Original "Jaws" Poster

Origin
Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, the movie "Jaws" was a 1975 film by Steven Spielberg about an unnaturally large and homocidal shark attacking the resort town of Amity Island. The film was a commertial success and spawned many (less successful) sequels.

The story itself is based on the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks and is credited with causing a generation of people terrified of the open sea. The poster, also the VHS and DVD covers, is based on the cover of the originalpaperback noveland has become ingrained in the pop culture.

Effects
This poster was one of the first released to the public as it hung outside a Hollywood theatre on premiere day. Absorbing the fear and enthusiasm of movie-goers as they left the theatre, the poster developed the ability to instill incredible terror into whoever looks at it. The poster appears to move and the shark appears to charge the veiwer.

The fear abates after a while, but those who have seen the poster retain a lifelong phobia of open water. Entering the water causes large and savage wounds similar to a shark attack, though only for up to a week after the first exposure.

It is stored in a tinted glass frame to neutralize the effects.