfect!

  43. 43 .... Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:01 pm

    great pics, not all of them i like, but all good quality and most are very original ideas.

  44. 44 viju Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

    the intro makes you think you are going to see some amateur stuff. but this is absolute genius!

  45. 45 _terry Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    wow…
    just amazingly wow!
    the wolf on the staircase… damn.

  46. 46 josh Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

    wow these are some crazy pics. kinda scary too.

  47. 47 Tyler Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:29 pm

    wow those where cool

  48. 48 WryBeauty Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:35 pm

    These are FANTASTIC! The one with the slotted stairs freaks me out; that was the only fear I ever really had. Also, Dave is an idiot. You see what you choose to see within these pictures, so if your main focus was the little girls then you are the sick one, my friend.

  49. 49 maire Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    those are pretty disturbing! they really illustrate how lurid children’s imaginations can be. awesome work.

  50. 50 Adam Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:43 pm

    Some I like more than others, but don’t say they arnt photoshop collages when they clearly are (#3 for instance, those lolly pops, and the person in the window, and id be willing to bet those skulls too)

    But still, very creative

  51. 51 arenee Apr 29th, 2008 at 7:58 pm

    very cool pics!

  52. 52 troy Apr 29th, 2008 at 8:00 pm

    This is so, so awesome :-) What a brilliant concept.

    The only sad part of it is some of the retarded comments in here that don’t get the artistic side of it or the concept.

    Fancy commenting about a child being partially naked. WTF? It’s a child for gods sake. Is that poster so insecure about their own body or something?

  53. 53 isa Apr 29th, 2008 at 8:07 pm

    “You are sick or summat for getting that girl to pose partially naked for your pics, call that art?”

    Dave, it’s a child looking in a bedroom mirror. Did you never change clothes in your own room as a child?

    You are sick for reading something sexual into an image of a child.

  54. 54 James Apr 29th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

    Stumble takes you to a lot of artist’s pages with their collection of art. . .this is the first one in a long time that is some really good stuff

  55. 55 ryan Apr 29th, 2008 at 8:17 pm

    while they’re all pretty disturbing (and well done), the one of the boy with the gas-mask frightens the hell out of me. it’s the eyes…

  56. 56 beata Apr 29th, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    that is so awesome, i love it, creepy but really interesting

  57. 57 ellen Apr 29th, 2008 at 10:00 pm

    CREEPY! Loved it. Absolutely captured the fears of a child.

  58. 58 Cody Apr 29th, 2008 at 10:47 pm

    Wow, I have to say that these are indeed amazing. I definitely had that sitting on the couch thing going on and my sister was/is afraid of clowns.
    Really, good work. Keep it up.

  59. 59 Debbie Apr 29th, 2008 at 11:59 pm

    Wow…don’t know what to say. Amazingly good but disturbing without
    being that disturbing because in a couple of the pictures, you could
    sort of tell that the people were having fun doing it. I loved it.
    Put it in a book. It would sell.

  60. 60 Jeremy Apr 30th, 2008 at 12:28 am

    These are all fantastic. Just because I’m a trusting person, I’ll believe that the photoshopping involved was purely aesthetic and had nothing to do with adding anything in.

    The thing that surprised me the most was the emotional reactions the children were capable of showing. Not to mention the emotions evoked when I looked at each of the pictures. Good work.

  61. 61 Vicky Apr 30th, 2008 at 3:05 am

    These are fantastically scary. Out of them all approx 8 of them scared me as a child. Only the spiders still scare me now. Well done!

  62. 62 Žarko Apr 30th, 2008 at 3:06 am

    Really amazing. The girl’s face expression is fully pro on some pics. Grat job!

  63. 63 david Apr 30th, 2008 at 3:29 am

    These pictures are slick, but very dark and disturbing. I don’t like them.

  64. 64 maya Apr 30th, 2008 at 4:34 am

    i like this. the greatest works of art came out of pain and fears…. beauty itself too…. it is always better to confront it, and make it material, then let it live and endlessly involve our imagination… i like this work, specially going down to basement, and the last one… congratulations

  65. 65 Chris Hansen Apr 30th, 2008 at 6:24 am

    “You are sick or summat for getting that girl to pose partially naked for your pics, call that art?”

    Dave I think we may need to have a little chat. Why don’t you take a seat….

  66. 66 Samantha Apr 30th, 2008 at 6:24 am

    i must wonder what kind of childhood you had
    these are sick
    i dont find this art
    to create these pictures?
    i see not the point
    the quailty of the pictures ill give you creadit for
    but these are pretty sick

    xxxsam

  67. 67 Sharon Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:07 am

    wow, great pictures…I think my fear of spiders just came back!

  68. 68 Z Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:09 am

    Nice images. They triggered interesting responses in my brain about fear and the childhood imagination.

