8 Magical Movies That Turned Out Unsettling

Parents of young children will know that sometimes the best way to ensure a quiet afternoon is to watch a movie together.

After all, what better way is there to hold a child's attention than with a tale of magic, adventure and wonder?

There are countless movies out there that you might describe as magical, for a number of reasons, but what happens when that magic crosses the line from wonderful to unnerving, then onward into the realms of pure nightmares?

While not every magical movie is aimed at children or families, there's often a very fine line between the type of magic we love, and the type that keeps us awake at night, and it's frankly genuinely surprising how often that line gets crossed.

So, for everyone who grew up scarred by these movies, or for every parent that was forced to spend night after night soothing a terrified child after inadvertently allowing their child to watch one of these scenes, here are just some of the many magical movies that turned out to in actual fact be more than a little disconcerting.

The Witches is a 1990 adaptation of the Roald Dahl book of the same name.

With both the book and movie aimed at children, it has a unique tone that is equal parts magical and horrifying.

The main character, nine year old Luke, is orphaned at a young age and raised with his grandmother, who teaches him how to tell the difference between a witch and the normal humans they disguise themselves as.

At first, the scariest part of The Witches is the stories that Grandma Helga tells Luke, but there soon comes the reveal that the hotel he is staying in is overrun with witches.

While Luke watches from his hiding place in the ballroom, the women apparently gathered for the meeting of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children remove their masks and wigs, showing their true forms.

The Witches discuss their plans to kill all of England's children in one of the tensest scenes in any children's movie ever made.

It's such uncomfortable viewing that there is now an entire generation of adults who can't think of the movie without remembering the fear this scene inspired in their tiny little heart.