Fears
I don't know what had me thinking about this last night but when I was a kid I was afraid of three things. I lived up in northern Michigan, 2 miles inland from the big beautiful Lake Michigan. You know, you can't see anything but water in any direction when you stand on the shore?
I was scared killer bees would get me.
I was scared a black hole would swallow us up.
I was scared there would be a tidal wave on Lake Michigan.
You know, a tsunami.
It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. We had water - they had water. To my nine-year-old mind there was no difference between the coast of Japan and the coast of Michigan. We had bees - how did anyone KNOW they were not killer bees?
I admit the black hole was pure silliness. (I wasn't too bright.)
What were your (irrational) childhood fears?
(See you Sunday! And here is something I won't be doing on vacation.)
I was scared killer bees would get me.
I was scared a black hole would swallow us up.
I was scared there would be a tidal wave on Lake Michigan.
You know, a tsunami.
It seemed perfectly reasonable at the time. We had water - they had water. To my nine-year-old mind there was no difference between the coast of Japan and the coast of Michigan. We had bees - how did anyone KNOW they were not killer bees?
I admit the black hole was pure silliness. (I wasn't too bright.)
What were your (irrational) childhood fears?
(See you Sunday! And here is something I won't be doing on vacation.)
posted by Jen at 6:21 AM
13 Comments:
I have no idea where this one came from, and it's quite possibly the most absurd thing ever.... but I used to be terrified that the head of George Washington's ghost would get me when I was going upstairs to bed if I didn't turn the hallway light on.
Seriously.
I was afraid vampires were going to bite me. But if I ran into bed after turning off the lights and covered up all the way to my neck, they couldn't find a place to bite.
I was terrified of those big mall garages. No idea why.
I was also terrifed of killer bees. My older brothers used to tell me to freeze if there was a bee around me--it was a killer bee. And I'd stand totally still for far too long. Meanies!
Giant fish. I was three when Dad caught a fish LARGER then me. I just knew it was going to get me.
Do you remember the Twilight Zone episode, "Little Girl Lost"? I was afraid I'd slip into another dimension.
I was a very weird child.
Fantastic. And they all seem pretty rational fears to me. I mean, things happen.
Mine were... I wouldn't sleep without covers. I thought if someone tried to kill me, maybe the covers would provide JUST enough thickness to keep the knife from hitting my heart, or some such shit. Crazy, I know. But I still have to have something on me when I sleep.
Bees in general but killer bees were a biggie. I think they were getting a lot of press and movies and stuff.
I was afraid an airplane or helicopter would hit our house (I can thank an episode of Emergency! for that one).
And I was afraid of axes. I can thank Where The Red Fern Grows for THAT one! Still don't like 'em much.
Love the L. Michigan tsunami!
I was terrified of men with beards, especially dark-haired men with beards. I would run and hide. My dad and (much) older brother are both very blond and clean-shaven.
Honestly, I was afraid of vampires. I think I caught part of a Christopher Lee vampire movie as a child and for years had to sleep with all my blankets scrunched up near my neck. 'Cause you know, that will stop a vampire.
I was like Adrian Monk with my list of fears, but the one that's the most vivid (and the most embarrassing) is that Jesus would come back when I was in the bathroom. I would always do my business really quickly!
When I was a kid I had a recurring nightmare that there were sharks in the lake my grandparents had a camp and when I got in to swim, they would eat me. Totally irrational.
I still have a fear of house fires. When I was a kid I would become hysterical when we had those classes about what to do in case of a fire.
Mine definitely qualifies for the irrational...or at least creative!
I remember being afraid of these end-of-pipe things I used to see all over the streets of Manhattan. I don't even know what they are, but they're usually in a set of two and there is some kind of metal cap on the end (gas? water? dunno...) and they're usually coming out of the side of a building. Anyway, I came up with the idea that they were actually periscopes that The Bad Guys would watch you from and try to shoot you from or something. I ended up scaring myself with my own story, lol...
I think vampires where a common one. Also, the 'I can't stick my feet over the edge of the bed in the night or the monsters will get me'
But I had this fear, which even I knew was stupid, that there was a vampire in the toilet, and if I wasn't careful, he would bite my bum.
Hey, I have a very vulnerable hieney, ok?
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