    Z

  69. 69 Kim Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:09 am

    Those are great! Funny thing is, I never had childhood fears and even used to draw images like this as a kid without much emotion (just for the art), but since I have kids myself, those suddenly creep me out big deal!
    Well done and the girl really acts great!

  70. 70 Brad Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:10 am

    Brilliant work. Love them all. Monsters really do live in closets

  71. 71 Lord Matt Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:18 am

    Very scary and slightly macabre. Nicely set up though.

    All I can say is the wolf on the stairs - aaaaaaaaaaaaagh… (!)

  72. 72 Robert Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:19 am

    Samantha, you don’t see the point in representing some of the most powerful emotions people experience in their lives (childhood fear) in some artistic medium? Let me rephrase that, you don’t see the point in art?

    Also, the half naked girl is supposed to stick out as a representation of the helpless feeling of a childhood fear. If you think it’s sexual you should stay away from children.

  73. 73 Hib3 Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:30 am

    Wow, what an imagination. Brilliant!

  74. 74 Ghirarda Apr 30th, 2008 at 7:41 am

    Fortissime queste immagini!!!

  75. 75 KN9 Apr 30th, 2008 at 8:01 am

    What’s fun is that some people assume that you have to have a sick or weird childhood to think up stuff like this. My childhood was pretty nice and I get a kick out of these (a kick and some sympathy… I still scare myself thinking there’s some horrible thing waiting for me in the dark before I turn the light on)–and I like to imagine and write similar stuff. It reminds me of something Stephen King wrote–namely, how interviewers liked to try and pin why he wrote horror on some childhood trauma. Ultimately he just gave the answer, “I have the heart of a little boy; I keep it in a jar on my desk.”

  76. 76 Andy Apr 30th, 2008 at 8:20 am

    They are repulsive. They are capturing terror and inciting it at the same time. Technically they are masterpieces. I don’t particularly “like” them. I suspect you weren’t trying for a popularity contest.

    I do believe these really reflect the fears of some children. It reminds of how adults sometimes forget to realize children are emotionally extreme as they are sorting out how to behave. This doesn’t mean they were abused necessarily. Kids are just extreme versions of adults. Their emotions, their reactions, and their ability to read the emotions of others often take on extreme tones. If you have a child, you probably know what I mean. If you don’t have children, read a book about child development.

    I don’t think the infant has fears like the older kids so that one could have been left out. Maybe someone’s done research to prove me wrong, but I’m not aware of anything that shows infants experience “fear” in the same way older children do.

    To your detractors, Folks, lighten up. No harm was done. You sound like a member of the Taliban when get mortally upset about a simple image. If you don’t understand why it’s art, that’s fair. However, if you don’t understand how a car works are you going to admit it in public and write General Motors to stop making cars? Go away and do your homework.

  77. 77 r a Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:12 am

    these are excellent! some of the best i have seen. goosebumps everytime i scrolled down.the fact that these were staged in real life and not collaged in photoshop is amazing. I bet this was alot of fun.

  78. 78 Lucy Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:51 am

    These are excellent- my favourite is the one with the child and the wolf on the stairs. I work with binaural audio and create walks sometimes with the theme of horror or a murder mystery. Great stuff!

  79. 79 stephanie Apr 30th, 2008 at 10:00 am

    these are SOOOO amazing. i love them. i just stumbled this site and, WOW. i love things like this and…just…i soound like a retard, but, i can’t tell you how awesome these are in words. GREAT JOB!!!!

  80. 80 Walt Apr 30th, 2008 at 10:12 am

    These pictures really create a strong fear or memory. Their actually really good.

    The monster under the bed one - we all remember that.

    Great work!

  81. 81 Ronelle Apr 30th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    The little girl going downstairs with the evil dude underneath, that was always my fear. To this day, I always run up the stairs at my parents house because I feel like something is going to grab me.

  82. 82 Kuba Apr 30th, 2008 at 11:52 am

    i wish I could do sth like this…

    Great!

  83. 83 Julius Apr 30th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    Andy, that’s hilarious about the cars. Anyway, these are really good. They remind me of Bacon’s “Screaming Popes” in how they invoke so much from the viewer. Psychological art is really intriguing.

  84. 84 Me Apr 30th, 2008 at 12:33 pm

    Wow.. really amazing. I love the one of the stairs, now I’m going to have to run up and down my basement stairs like I did when I was little. lol

    This reminds me of when I was little and the fears I had, reminds me that I have to take my kids more seriously when they’re afraid of the boogey man. He seemed so real to me, how we forget…

  85. 85 Maisie Apr 30th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    wow that is really well done, really creepy though…

  86. 86 ishmot Apr 30th, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    Freak!

