When they walked on stage in the first performance of the Eumenides , the chorus of Furies were so frightening in looks that they made young children faint , old men urinate , and pregnant women go into labor . According to a later account of Aeschylus 's life , as they walked on stage in the first performance of the Eumenides , the chorus of Furies were so frightening in appearance that they caused young children to faint , patriarchs to urinate , and pregnant women to go into labor .