I’m Haunted By A Movie I May Have Watched As A Kid That Might Not Exist

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I vaguely remember watching a scary movie when I was a child. It probably had a sad story at the beginning, though it might have been a sad ending. I’m fairly certain it involved a family – or perhaps just a couple – riding in a horse-drawn carriage that fell into the water, killing everyone inside. The victims might have returned as ghosts, or their deaths might have just created a haunting atmosphere throughout the rest of the film.

Was it a limited series, a regular TV show, or just a vivid childhood fantasy I now mistakenly believe was a movie?

I can’t shake this memory, and it’s been bothering me for years. I’ve spent countless hours online, searching for anything related to what I remember – things like movie scenes involving car crashes or children drowning. I’ve looked through lists of 80s and 90s kids’ films and even asked on Reddit and my family if they recall anything similar. But I haven’t found anything. People tell me to forget about it, but I can’t. I’m determined to figure out what happened.

Here’s The Backstory

I definitely remember this from my childhood. When I was between four and eight years old, my parents would take me to a small, local video store every week – it wasn’t a big chain like Blockbuster. The people who worked there were friendly and always chatted with me. I always got to pick out two movies, and I usually chose a wrestling tape and then another one from the cartoon or family movie sections.

I have a pretty clear memory of how I discovered this movie. I’d already chosen a wrestling VHS – likely WrestleMania VI – and was looking through the animated or family movie section when a store employee suggested it to me. He said it was a personal favorite, and I decided to trust his recommendation, even though I’d never heard of it. I ended up watching it over and over during the rental period and absolutely loved it, particularly a dramatic horse-drawn carriage crash that I found surprisingly impactful. I kept renting it on our weekly trips to the video store, but sadly, the store eventually closed down.

I was really disappointed when the new video store didn’t have this particular animated movie – the one with the sad drowning scene. I whined to my parents about it for a while, and we even checked other rental places, but I never managed to find it. Eventually, I got older and started focusing on other things like girls, pizza, tennis, and learning to drive. Then, during college, I suddenly remembered the movie and spent about a week desperately trying to track it down, but couldn’t. Every couple of years, the memory resurfaces, and I try searching again, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to recall details, like the movie itself is fading away along with the tragic events depicted in it.

I’m trying to remember an animated movie that came out before 1994. I distinctly recall a scene where someone is racing in a carriage and crashes off a bridge into the water. It’s probably set in the 1800s, but maybe the 1700s or early 1900s. The animation style feels similar to Disney’s Haunted Mansion, although my childhood memories of Disney World might be influencing that. I’m pretty sure – around sixty percent – the main character is a teenage girl or young woman. I was an early adopter of strong female leads, even as a kid!

I Don’t Want To Give Up

I’ve exhausted my search, and after another year of not finding this movie, I’m starting to think I imagined it. Perhaps I combined memories – like a news report about a carriage accident with the original Cinderella. Or maybe I watched The Great Mouse Detective and an episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark? and had a dream so vivid it felt like a real memory. It’s possible.

Perhaps I truly do remember a powerful piece of art from my childhood. Since I write about film and television, it’s important for me to find out. If this movie exists, I need to track it down and understand why this carriage crash has stayed with me for over thirty years. I need to figure out why it continues to haunt me and why my mind won’t let it go.

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2025-11-16 18:08