A few of these posts have brought me back to my childhood fears of the dark and monsters and skeleton-pool ghosts from "kids shows." With that, I also started to think about how I, as a child, combated those fears, and I was wondering what the rest of had to say on that subject.
My main strategy was performed exclusively while I was in bed. I would always go to sleep in what I thought was the most defensible position bedsheets could afford me. I would always sleep facing my window (since, clearly, if something were to come through the window I would be more quickly alerted to it and be able to beat a hasty retreat) with the rest of my blankets pulled up around my head. I was completely covered except for a little hole at my face from which I could see and breathe. The hole was for watching the window, but the rest of the covering was equally as important. That is what protected me from anything that may come from my closet or bedroom door. Now I'm not sure how I rationalized this one, but two options come to mind. First, I may have hoped that night time invaders (supernatural or not) would be very dumb and not realize there was a terrified child in the bed because, clearly, it was just a pile of blankets. Second, (and the more likely, I think) I convinced myself that what couldn't directly see you couldn't touch you. This was my thin, cotton armor, and nothing could touch me in it.
Also, again thanks to that Are You Afraid of the Dark episode, I actively avoided drains in bathrooms (or watched them with a wary eye if I didn't have another choice). The episode was called The Tale of Dead Man's Float, and I encourage you all to see it.
3 comments:
For me whenever I was freaked out while I was trying to sleep, I would always do a systematic, kind of OCDish, search of my room. First I would turn on all the lights, first the lamp I could reach from my bed, then the second lamp, then the ceiling light, then I'd check all the places in my room I thought something could be hiding in a specific order that I can't remember anymore, then finally turn off all the lights in the reverse order I turned them on, ceiling light, then second lamp, then the lamp I could reach from my bed. Always in the exact same pattern
I would always jump into my bed, rather than have my feet close enough for someone to grab them. Or, I guess I actually jumped to my ladder since I was on the top bunk. I also would do the same when getting into a car. I still to this day will check my back seat before getting into my car at night. That story where the guy keeps flashing his brights at the girl to keep the killer away just stuck with me I guess.
I was the same way with the covers except, since I hate having my head covered when I sleep, I imagined that a protective bubble surrounded my head but everything else had to be under the covers. Also there was no way in hell any part of my body could be near the edge of the bed where it could be grabbed by someone under my bed.
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