Wow, this sure brings back a lot of memories. When I was a little kid, The Wizard of Oz played on network television once a year. My parents absolutely adored the film, and even though we kids really weren't allowed to watch television, Dad made an exception for Oz.

I can't remember how old I was when I watched it for the first time, but I remember Mom made popcorn and Dad looked just thrilled. I mirrored their enthusiasm until one of the witch scenes. The flying monkeys almost literally scared the piss out of me, but the witch filled me with terror. I remember hiding my eyes and crying uncontrollably.

Every year after that, we sat down to watch (to my great reluctance!) and one of my parents would warn me to cover my eyes right before the scary parts.

By the time I was about 12, I could watch and enjoy without covering my eyes, but every now and then, to this day, a little tendril of terror reaches out from the past and makes me remember —just for a second — how the witch filled my childhood self with dread and nightmares.