This post....I don't even know where it came from.
Something someone said on a blog, I am sure.
Whatever it was, it started me thinking of all the things that scared me as a child.
OH, yes...the regular things, boogy men, monsters, FRANKENSTEIN.
But there were other things that scared me, too.
One of the scariest...I remember hearing the grownups talk about a man that hid in the attic of someones home..for YEARS..
He would sneak down at night or when everyone was gone, and get food from the fridge and the pantry.
As far as I know, he didn't harm anyone..and I don't know how he was ever caught.
I DO remember that they said the attic entrance was thru a hole in the CEILING OF A CLOSET.
This all just scared the livin' water out of me.
I could never go to sleep with the closet door open..
I am embarrassed to admit that having a closet door open makes me very uncomfortable.
I am embarrassed to admit that having a closet door open makes me very uncomfortable.
Not scared, really..but the thought is there.
When I climb the stairs to our attic, sometimes the hair on the back of my neck stands straight out and my heart beats a little faster.
(Of course, out here in this HOT West Texas, if anyone WAS up there, he would be FRIED STIFF..)
Another thing that scared me...and this REALLY scared me...
again, I heard grownups talk of someone kidnapping a child, using a ladder to get to the window of the upstairs bedroom and later the child was found........well...I can't even type it.
again, I heard grownups talk of someone kidnapping a child, using a ladder to get to the window of the upstairs bedroom and later the child was found........well...I can't even type it.
I have to say that I am always glad when I see FIXED windows in an upstairs bedroom...
Silly...I KNOW. !!
But some of my fears have stayed with me all these years.
I don't go around being scared ALL the time. But certain things brings back childhood memories...
some good...some bad...and some pretty dang scary...
Another scary...I always HAD to be asleep before the dreaded MIDNIGHT.
I think this came from the old Saturday afternoon movies..
WOLF MAN..FRANKENSTEIN..DRACULA..THE MUMMY.
.everything bad that happened, happened at MIDNIGHT..
This is ONE fear I certainly GOT OVER...
being up at midnight never bothers me at all...
i just get.......SLEEPY now. :)
I also became deathly afraid of GYPSIES about this time...they were in a lot of the older movies, too.
I think, now, that it wasn't so much a fear of GYPSIES themselves...
but more of being taken away.
About this time in my childhood, I heard mothers tell their kids, "Behave or the gypsies will get you."
My mom never said anything like that but it did scare the living tar out of me.
As a very young child....around 8 or 9 maybe, I had a recurring dream.
When I tell it...or write it...it doesn't sound scary at all
. But it sure scared me.
Someone kidnapped my mother, took her to a dark cellar, died her hair red and fed her only rice.
That's all there was to it...
but it is the only dream I ever dreamed more than once...and it scared me.
As I got a little older, I remember seeing a movie where a man hid beneath a lady's bed, and stabbed her
...thru the mattress.
Guess it was a looong bladed knife but I didn't think about THAT...
I just had to look under my bed EVERY SINGLE NIGHT for a solid year.
AND NO...I never even THINK of someone being underneath my beds anymore.
I have waaaaaay too much STUFF under there.
:)
I am TERRIFIED of large dogs.
I was sitting in the doorway that had a screen door on it.
I was very young...can't remember my age.
A large dog came running up on the front porch,
hitting the old screen door and smashing almost all the way thru it.
My mother grabbed me up and my dad started hitting the dog with something..not sure what.
I am almost 74 years old and I still remember it so vividly that, if I dwell on it, I start to shake..
so I NEVER allow myself to think of it.
I have scared every single one of my grands about big dogs !
"sorry, kids"
HOWEVER, I would rather they be a little AFRAID than be too trusting with a strange, large dog.
I AM JUST A BIG OLE SCAREDY CAT...
do YOU have anything that has scared you for a long time?
Tell me about 'em....
XOXOXO
bj ♥
37 comments:
I still cant watch the Exorcist..
I need to keep my hands under the covers too so that boogieman doesnt reach out from under the bed, grab my hand and jerk me to I dont even know where lol..
Your post brought back a lot of memories.. thanks
I have a lot less fear than I used to...maybe I should be more cautious? Interesting post. I do love dogs, and I volunteer at two animal shelters walking dogs and also caring for cats. My favorites are Golden Retrievers and labs....the sweetest dogs....but sometimes even the ones you think (by breed) are scary, really aren't.
Hugs, Beth
Nope.
"Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God."
Isaiah 41:10
I remember this verse from childhood. So nothing truly ever scared me. I figured that God meant business when he said this.
I didn't really have any phobias until....NOW!....Thanks bj...lol...
Oh-I think we all have scary things left over from our childhood. I DO remember that old movie about the man stabbing the person through the mattress. I am thinking it was an old Outer Limits show..or maybe even an old Alfred Hitchcock film.
There was an old buggy with a black horse) that a man dressed in black drove through our area when I was a kid and I remember being terribly afraid of him and my father telling me to run and hide if I ever saw him when I was out playing by myself. Still gives me the creeps after all these years. xo Diana
My life is ruined ... those Berry Burst OREO's ... Lawdy! they are addicting ... & rich ... & addicting!! Oh, I said that already!
Oh, I have fears of bridges & the dark ... from childhood naughty Daddy experiences. Makes my skin crawl thinking about bridges, hate crossing them ... like it was yesterday.