  87. 87 Cris Apr 30th, 2008 at 1:33 pm

    These kids are gonna be traumatized. but awesome pics nonetheless

  88. 88 cKHAVIKk Apr 30th, 2008 at 1:40 pm

    the clown image made me throw up in my mouth a little bit….

  89. 89 dan Apr 30th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

    Absolutely stunning…I was a very imaginative child so some of these are so creepily similar to things I have imagined.

  90. 90 leviathin Apr 30th, 2008 at 2:29 pm

    you are my hero.me and my friend love to think of stuff like this but you are a master at your craft i dont know you but i love you.you are an amazing artist please do more ^_^
    oh and it is also apparent that some people are incapable of appreciating art and feel the need to share with us their possible fears or fantasies of innapropriate behaviour with the kiddies

  91. 91 Dave Apr 30th, 2008 at 3:45 pm

    Amanda, stick to watching TV if you are going to be so closed minded to art.

    Sheesh.

    Regarding the illustrations above: absolutely fantastic..

  92. 92 Angie. Apr 30th, 2008 at 4:03 pm

    Ah. If I was one of those kids, I would have peed my pants.
    These are so excellent. The quality and emotions…Wow.

    I am pretty sure 90% of these were my fears as a child. And still are, maybe I should stop watching horror movies so much. Hah.

    The little kid in the mirror, that is so dumb to complain about. It’s only pervy if YOU yourself view kids that way. I mean, when I was a kid, I hated wearing clothes, I saw no problem in being in just underpants. Anyways, even if an ADULT is naked, it doesn’t make it sexual.

  93. 93 Rachael Apr 30th, 2008 at 4:55 pm

    Nice! these are so creepy and some of these were things i was afraid of as a kid.

    My biggest fear was a skeleton that lived at the end of my bed that wore a top hat and cuff links and if i kept my feet uncovered at night, he might tickle me…

  94. 94 Jeremy Apr 30th, 2008 at 5:47 pm

    I dont know how this landed on my computer, but i was completely and utterly disgusted. Very disturbing images, but in a way exactly what i imagined as a child. Good art, bad feeling.

  95. 95 tylor rose Apr 30th, 2008 at 6:23 pm

    these photos are very well done, and I found a few of them to be particularly so. The boy with the bunny and the gasmask especially.

    One thing that’s pissing me off to no end is the suppositions people are making about the artist. It may strike some of you as completely fucking novel, but you don’t have to have a god awful childhood or be a mental case to produce art. I don’t know a goddamn thing about the author or their childhood, but the idiocy of assuming anything about the artist’s consciousness simply from what is probably a small sample of their art is almost as striking as the photos themselves.

    Grow up, a lot of you.

  96. 96 Eirc Apr 30th, 2008 at 6:31 pm

    Quote:”It really makes you wonder what kind of childhood the author of these pictures must have had.

    I don’t argue about the technical quality of the pictures themselves, that is understood, but the underlying mental structure of someone with those childhood fears must have had some important issues that now by means of photography can encounter some sort of sublimation.”

    maybe it’s a person that is just fascinated my the child mind and they wanted to do there best to reproduce what they thinks the child may be thinking when they feel scared of something. i also think the images show a lot more detail then a child mind would comprehend. perhaps it’s a touch of the artist them self.

  97. 97 Mark Apr 30th, 2008 at 8:47 pm

    VERY impressive work. Visceral, frightening, gorgeous.

  98. 98 Jeane Apr 30th, 2008 at 8:52 pm

    You are my Stephen King of the photo world. These photos are amazing, fascinating, and somewhat terrifying. I love feeling all of these things and that is why you are my new favorite hero.

    I don’t see just fear, but humor and innocence too. The one where the little girl has the flashlight and is screaming at the thing coming out of the floor who is screaming (back?) just makes me crack up. In the picture of the little girl in a red dress standing on a carpet of skulls makes me want to cry to see her innocence. Although we don’t see her face I don’t feel fear from this picture, I don’t even feel curiosity, just her checking things out:

    I see you… ohhh what is that?

    I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love these. Thank you for sharing :)

  99. 99 Kelly Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    You’re obviously going to get a lot of criticism on this series. Just remember that’s only because the vast majority of people are far too generic and prefer scenic pictures of sunsets. Truly, these are unique and magnificent photographs. With the abundance of such boring art, it’s very refreshing to come across something as haunting and creative as this. Very well done.

  100. 100 questionableethics Apr 30th, 2008 at 9:42 pm

    Having these young children pose in these situations for “fun” borders on child abuse. Perhaps you should use photoshop, instead of subjecting these young children to your darkest fears.

  101. 101 Gee Apr 30th, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    Wow, this is great. I love the style, reminds me of Creepshow 1 and 2. Freaky shit that i used to see when i was younger.

