Everyone's got their own idea of what's truly frightening. I'm not talking about people or things who just are scary because they're dangerous or despicable. I mean things that truly keep you awake at night, afraid to turn out the lights. Afraid to be home alone. Afraid to fly on a plane. There are a few characters on television over the years who've stuck out more than others as being truly frightening to a handful of us TV Squadders, and we've put together a list (surprise!) of characters who have haunted us for years. If we're digging up old unforgotten nightmares of your own, well, sorry about that.

The list is numbered, but it doesn't necessarily mean these are ordered. Like I said -- we all have a different definition of what truly frightens us. Make sure you list your own in the comments. Click on a number below to get started.

#10 #9 #8 #7 #6 #5 #4 #3 #2 #1

Lately, there isn't a day that goes by where we don't here something about the bird flu that may, or may not, be passed along to humans. Not to get too freaky, but experts are saying that a worst case scenario would be 20 million Americans affected, 2 million dead, schools and businesses shutdown to prevent the spread of the disease. So, you would think that the networks' entertainment divisions would give us something light and fluffy to keep our minds off of this fact.

Um, apparently not.

Disney-owned ABC, who gave us the nuclear war disaster movie The Day After back in the 1980's, will air Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America during the May sweeps period. The movie will star Stacy Keach, Joely Richardson, Ann Cusack and Justine Machado, and will ask the question 'What if bird flu was transmitted to humans in America?'. The producers say they made the movie because of its topicality.

Personally, I'll be skipping this movie and look for some more gentle fare, like 10.5:Apocalypse on NBC.