Was your childhood traumatised by Worzel Gummidge, Doctor Who and Day of the Triffids?

The children who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s were placed in the unenviable position of being scared by virtually everything. In this show, Liverpool writers Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence – the men behind the superb Scarred For Life books – will be giving a hilarious talk about the TV, films, music, comics, board games, books, adverts and crisps (no, really) that blighted all of our childhoods. All accompanied by a slide show of some of their most potent childhood fears!

And, afterwards, there’ll be a Q&A and discussion – so feel free to chip in with your own memories of retro childhood trauma!

Stephen and Dave’s incredible book Scarred For Life Volume One: The 1970s was published in 2017, with Volume Two: Television in the 1980s following in 2020 and Volume Three: Pop Culture in the Shadow of the Bomb in 2024. They are, essentially, gigantic compendiums of everything that terrified a generation of British kids during these extraordinary decades… from appallingly graphic kids’ TV to violent comics (and Monster Fun), post-apocalyptic cinema, shocking sitcoms and a boom in paranormal news coverage!

The evening will be hosted by Fortean Times writer Bob Fischer, who spent the entirety of 1978 convinced that his family dog had rabies after glimpsing an appallingly irresponsible poster next to the headmaster’s office door in his primary school reception. So come and join us for the ultimate celebration of vintage terror! You are – of course – at liberty to watch from behind your fingers, although sadly we’re unable to provide a sofa to hide behind.