    Much Appreciated

  102. 102 billdave May 1st, 2008 at 9:50 am

    Very cool. Very insightful. As for whether kids are traumatized by posing for the photos; think of youself as a kid, remember that a photoshoot includes watching your aunt or neighbor dress like halloween and put chocosyrup for blood and then take shot after shot togetehr while the photographer says “try to look scared” and you try not to giggle. Doesn’t it sound like one of the cololest and funnest and most memorable days of a childhood? And mightn’t it actually help a kid to see the theater and nonsense behind scary images, to be able to be part of the show?
    Great photos, primal and moving. Thanks.

  103. 103 Jer May 1st, 2008 at 9:55 am

    Whats up with the half naked little girls? Just because you put some spiders in the picture doesn’t make it ok to tell a little girl to take her clothing off so you can take pictures for your just for fun collection.

  104. 104 DaveIsRight May 1st, 2008 at 11:36 am

    What the guy Dave said is right, about the little girl in the mirror. It’s absolutely unnecessary for her to be unclothed. It’s borderline child pornography. You can’t rationalize or justify her being nearly naked with the normal childhood changing of clothes. Put a nightgown on her and you still get the same horrified little girl and the same terror effect. It’s just inappropriate.

    Awesome work, however. I had many fears that are depicted in your works. Excellent job!!

  105. 105 Gore May 1st, 2008 at 1:19 pm

    You’re kidding me right? People are actually worried about the fact that there is a half naked little girl? Get a hold of yourself people, no ones forcing you to like, look, or even enjoy these pieces, but don’t get on your high horse and make accusations of pedophilia. I don’t know about you but when I wake up in the middle of the night thinking there’s a monster coming out of my closet, I’m not exactly all dolled up to spend a night on the town. Shut up and stop being so critical of someone else’s mind also. I sure as hell don’t come into where you work and tell you how to do your job. Show a little respect.

  106. 106 t5 May 1st, 2008 at 2:06 pm

    fear is for idiots

  107. 107 Ana May 1st, 2008 at 3:02 pm

    You have here some pretty creepy stuff. In the good way, of course. Though I could never see these pictures home alone (and I’m already grown up), I believe I have to congratule you for that: it means you can really put “life” in your photographies and enrich them. I would never say these are “just” pictures because when I look at them I feel something very strong, and that’s incredible, seriously.
    Congratulations, you have a great work here. The 7th and 8th are probably the ones that scare the hell out of me, but the 2nd is also somewhat disturbing.
    They frighten me but I can’t stop looking at them. Fascinating.

  108. 108 jay May 1st, 2008 at 3:08 pm

    wow.. i was looking at those images and i was thinking ‘boring’.. but then i saw that one with the child in bed and the.. mother or whatever with her mouth wide open and bugs everywhere.. something weird happened to me,i swear i felt WEIRD.. for a second, as if my body had no mass and as if i moved a step away from my eyes, like something was inside me looking through them.. holy crap that was an insane feeling.. like the ‘me’ inside my body moved 3 cm away from it, heck..

    looks like that was one of my chilhood fears.. if not the biggest one

    has anyone felt something like this? its awesome…

  109. 109 Sarah May 1st, 2008 at 3:19 pm

    Wow wow wow!
    Those photos are amazing! Really true to what the title is!
    I have always been a bit of a wimp throughout my childhood scared of people in my wardrobe etc!
    N to be honest i am still like that now! But looking at these really captures the fear that most children have n makes me realise im not the only one!
    There is one photo which nearly made me cry n its the clown one! I have been petrified of clowns since a early age haven’t a clue what set it off but even now at 22 i still scared to death of them!!!

    Im so glad you put it behind the sheet as that is scary enough!!
    But one thing im in my house by myself n now im a lil bit too scared to go downstairs!!

    (n to the above comments! children scared after posing for these pics i dont think so! it would be so much fun to pose for them pics except clown one of course! Halloween with the big kids thats all it is!)

  110. 110 MEEM May 1st, 2008 at 3:22 pm

    that is just disgusting its not nic funny or cool its just weird and ucky! yech! eww! :(

  111. 111 Peter May 1st, 2008 at 5:58 pm

    Photoshopped. By whick I mean… adjusting colour and contrast? They are integral parts of a picture. Adjusting them, and it is no longer true photography.

  112. 112 Morgan May 1st, 2008 at 7:20 pm

    Excellent photos! I hate it when ignorant people trash other people’s art. And only perverts would look at the image of the little girl and infer anything sexual.

  113. 113 dodos de la cruz May 1st, 2008 at 7:36 pm

    wow
    111 that scared me a lot…better than any stephen king thing…reallt scary…great work.

  114. 114 Emily May 1st, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    I love these pictures…they’re so scary, and completely bring me back to my own childhood fears.

