The
ghosts and goblins of All Hallows’ Eve are lurking in the dark ready to jump
out from behind that old dead tree to send shivers of fright down our spines.
Since we associate Halloween with scary beings that go bump in the night, it is
a good time to talk about what frightens us.
The
scene is set for me to talk about the things that scare us. As I sit in my
office working on this article, the wind howls around the corner of the house
and branches scrape against the window. In fact, the unusual sounds are
downright creepy.
Although
some of the surveys show slightly different results, I’m going to hone in on
ten common fears.
Things
that go BOOM in the night. A lot of folks are scared of
storms. Thunder and lightning can shake up the best of us. Throw in a tornado
warning complete with a heart-stopping siren, and you can create panic. I used
to be terrified of storms, but somewhere along the line, I just learned to
respect them and find a safe spot if possible.
Dark
and Stormy Nights. No wonder the cliché for the
beginning of a story is “It was a dark and stormy night.” Two fears rolled into
one. The dark is the most common fear of children. I think that’s because when
its dark, you can’t see the monsters in the closet. And you can’t go trick or
treating until after dark…
Creepy
Crawlers. Let’s face it. Spiders are mean little critters that can
give you the kiss of death before you can say “Granddaddy Longlegs.” They all
scare me…black widows, tarantulas, or brown recluse…and the only good spider is
one that I see first because it will become a ghost spider.
Slithering
Sneaky Snakes. I never saw a snake that I liked. A few weeks
ago, I was at a wedding rehearsal dinner where Sedalia’s own “Snake Lady”
dressed up as a witch and brought one of her pet snakes in a caldron.
Fortunately, I was sitting at the back of the room. Needless to say, I wasn’t
one of the people who let the snake slither around my arms.
Crash
and burn. If you are afraid of flying, you have lots of company. As
many as twenty-five million people are nervous flyers. I don’t think they are
so much afraid of flying as they are of crashing.
Hitchcock’s
Vertigo. I have a love/hate relationship with heights. I love looking
at scenery far below, but I can freak out if I get too close to a canyon. The
spinning sensation makes me feel that I’m just going to topple over the edge,
plunging to my death far below.
Hell
Hounds. I’ve never really been scared of dogs in general, but I’ve
had a couple of close encounters. One time I was handing out some literature
door-to-door for a local organization. At one house, I knocked, but no one was
home. As I started back to the car, a German shepherd wedged himself between me
and the car. I talked really nice to the dog as I slowly backed around him, never
turning my back. “Nice doggy. Aren’t you a pretty boy? Are you having a good
day, little doggie?”
Coffin
Claustrophobia. Nobody likes to feel like they are
in a tight spot where the air is hard to breathe. I’ve known fearless men who
would climb a high wire or chase storms, but put them on an elevator and their
knees begin to knock.
Evil
Drilling Dentist. Some people treat the dentist like
he’s Dr. Frankenstein and they expect him to drill right through a tooth and
into their brain while laughing manically.
Mice
and Rats. Yep. Rats are pretty scary if they wind up in bed with you.
That happened to me while staying at a very nice resort in Mexico. It was not
one of my more restful nights, for sure. But still, better a rat touching my
hair than a ghost.
I
don’t know why, but ghosts didn’t make the list. I’ve had a few experiences in
my life that could be classified as supernatural. I’ll save those stories for
another time. In the meantime, I’ll wish you a spooky, spine-chilling Halloween.
Copyright
© October 2024 by L.S. Fisher originally published October 2014
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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