Being a logo fan, there have been many logos from TV and home video that have had a reputation of being scary to me. Logos are made popular by their scare factor.
A lot of you may remember me doing a Top 20 list of my personal picks for the scariest logos. Well, I'm going to share them with you again and explain why I find them scary. Keep in mind that this is my opinion. If you can think of other scary logos, feel free to share them. Also, I am not going to include the Screen Gems S from Hell, even though that one is on everybody's list, but the reason I'm not including it is because 1) I didn't grow up with it, and 2) I really don't see what's so scary about it.
Well, enough talking. Here are my Top 20 Scariest Logos:
#20 - United Artists
youtu.be/0G7TNDsmx60United Artists is a film company that had this logo begin at the start of a few of their movies. The only movie that I can think of off hand that opened with this logo is
The Secret of NIMH (1982). What makes this logo so scary is the fact that it crawls in very slowly with soft, eerie music, then suddenly comes at you with this blaring fanfare. You would think the UA is about to come after you!
#19 - WGBH
youtu.be/EUWygGsyCyYWell, the sound that plays during this really does give you the chills, and the synthesized music doesn't help much. It almost looks like a fuse that's been lit. Some variations of this logo ended with a voice, and you never knew if it was going to be included or not, and that's what gets you.
#18 - Simitar
youtu.be/OwEUsbYzPSYI didn't grow up with this logo since I never owned any videos that opened with it, but I saw a couple people post it in their lists, and my God is it loud!
#17 - Children's Television Workshop
youtu.be/wAK7BNLZ7U8Who would have thought that the production company behind Sesame Street would have such a dark and eerie logo? I mean the snake animation and sounds that sound like they're from a 70's sci-fi drama are enough to give kids nightmares! Quite misleading if you ask me!
#16 - BND (a.k.a. VID TV)
youtu.be/i37V-g9N7T4Yes, I had to include this logo. This was a station ID for a Russian TV station, which has gone down in history as one of the scariest logos of all time. At first, you're not sure what it's about. It seems like a ball on a machine or something. Then it suddenly treats you to this loud, scary music, followed by an even scarier-looking face! I find it weird that this logo was made in the late 90's, because it feels more like it has a 60's or 70's feel to it.
#15 - Worldvision Enterprises
youtu.be/hM4D6PUPe-8I remember when I was little seeing the Worldvision logo come up at the end of some Hanna-Barbara show that I watched regularly, and it was calm and quiet. Then suddenly in 1988 came this version of the logo, and boy did it scare the crap out of me! Unlike its predecessor, this version of the logo comes flying right up into your face with a loud synthesizer effect, and the red and black color scheme doesn't help much. You would think that Darth Vader made this logo!
#14 - Warner Bros. Home Video
youtu.be/ZJq9HUeNx-oI the 80's and 90's, this was the logo that opened the home videos of productions made by Warner Bros. I remember seeing this open my VHS copy of the Tiny Toon Adventures movie as well as a few others. What makes it so scary is how it begins. It really gives you a jump scare, but other than that, it's not too bad, but the music is still a little threatening. At least in 1997, they came up with a calmer and more beautiful logo that isn't so much in your face.
#13 - Tristar
youtu.be/Z1LWLUCmL0gCall me crazy, but this logo is just creepy. Tristar is a subdivision of Columbia. Even though this logo has no animations, the music and the image alone are enough to give you the creeps.
#12 - Walt Disney Home Video (Neon Mickey)
youtu.be/sq-OXQ3_sJIDisney started releasing things on video in 1978, and this was the logo they always used to open with. What makes it so scary is the fact that it's so dark and mysterious. I mean, it's a silhouette of a Mickey Mouse statue that is rotating with neon lights that keep changing colors, and the loud, menacing music makes it even scarier. I used to have VHS tapes of the classic Winnie the Pooh featurettes, and each one opened with this logo, and I'm sure there are other people who have or had other tapes that opened with this logo as well. Disney created a new logo in 1986, which was less scary, and that one became the logo they continued to use for their tapes until VHS became obsolete and DVD started to take over.
#11 - Ubu Productions
youtu.be/rJtxPhFyIoIAnother logo with no animation, but still creepy. I remember seeing this logo come up at the end of Family Ties, and even though I know it's a dog holding a frisbee, I thought it was a cow with a deformed head! In the late 90's, I saw this logo again for the first time in a while at the end of Spin City, and in retrospect, it kinda gave me chills. I guess Ubu Productions tends to favor Michael J. Fox sitcoms. Though it is sad to know that Ubu the dog died shortly after this company was founded, plus the guy who says, "Sit, Ubu! Sit!" passed away fairly recently. May they both rest in peace.
#10 - Vin Di Bona
youtu.be/FDZpBMugdFIThe only show I can recall ending with this logo is America's Funniest Home Videos. What makes it so scary is the weird animation along with the sound that jump-scares you right at the get-go.