    As for the people who are screaming about pedophilia, I think there’s something wrong with society when the minute someone takes a picture of a partially clothed child, it’s considered abuse. It is absolutely clear that these are NOT sexual pictures…the child is not even pictured in a sexual way. Nudity does not equal sexuality…it is a completely natural state. That some peoples’ minds automatically turn to accusations of abuse when they see a child in the manner pictured is a sad comment on how far we’ve let ourselves go as a society. A naked child is not an abused child.

  115. 115 Hillery May 1st, 2008 at 8:03 pm

    Childhood fears? I still have some of these bad boys, plus more from the perspective of a parent, plus ones that are missing (where are the ghosts? where’s the long, dark hallway between your bedroom and the bathroom?). I’m not saying I constantly live in fear- more that I tend to imagine a lot of things, and sometimes get carried away. I think the comments from some people that they never had fears as a child are very interesting. I wouldn’t be too quick to brag about something like that. It makes it sound as though they either have no imagination or live where the sun shines 24/7. Either way, it seems a loss. As for the little girl in her underwear- I was interested to see the argument for and against in the comments never seemed to mention what seems obvious to me- The girl’s nakedness accentuates her vulnerability. Just like tucking your head under the covers protects you from the monsters, being naked makes you more vulnerable. It doesn’t make sense from a practical standpoint, but I know for a fact all children think like this. I assumed the artist’s choice in this case was to accentuate the fear of being exposed in that situation. Just my thought.

  116. 116 paishin May 1st, 2008 at 8:55 pm

    Amazing photography, great concept. Its impossible to look at these photos without causing you a full range of emotions. Each photo is so unique, detailed, masterfully performed that draws you in a magical world of imagination. The fact that it causes fear or disgust to many in the above replies is proof enough for this and yes this absolutely is art.

  117. 117 jhsiv4 May 1st, 2008 at 9:15 pm

    “Stumbled” on this. Well done and gruesome. Many of the viewers should go read “Grimms’ Fairy Tales” from the early 19th century, based on ancient folk tales — many are gruesome also.
    The partial clothing conveys vulnerability — or, at least, it did in my dreams as a child — and deepens the horror.

  118. 118 dex May 2nd, 2008 at 3:30 am

    really scary stuff. i love the first one!

  119. 119 Mike May 2nd, 2008 at 8:20 am

    I am pretty impressed. Some of the images do look like there is photoshopping in them. The creature behind the fridge for instance doesn’t look like it was a model. Never the less.. these images are really great. That takes a lot of talent and creativity.

  120. 120 Larissa May 2nd, 2008 at 10:23 am

    The photographic art is superb, the concept brave and excellent.
    But I wouldn’t show them to my youngest son aged 9; my 14 year old would love them though!
    And that’s really the point: some images, books, music, drinks, ideas are for adults only as we can cope with them (broadly speaking!).
    These photos are a representation of childhood imaginative fears through the filter of adulthood, so we process them according to our own maturity.
    And a child wearing a pair of knickers is just that: a child wearing a pair of knickers; if you think it’s paedophilic mention it to your therapist…

  121. 121 adam May 2nd, 2008 at 11:05 am

    i think everyone is reading to much into it i think they are hilariously funny! everyone thought about things like that in one way or another. good work keep them coming!

  122. 122 Larissa May 2nd, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    3 words — HOLY FREAKIN’ COW!!!!!! Fantastic work! Keep it up, man.

  123. 123 Leah May 2nd, 2008 at 5:20 pm

    OMG YOU ARE AMAZING!!! This is what I do! Except mine is on photoshop!!!

  124. 124 paul May 2nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm

    Love the pics, really takes be back. Can`t wait to go to sleep and have some inspired dreams.

  125. 125 Woody May 2nd, 2008 at 9:08 pm

    Well, thanks a lot! You can just come over and ROCK me to sleep tonight.

  126. 126 brandon carbaugh May 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 pm

    To be honest, some of these fall flat, but that’s only relative to how brilliant the rest are. I think I might have liked to see one with more emphasis on the dark; basement after 5:00 anyone?

  127. 127 Jill May 2nd, 2008 at 11:32 pm

    Stunning work, very well done and VERY creepy! I can tell you and the models had a lot of fun shooting these. Don’t mind the naysayers, they’d rather whine about how they don’t understand something than bother to even try to come up with anything as creative and original as these photos.

    As for the girl in her underwear, so what? Obviously she is in the process of getting dressed, as she is heading to her closet only to discover a monster in there. So of course she’d be in her underwear. The people who are screaming “pedophile!” over this are the ones with sick minds that need serious help. My 4-year-old son is naked in the house all the livelong day (we do put clothes on him when anyone who’s not family comes over, just to be prudent), and if you dared tell me that I was abusing him by letting him be naked, I’d look at you like you had three heads. What a sad, perverse world we live in!

