10 Scariest Moments of the 1980s

10 Scariest Moments of the 1980s

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at the ten scariest events that occurred in the 1980s.

The Mount St. Helens Eruption

Its not often that the United States experiences a volcanic eruption, but they experienced a huge one on May 18, 1980. This explosion was almost Biblical in nature, with the entire north face of the mountain collapsing and sliding away to form the largest landslide ever recorded. This collapse then uncorked a massive lateral blast, flattening everything in its path. A plume of black ash towered 80,000 feet into the air while the surrounding area, which was once a lush, green forest, was now a dead, gray, apocalyptic wasteland. When the eruption was done, ash had been deposited throughout eleven states, approximately 57 people were dead, and the mountain now had a gaping hole where its summit once stood.

The Tylenol Poisonings

Throughout the fall of 1982, at least seven people died in the greater Chicago area after taking Tylenol that had been laced with cyanide. Investigators quickly determined that the poisoning did not stem from the manufacturing process, meaning that someone was opening bottles on store shelves and manually inserting the poison. The total randomness of the act terrorized the country, many of whom feared becoming the next innocent victim. The deaths also caused a media frenzy and a mass panic, with over thirty million bottles of Tylenol being recalled throughout the country. To make matters even worse, the culprit was never caught, the lack of resolution leaving behind a haunting sense of vulnerability and mystery. Who would do this, and why? Perhaps well never know.

The Mexico City Earthquake

At 7:19 AM, Mexico City was hit with a monumental earthquake. The epicenter was about 200 miles away, off the coast of Michoacán, but the soft clay soil of the ancient lakebed amplified the seismic waves, leading to extreme shaking. Many of the citys buildings were also poorly constructed, resulting in the total collapse of over 400 structures. A further 3,124 suffered extensive damage, and entire city blocks were destroyed, leaving behind an apocalyptic landscape of rubble and dust. Thousands of people were killed, and to make matters worse, the initial response from the Mexican government was slow and disorganized, leading to widespread public anger. The earthquake destroyed much of the city and revealed its vulnerability.

The Ethiopian Famine

Were reminded of the Ethiopian famine every single year in the form of the charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? The song was written to raise money and awareness for the Ethiopian famine, which ravaged the country between 1983 and 1985. This was one of the most devastating humanitarian disasters of the 20th century, killing 300,000 to one million people and displacing millions more. The scale of the crisis went largely unnoticed until journalists began smuggling out footage. It was a stark reminder of how easily suffering can occur out of sight, and in the midst of a seemingly globalized world. Said footage was also haunting, with images of skeletal children and mass graves shocking the world and leading to an outpouring of support.

Pan Am Flight 103

The deadliest terrorist attack in the UKs history occurred on December 21, 1988. Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the small town of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board. The aircraft broke apart in midair and rained flaming pieces of debris onto the small Scottish town, causing significant destruction and killing a further eleven people. The explosion was the result of a deliberate bombing, and while it has been officially ascribed to Libyan nationalists, much doubt and speculation has been raised regarding their involvement. The ongoing debate surrounding the true nature of the bombing has only added a further degree of agitation to an already-horrifying event.

The Bhopal Disaster

The Indian city of Bhopal hosted a pesticide plant belonging to Union Carbide India Limited. The plant stored large quantities of methyl isocyanate, or MIC, a highly toxic chemical used in the production of pesticides. Thanks to a number of errors, water accidentally entered one of the tanks on December 2, 1984, creating a runaway exothermic reaction that caused the safety valve to rupture, releasing a dense cloud of toxic gas into the surrounding area. Nearby residents were exposed to the toxic cloud, and thousands died within the first few hours of exposure. And while the overall death toll is hard to measure, an estimated 16,000 people are believed to have died in the following years due to gas-related illnesses.

The Challenger Disaster

A space shuttle explosion is always a tragedy, but it was the pomp and circumstance surrounding the Challenger that made it a national disaster. The mission was part of the Teacher in Space Project, an initiative meant to get kids interested in science, astronomy, and space exploration. As such, an everyday teacher named Christa McAuliffe was chosen to accompany the astronauts, and the launch was watched in countless schools across the country. Unfortunately, the shuttle suffered a catastrophic failure just over a minute into its launch, causing it to disintegrate in a gigantic plume of smoke and killing everyone onboard. Millions of children watched the disaster unfold on live TV, creating a sense of national trauma that is still being felt to this day.

The AIDS Epidemic Emerges

The 1980s was hit by a new fear of a new disease. The CDC published its first report on what would later be known as AIDS in 1981, and the virus was officially identified a few years later. AIDS became public knowledge throughout the decade, with widespread awareness occurring in the latter half of the 80s. Naturally, an entirely new disease caused enormous panic within the general population, especially because contracting HIV was a certified death sentence at the time. The panic was further fueled by numerous factors, including HIVs unknown cause and transmission, the lack of government response, the stigma surrounding the disease, and sensationalist media coverage, with some headlines even calling it a plague.

Cold War Tensions

While it started in the 40s, the Cold War was alive and well in the 1980s. In fact, some people refer to this as The Second Cold War, as the relative détente of the 1970s was destroyed by renewed hostilities. President Ronald Reagan also took a highly aggressive stance against the Soviet Union, including his famous Evil Empire speech of 1983. As such, the fear of a full-scale nuclear war was deeply embedded in the public consciousness, with many schools around the country participating in nuclear bombing drills. Naturally, cultural anxiety was taught. This doom and gloom was reflected in pop culture, with movies like WarGames, The Day After, and Threads reflecting the paranoid atmosphere of the day.

Chernobyl

The reputation of nuclear energy was permanently tarnished on April 26, 1986, when a reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded. A combination of operator error and major design flaws, the explosion sent an enormous radioactive cloud billowing into the atmosphere. The massive release of radiation was unprecedented and caused panic throughout much of Europe, as everyone feared the effects of the fallout. The human cost is also unavoidable. Radiation sickness painfully claimed many lives and nearby cities were evacuated, leaving behind unsettling, radioactive ghost towns that still exist to this day. Luckily, the heroic efforts of many scientists and liquidators prevented a monumental disaster from spiraling into something even worse.

Were you around to experience these events yourself? Let us know in the comments below!