Witherspoon dared brother to touch raccoon

Reese Witherspoon has revealed that she used to dare her brother John to touch dead raccoons in their freezer.

The actress, who can currently be seen in festive comedy Four Christmases, disclosed that her doctor father would often accept payment from his patients in the form of dead animals.

She said of her Tennessee upbringing: "One year, a man brought my father a dead skinned squirrel and a dead raccoon. My father put them in the freezer. My brother and I were so scared of them.

"We were afraid to go near the freezer because my dad kept them in there for three years. We'd dare each other to touch them and look at them. It was very scary."