  128. 128 BJ May 2nd, 2008 at 11:44 pm

    Very haunting and breath-taking. Excellent work.

  129. 129 Amy May 3rd, 2008 at 5:28 am

    I stumbled this one too, and I don’t normally leave comments but these are amazingly well done. Aside from the basic aesthetics, which are great on their own, the creature and nightmare creations are brilliant. Long arms, large jaws and no eyes comprised my childhood idea of monster, and in still strike a little fear. And to those commenting on the authors mental state, what kind of blandness incarnate woke you’re house hold at 3:00am?

  130. 130 scboxer May 3rd, 2008 at 5:59 am

    Well, great art is supposed to evoke emotions. And I would say you definitely
    accomplised that, judging from the reactions on here!
    Disgust, fear, humor…I’d say you’ve covered the bases.
    Well done!
    Personally, I was creeped out and fascinated at the same time. The quality of your work
    is excellent.

    As for the little girl in the mirror, the first thing I thought was that it was cool
    of you to have her arms crossed over her chest like an adult would do.
    So to all you freaks that saw something sexual in that picture–Get help please!

    Emily put it best by saying the partially clothed child as opposed to
    the partially nude child. It’s all in the eye of the beholder as they say…

  131. 131 inan May 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 am

    lovely :D

  132. 132 leigh May 3rd, 2008 at 9:57 am

    beautiful images, love the concepts. keep doing whatever it is that you are doing, best of luck!

  133. 133 ABM May 3rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm

    This is scary

  134. 134 Ken May 3rd, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    You did a great job some I could relate to.

  135. 135 jane May 3rd, 2008 at 3:32 pm

    Although some pieces seem to have things placed in them, I really like this series. Actually, viewing it made me wish some of these were my childhood fears so that I could get a stronger reaction.

    However, the clown one looks like an exact replica of a scene from Stephen King’s It. Pennywise the clown was standing in a kid’s yard behind the sheet so you could only see his silhouette, although I don’t remember if he was holding balloons at the time. But the shape behind the sheet even looks like Pennywise’s shape; I thought it was a still from the movie at first.

    As for those complaining about the clothing issue, for a long time nakedness has been a way to express purity and innocence. After all, people are never purer than when they’re just born, and babies are delivered naked. That’s why you see people in the media who are reborn or new or something like that naked (the only example that springs to mind is Terminator 3 the girl is naked when she first gets there right?). So the reason for the little girl to be less clothed could be to juxtapose the innocence of a child’s mind and the darkness that it conjures up.

  136. 136 issues-in-e-minor May 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pm

    Wow. These are amazing. Some of them I like more than others. The one with the “thing under the bed” OMG. My heart just about jumped out of my chest and my skin crawled. I’m still afraid of the dark and sleep with a night light to this day, lol. I’m 39. I never thought about it but I guess I’m still afraid of the “thing under the bed” because I usually prefer to have my mattresses directly on the floor and not on a frame. Wow. Never really thought about that before. AND I can’t sleep unless my closet door is all the way open or all the way closed. If it’s only open a couple of inches, I can’t stand it, lol. These are just amazing. Oddly enough, there’s something therapeutic about seeing a horribly scary image and going “that’s it! that’s what’s in my head!!” It’s like it dissipates some of its power over you to be able to actually SEE it with your eyes and not just your mind.

  137. 137 William May 3rd, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    These picture are terrific, I loved the art direction on the props/sets. I felt as if I was looking into a world similar to what Tim Burton creates in his films. The Monsters were just the scariest things I have seen in a long time. As I think someone has already mention I was too fascinated and terrified at the same time. I gotta say my favorite was the hands coming out from under the bed, used to have nightmares a child about that one. lol Keep up the good work!!

  138. 138 Egl Bunny May 3rd, 2008 at 8:35 pm

    Thank you so much for these. They are positively astounding in beauty and quality. I completely understand your point for these pictures. My fears as a young child were much, much worse. The monsters I imagined lingering around corners would put those monsters in your work to shame, lol. Thank you again. You and your talent are wonderful.

  139. 139 Quinn May 3rd, 2008 at 8:38 pm

    wow this realy amazing great photography, XD

  140. 140 Aleigh May 3rd, 2008 at 11:35 pm

    These images are absolutely stunning. I feel that the artist perfectly captured the terror and helplessness that only deep seated, irrational fears can provoke.

    Andy - that comment is perfection. More people need to realize that what they enjoy and understand doesn’t mandate the rest of the world. Some people are so short-sighted.

