The End Credits That TRAUMATIZED A Generation..

Figuring out why so many people are creeped out by this seemingly innocent outro piece from the classic nick cartoon, Spongebob Squarepants.

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Chapters:
0:00 - Soft Intro
1:04 - The Main Topic
6:10 - The Trauma Theory
8:14 - The Dissonance Theory
9:30 - The Environment Theory
11:16 - Closing Thoughts
12:44 - Update/Soft Outro
15:02 - Patron Shoutout
16:26 - Outro

Music in Background:
Spongebob Ending Theme
Waltz of the Ancients - Guustavv
Exquisite Taste - Matt Large
The Spongetaker - 02 Kelp Forest Deforestation

[drew_xviii]

I wouldn’t necessarily say it scared me outright, but, it did always give me the odd feeling of “Alright, that’s it, shows over, you can go now…wait…why are you still here? You can go.” Like the feeling you get when leaving a family venue and being the last to leave, to be at school during night time and no one was around, something like that degree for me personally. Like I was the last one to watch the credits, the one left alone in the theatre long after everyone left, I’m the last customer at a closing restaurant, I’m the last to leave the party. It just felt off, but never terrifying…just…odd.

[stevendobbins]

The credits theme is the perfect embodiment of the feeling of "...so now what are you gonna do?".

[kathychung]

To me, it's more like a feeling of loneliness or emptiness. Back then when I was a kid, whenever the end credit scene shows up, it feels like the happy hour is over, time to go back to reality, and then all of those feeling of stress from school and homeworks etc. starts popping up in my mind again.

[Hui]

The spongebob credit theme for me captured the same feeling you'd get when your friend went home after a playdate, it just feels like the fun is over and everything is winding down ig

[Bread_n_Roses]

You think SpongeBob was traumatizing? Try getting woken up at 1am by the George Lopez opening blowing your eardrums out.

[carsonbarnickol]

Traumatized? Are you okay? This raised me fr I feel comfort and nostalgia when hearing and seeing the most iconic outro of all time

[PazWasHere]

I had no idea people were afraid of the outro. I always found it to be goofy and perfectly fitting for Spongebob.

[briana_patrick]

My personal theory is that, since the entirety of a SpongeBob episode is full of constant chaos and action, the complete and utter normalcy of the end credits is unsettling by comparison. You’d think a show like SpongeBob would have an outro that matches the energy of the show, but it’s just this little song that plays while the credits flash across the screen. There’s no chaos. There’s no SpongeBob screaming and laughing. There’s no chaos. It’s too calm. And that’s kind of creepy 😂

[stellanc]

I never thought this was scary, but one thing that was scary was the deafening silence staying up at night, I lived near an airport and every now and then I hear a plane flying noise. I hate being alone.

[KawaiiHippityHop-clbb]

It’s like a whole Daisy Bell situation, everyone thinks this song is scary when in reality it is supposed to be a charming and whimsical tune to brighten up your day.

[cookimaus]

Its kinda weird how the song is both goofy and nostalgic but at the same time, very unsettling. Perhaps its the same reason why songs like “Put On your Sunday Clothes” take on a whole different tone when paired with visuals that contrast with the cheerful vibe of the songs

[Montoni-syuz]

It just felt like, no, these characters aren’t your friends. You’re sitting in your room alone. It’s time to go to bed, in the dark, in the quiet. I felt like I was being stalked and like I should be crying. The lack of any characters voice felt so lonely and sinister. I grew out of it, but it’s definitely associated with stress.

[redline]

Traumatized? No. Unsettled? Yeah. There's specific reasons for this though, and you would've needed the experience of binge watching spongebob at night when your parents end up going to sleep. I used to do this in the basement with the TV on, and then when those credits rolled off, you knew damn well it was dark. And for me, I was terrified of the dark and the thought of a ghost popping up to scare the shit outta me.

[BlackGirlLovesAnime]

The only sound that was traumatizing from SpongeBob was the future and prehistoric episode where squidward was all “alone” stuck in that white room 😂

[jaeson]

I don’t know why, but when I was a little kid and I would hear this at night, alone in my dark bedroom, it just sent shivers down my spine. I NEVER had the courage to turn it off and just face plain silence and darkness, and usually I’d just close my eyes and wait for it to end, or I would run to my parents room in the middle of the night terrified. Idk why, but I just always felt like I was being watched and the end credits made me have that “you’re not supposed to be here” feeling. This still scares the crap out of me today, and probably always will..

[madden_wrld]

I think the outro's creepiness came from the destimulazation of our brains like say your watching something in your room at night and then the app closes and you get un easy because of the environment and the destimulazation

[SearedHeadProductions]

Okay I’m glad that I’m not the only one who felt the ending credits felt a bit..off.
It sounded like how it feels to walk in the dark, anxious and uncertain.

[Rockyburns-qr]

I got a theory.. you know the background in the end credit scene, it reminds me of like dirty old wallpaper in the backrooms or liminal spaces. Empty or abandoned places that can feel eerie or forlorn, such as hallways, stairwells, or abandoned malls. And also that if you put this song with a happy environment, it won’t have that unsettled feeling it has if it were put with a liminal environment

[dev]

I always felt like the End Credits was weird because it's such an innocent and simpatic song that i imagine would be playing when a group of friends or something similar is having a good time. A place where you would hear voices laughing, giggling, cheering. But there's none of that, there's just... *The silence of the song.* A song being played by someone i will never meet and will never know, a song that is actually made to represents the end of the good time i had watching Spongebob, when things stopped being that colorful fun world, bringing you back to reality.

[denimjacketsandjorts]

i remember always having to rush to turn it off once it got to the credits because i was absolutely convinced something bad might happen to me if i didn’t