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The monster in your closet

As a kid, scared of the dark- not monsters, but the dark itself- I occasionally had the use of a torch. As I then had symbolic control of light in my bedroom I felt much more relaxed. This situation never lasted very long though as 'control' in any form was one thing I was not normally allowed.
(No wonder I felt insecure. :mad:)

Kids need a bit of control so they don't feel powerless. They know when adults are bullsh*tting them by pretending to take their fears seriously.

I sleep alone now except for various dogs and cats scattered around the room and at the first odd sound can switch on a bedside light. Rarely any need though as it's usually a dog farting or chewing a bone. ;)
 
This approximates my idea of a "monster" back when it was as little tainted as I can recall better than any other picture I've ever come across (and I've seen lots). The picture is appropriately called "Monster."
 
Bannik said:
I feel this because just last year I had a brief sleep paralysis dream in which I saw E.T. laying on the ground looking all white and sickly like he did in that one scene of the movie. I tried to scream out in terror but instead of my own voice emanating from my lungs I heard E.T.'s.

... *sobs in terror!*


If you ever get a chance to read the short little children's book called There's a Nightmare in my Closet (written and illustrated by Mercer Mayer)... That's probably the first image of a "monster" that got implanted in my mind. Hence, monsters weren't scary at all. :)
Aliens were, though, and still are. Eurgh.
 
For me it is the facelessness of monsters that makes them terrifying. I could never see the one under my bed or in my wardrobe but I knew they were there. I had a book as a youngster by Dr Seuss called There's a Wocket in my Pocket which was all about the little monsters that lived everywhere. The Wocket in your pocket, the Gurtain behind the curtain etc. It was illustrated of course and they were all quite sweet and you could at least see parts of them (with the Gurtain you could see its legs sticking out below the curtain). But the monster under the rug was just a huge bulge under the rug, there was no way of telling what was actually under there. It terrified me. I would have liked my own Wocket though. :D

PS. ET. Can't stand him. :splat:
 
Min Bannister said:
For me it is the facelessness of monsters that makes them terrifying. I could never see the one under my bed or in my wardrobe but I knew they were there. I had a book as a youngster by Dr Seuss called There's a Wocket in my Pocket which was all about the little monsters that lived everywhere. The Wocket in your pocket, the Gurtain behind the curtain etc. It was illustrated of course and they were all quite sweet and you could at least see parts of them (with the Gurtain you could see its legs sticking out below the curtain). But the monster under the rug was just a huge bulge under the rug, there was no way of telling what was actually under there. It terrified me. I would have liked my own Wocket though. :D

PS. ET. Can't stand him. :splat:

I had that book! :D
 
Closet Monsters

The monsters in my closet and under the bed fell into two categories:

1. Dead, decaying, maggoty human beings. Dead and rotting, yes, but still fully ambulatory.

2. Egyptian mummies. Not dacaying, obviously, but loaded down with Curses for every occasion.

The interesting thing is that when I experienced these night fears I was ten to twelve years old, not four or five, old enough to know these things were not and could not possibly be "real." But that didn't make the fear one whit less.

I have learned since that such fears at that delayed age are not uncommon win individuals with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) nd that they can in fact continue into the twenties.
 
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