  141. 141 I am me May 3rd, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Dude jay i just wanted to say i feel like that constantly and it wont go away so it gets anoyying after awile

    also all you people saying stuff about other people in a negitive way
    just stop that isnt what this replay thing is for…

  142. 142 thoughtprovoking May 4th, 2008 at 4:01 am

    great images, some truly twisted ones, i liked the gas mask one with bunny having a mask too.
    to everyone bickering about the images, surley the artist behind them meant these images to be controvesial.
    i just hope the kids done see the end products.

  143. 143 Moi May 4th, 2008 at 8:39 am

    I read and read and there were too many comments to see if this had already been addressed…the photo’s are AMAZING my only worry is of that little girl… I just hope she isn’t scared in the dark because she took part in these pictures…..

  144. 144 Steff May 4th, 2008 at 12:37 pm

    Dude….wicked

  145. 145 kristy May 4th, 2008 at 1:15 pm

    Tim Burton ought to shake your hand- you truly have a gift of inspiring emotion and you display an imagination of pure genius. Congress hails that pornography is something that has no artistic merit- this is not pornographic- the young girl being half naked is no pornographic- she is performing no sexual acts and is not posed in a lewd manner- and furthermore by posing in these pictures this little girl is probably more convinced how fake and silly such awful fears are- do you think Dakota Fanning is “abused” too??? oh that’s right, you negative commentators (dave, samantha, amanda) you don’t think, and you don’t know what you are talking about. I do, and there is nothing pornographic about these photos. Oh yeah, I’m pro-choice too:-) put that in your pipe and smoke it

  146. 146 vincent.malloy May 4th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    these pics make me feel like coming home!

  147. 147 qazaq May 4th, 2008 at 1:59 pm

    Very well done, your ideas seem to come from childhood experiences - although I pray not the experiences seen in the surrealism that I see depicted. The “daddy no,” the wolf chasing the girl, the monster finding the helpless pantied girl, the pervert under the stairs, even the monster under the bed - and the death of a mother must truly be the most horrifying of all. Reaching over, in the comfort of bed, to find a dead mother, being eaten by cockroaches. This is truly the photography of nightmare. I can’t say I ever feared my mother being raped and murdered, nor an abusive father - these things can truly cause people to come to an understanding with their fears - to understand how they work.

    I really liked the head in the refrigerator - I was appalled at the head on the platter at first - thinking about what it would be like to open it and expect something good to eat - and find a head (of perhaps a family member) in there, with someone having the intent of eating it - then I noticed the crouching male figure to the right. Truly horrifying…

    The artist must truly understand what makes fear tick - and understanding is conquering.

  148. 148 Renae May 4th, 2008 at 2:31 pm

    These are amazing. Great imagination and creativity. For all the pussies that complained…it’s ART and therefore open to many interpretations, just enjoy them.

  149. 149 Jen May 4th, 2008 at 4:13 pm

    These are really art.
    However, I feel this needs to be said: Nobody implied that the half-naked girls were anything sexual, but ethically it is a bit sketchy to have the girls only in their panties. It’s not good for those girls to be taught at that age that its okay for them to let people take pictures of them with their clothes off, because even though this guy didn’t there are people that will take advantage of them.
    But the controversy is part of what makes this art, it really is an amazing work of art.

  150. 150 on broken wings May 4th, 2008 at 8:58 pm

    wow people actually like photoshopped kiddie porn

  151. 151 Helen May 4th, 2008 at 9:38 pm

    Loved these pics! Second time I’ve stumbled them and I can’t wait to show my 16 yr old daughter who loves this kind of visual as I do. Scary? Absolutely! Very much reminded me of my own fears as a child.
    Hard to believe some of these folks never had any of these fears… hard to believe as in I don’t think they’re being honest.
    And the little girl in her bedroom staring into the mirror? Never even thought twice about her being only in her panties, it just seemed so completely part of the picture. Whoever thinks there is something “off” there, no. There’s something “off” with you.
    And for heavens sake, why would the model be scared or scarred for that matter when she’s seen the process of make-up, props, lighting, etc. The child KNOWS it’s fake.
    Wonderful, wonderful work. Can’t wait to see more of anything you do!

  152. 152 Helioprogenus May 4th, 2008 at 11:16 pm

    What an amazing representation of our childhood fears. The fertile grounds for human imagination never cease to amaze me, but what completely blows my mind is the artistic talent and skill involved in depicting those scenarios so realistically and with all their gloriously terrifying attributes.

    For those who like to negatively and derisively comment on these pictures, I suppose their opinions seem to matter to them, but because they lack the artistic talent involved, and their inner need to destroy the creativity of others, coupled with a fragile self esteem should be seen as empty meaningless drivel from untalented simpletons.