#9 - Claster
youtu.be/uzlwgV4wdHUWell, the spinning star along with the scary music and dark colors all combined make this a pretty scary logo. This logo I've seen used on the 90's Littlest Pet Shop cartoon, Transformers: Generation 2, and the first season of the 90's Pink Panther cartoon. I also saw it used on Muppet Babies, but when the show moved to Nickelodeon, they didn't show the logo anymore for some reason. I guess they knew how scary it was.
#8 - Jim Henson Productions
youtu.be/-e6SFZUPWicSpeaking of Muppet Babies, here's a logo that as far as I know has only been used on that show. If you thought Clastar was creepy, during one season of Muppet Babies, the logo for Jim Henson Productions would come in four different variants showing an animated version of Kermit the Frog's hand trying to hold up the logo. The cheap animation makes it scary because you know it's Kermit, but you don't see his face, which makes it kind of creepy. Also, the scary muted trumpet music playing doesn't help much, nor does the fact that each version moves so frigging fast! Then it goes away just as fast as it came.
#7 - Rankin-Bass Productions
youtu.be/1zKQYMMOd0cAnyone who grew up watching the Rankin/Bass Christmas Classics probably remembers this logo. The main thing that makes it so scary is the music, but the animation doesn't make it any less scary either.
#6 - Coca-Cola Telecommunications
youtu.be/DTsW0hwR8lwAnother logo that doesn't have animation but is still scary enough to make it this high on the list. The darkness and the eerie music make it so mysterious and will probably make you too scared to ever drink Coca-Cola again! And to think that there was a time this was Columbia's TV logo. I remember seeing this at the end of The Real Ghostbusters, but only for a brief period of time, then I saw it used again at the end of Dinosaucers. Quite a way to give you chills if you ask me.
#5 - Program Exchange
youtu.be/TSkBO7wYOEkAs you can tell from my list, a lot of these logos I post are scary based on the music. Program Exchange had a few different variants for its logo. Some had different animations while others had different music. This one in particular is the one I remember the most. It's dark blue color and music that makes it sound like it's coming from a cyborg that is coming out to get you! Kind of an odd logo to play after an innocent kid's cartoon like Woody Woodpecker or Rocky & Bullwinkle.
#4 - Family Home Entertainment
youtu.be/nZVHHMngCvUWhen it comes to logos to 80's home videos, this one was my nightmare growing up. This logo comes flying at you super fast with super loud music playing mixed in with some irritating synthesized sound effects, then it goes away in a creepy fashion. Kind of unusual to think a company called "Family Home Entertainment" would have a logo that scares the hell out of you! Yeah, this is exactly the kind of logo you want to see before watching a video with your whole family together on a Thursday night!
#3 - Paramount Television (Blue Mountain)
youtu.be/3kd2ZVhQD9oDuring the 80's, this was the Paramount logo used for its TV programming, and boy do I remember the music to this one scaring the crap out of me when I was little. I know most people consider the "closet killer" variant of this logo to be the scariest one, but that one was before my time. This was the variant I grew up with that I remember scaring me to death. At least Paramount's 90's logo was more majestic and less frightening, even though it almost sounded like the "Star Wars" theme.
#2 - Dic (Green Vortex)
youtu.be/rREHysyMpXgWhen it comes to Dic Entertainment, most people are familiar with the Kid in Bed variant of the logo, and that variant has gone down in history as one of the scariest logos of all time, but I honestly don't see what's so scary about it. On the other hand, I've always found the Green Vortex variant to be a million times scarier! This logo comes suddenly flying right up into your face accompanied by obnoxiously loud music that just sounds like somebody just fell down on all the keys of a synthesizer. I remember seeing this logo come up at the end of Dennis the Menace, Inspector Gadget and Heathcliff, and it still haunts me to this very day!
#1 - Viacom (V of Doom)
youtu.be/10LDTLjEPDMI'm sure a lot of you saw this coming. The infamous Viacom V of Doom has frightened many people since it was first introduced in the 1980's. With its jump scare at the start with its loud music and words instantly flying up to you, followed by a giant blue V coming right towards you. You would think it's going to break through your TV screen, but then it suddenly disappears at the end! The funny thing is this logo still continues to be used on television today; it usually concludes the "I Love Lucy" reruns that are still playing in syndication. I often wonder if Viacom takes videos off of YouTube this way: by throwing the V of Doom at them. Later on, Viacom had the V of Steel, which was calmer and not as in your face but still pretty scary, then the Wigga-Wagga variant, which was a little more fun. But still, the V of Doom will forever live in infamy for its scare factor!
So those are my Top 20 Scariest Logos. I'd be interested in hearing some of your scary logos and welcome thoughts on my picks.