  153. 153 blueboat May 5th, 2008 at 6:37 am

    The forth one down actually happened to me… I was about 4-5 and i could feel something on my bed (while I was sleeping) but I ignored it, until I felt it on my stomach so i sat up and looked and this HUGE spider was crawling up it. After that I got scared of the open end of the quilt lol

  154. 154 alex May 5th, 2008 at 6:40 am

    Not everything that can be made should be made …. who do you adress by this? what do they contribute meanigful? … they are just a disturbing eyecatcher. Also i would be worried that you cause your little children or brother and sister to get realy childhood nightmares…you wont reach anything with this and i think humanity is better of without this stuff…

  155. 155 Reijard May 5th, 2008 at 9:13 am

    Amazing! really amazing…

  156. 156 MbO May 5th, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Alex… humanity is better off without ignorant morons who believe they have the right to act as the mouthpiece for the entire six billion strong human race on subjects of which they understand nothing.

    Anyway, the completely ridiculous overreactions to these mediocre pictures demonstrates something far more scary than the subject material itself. You people (I’m generalising here based on the saccharine sentimentality of most of the posts) must have lived some sheltered closeted lives to be actually ’scared’ by these cartoonish photoshop images. They *are* photoshop images btw.

    The colours are garish and bright and the subject matter is stupid and cliched, leaving nothing to the imagination. They would be far more scary if they were darker and more indistinct, like the images from a nightmare invariably are.

    Those hands coming out from under the sofa look like something from sesame goddamn street for chrissakes or does the cookie monster scare you?!!!?

  157. 157 Blisster May 5th, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    I found your work to be most captivating. The subject matter and quality of the work is outstanding! Gotta love stumbleupon because without it I would never have found your page. Please keep me informed of any future updates!

  158. 158 cookiemonster May 5th, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    wow, MbO. speaking of overreactions…..a bit ironic, no?
    but you managed to throw in some words with 4 syllables, thereby effectively setting yourself apart from those “ignorant morons” you spoke of, and you only barely exposed immensity of your insecurity issues in the process. thank God we have mediocre minds like yours to put those cliched bastards in their places.

  159. 159 eye of the beholder May 5th, 2008 at 9:44 pm

    Hey EATMEAMANDA, why dont you go f**K yourself….. Amanda has the right to express herself just like everyone else on this board… Oh, I see… Only you and people who agree with your point of view are only allowed to comment but those who have opposing view that differ from yours basically you are saying they have no right to be critical… What a hypocrite you freakin nut job…. Everyone has the right to their view on these pictures and just because you dont care for their critique doesnt give you a right to tell someone to go F$#k themselves.
    you are nothing but an egotistical maniac…… what a jackass you are…………

  160. 160 gretak May 5th, 2008 at 9:59 pm

    What bothered me the most was the terror on the little girl’s face with the wolf. My first thought was “what did they do to make her look that frightened?” and then “how is she going to deal with this in the future”. Now my rational brain is back and I think these photos are beautiful. The first one with the baby in particular. In my profession I’ve dealt with more dead babies than dead mothers but the sadness and pain is very acute for me. Yet this is a lovely photo. It brings to mind the photos that were taken of the dead in the late 19th and early 20th century.
    When I saw the girl in the mirror I thought, “oh no people are going to have a problem with that one.” Remember, the child with the spider and the girl on the stairs is also in her underwear.

  161. 161 Kimsan May 5th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

    Oh these are wonderful. I do recognise many of them as my own… some of them still are actually.

  162. 162 Kate May 6th, 2008 at 8:53 am

    These are amazing. I’m sure I’ll have nightmares tonight but it’ll definately be worth it.

  163. 163 dementia? May 6th, 2008 at 12:42 pm

    I bet that little girls going to have dementia.
    naked men jump out at her and her naked picture is on the internet at the age of what, six?
    I know the parents might not think anything of it, but there are some fucked up people in the world now.

  164. 164 Wendy May 6th, 2008 at 4:16 pm

    wow. some of them were very creepy! 8.5 out of 10! awesome! i hope that there are more! i really enjoyed them!

  165. 165 Joe May 6th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

    What?!?!?!?! Children’s fear is to find their mothers dead, their insides eaten out by cockroaches and spiders? I must be a strange child not to experience that fear.

  166. 166 Amber May 6th, 2008 at 6:43 pm

    Yeah, this stuff really freaked my shit! I couldn’t even make it all of the way through! A lot of these really played on fears that I had as a child, and some that I still have at the age of 29. I don’t know that Amanda was bashing anyone with her comment/question. I’m somewhat intrigued by the PERSON and what’s in their head to be able to come up with this stuff. Just, Wow!

  167. 167 Thor Petersen May 7th, 2008 at 7:17 am

    Especially the monster under the stairway is creepy. I still fear something is behind me, when i watch really scary movies.

  168. 168 dude May 7th, 2008 at 12:44 pm