Hope you have a beautiful holiday weekend
TTFN ~
Hugs,
Marydon
I remember being scared of so many things as a kid. I still hate being home alone. I don't watch a lot of scary movies anymore. I like happy endings. You need to watch Monsters Inc. I love that movie! Have a super weekend. Enjoy it with the family! Anne
There are horror movies that I can't watch, and I have to double check my doors each night! I hate being out after midnight by myself. Nothing good ever happens after midnight, or so they say.......xo
HI BJ !!!!!
Lordy this post brought back memories to me. When I was a kid,I was afraid at night when I had to go to bed.I kept thinking something was going to come out from under the bed and grab at me.I would sleep with the covers up around my neck. I wouldn't dare sleep with my arms uncovered.It really terrified me.And my mean old stepfather would make fun of me.I was so glad when my mom divorced him.
Hugs to you dear one.
Oh goodness you and I must have heard the same Gypsy stories. I was told that they kidnapped children. I was probably the biggest scaredy cat ever!
I was afraid of the dark. Terrified of electrical storms. I was afraid of most people, and really shy. I was a sleep walker when I was a kid and one time I woke up in front of the bathroom mirror and saw myself and went hysterical. I still struggle with many fears.
Hugs
Iris
PS
I think I might sleep with a light on tonight. :)
Geepers BJ...it's nightime...and we'll be heading to bed soon - and NOW we are thinking of all of the things that we were frightened of when we were kids - BIG FOOT!! We must have been watching something on TV & it was saying how big BF was....10-12 feet, and we figured he'd be able to see right into our upstair windows...YIKES! it took a while to get over that one! NOW...I do have to share a very funny story, since you've got us thinking! We had a babysitter one night and she sent us to bed (now, we hated going to bed, you see, so we'd always be up to something) well, I was lying in bed wondering what we were going to do when my closet door started to open....I screamed 3 times (I still remember this) and my brother came out - here he was hiding in there so that we could plan something, and instead, I screamed, the babysitter came up & we all got in trouble and had to go to bed :) fun times!! Thanks for getting our imaginations going tonight - lol!
I am nearly seventy five and had a horrifying experience as a child that had made me a scaredy cat all my life..and I really don't care who knows.
I sleep with lights on in my home..and always have. A flashlight with GOOD batteries is right where I can reach in in case of an earthquake.
I think I may blog about it...t'is the season.
There is a small night light in every room..and if one burns out...on goes a full blown lamp and I don't even care.
I am terrified of the dark and accept that I always will be.
Also..a number of things have happened in this house since I have moved here...that absolutely terrified me.
My experience as a child was due to a night prowler and it haunts me to this very day. Always will.
Hugs,
Mona
Oh girl it's late here and I know I'll be thinking of things that scared me as a kid ha ha!!
I am so scared of thunder..I don't do big dogs either..Had a German shepard 45 years ago for a whole week and it tore my little 5 year old daughter's off at the bicep took over 9 hours to reattach it and many years for my Barbra to get over the fear of big dogs..and use her arm again..Len had a pit bull of 8 years old when I met him..Rex lived chained up out side as I would not have it in my house..
I pray all is well in your world my Dear Sister friend..Have 2 more tests at hospital next week..be glad when they are done with me..
Love ya, hugs and smiles Gloria
Wow! You've got a lot of fears. My sister is like this. She can't watch spooky movies because she never forgets them.
She believed in the Boogie Man and I think she still does. It makes life in general scary when you can't separate the nightmares from real life.
This is a very interesting post. It reminds me how vulnerable we are to fear. It reminds me of my own nightmares that I use to have. They seemed so real.. but I always woke up.
Fear is a dreadful thing.
Yep, I'm scared too but of very different things. Guns, soldiers, famine, they are the things that frighten me.
Here we never lock a door and only have screens to keep the bity insects out.
Love all those scary shadows of yours.
A nicely written post.
I've always been afraid of being buried alive - very weird, as I've never known of anyone to whom this happened. It's my phobia - can't do much about it!
First of all I'll laughing myself silly with the .... FRIED STIFF. I can't stop laughing long enough to read the rest and my eyes have water up so bad I can't see.lol I remember the man in the attic too. I could write a post on FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MUMMY....I sat up ever Saturday night that I could and watched Shock Theater. My kids hate to hear me preach on the dogs. Trish
I refuse to wa\tch anything scary cause I kknow I won't sleep all night. I admit it...I Am a Scary Cat.
Rita
Not really a scaredy cat here! I used to be scared of noises at night but when the alarm is on, I am just fine! I get scared when I hear sirens and don't know where everyone is! When I get scared, I just pray:)
Have a blessed Sunday, HUGS!
Strange how we remember the things that scared us in childhood. I think that man hiding upstairs would have un-nerved me too - don't blame you for keeping the closet door firmly closed. thank you so much for visiting my site over at Some Other Mountain, Molly.
Thank goodness my mother never let us watch ANY scary movies or I just know I'd be the same as you, BJ. It was YEARS before I ever saw the ending of "The Wizard of Oz"...she always chased us to bed before the flying monkeys came out. LOL
I am, however, horribly claustrophobic! Can't STAND being in a small, enclosed space like an elevator or tunnel or cave. Driving through the 2 tunnels we go through on our way to FL is getting harder & harder. Even airplanes are beginning to get to me!
Won't even allow myself to THINK about what Pondside just said!! ~~shudder~~
oh, i'm terribly sorry about the big dog fear! when fears are based on an actual occurence, they are the worst.
i did laugh at your attic 'roast' though! :)
I just loved reading your post! So interesting. My attic mis-givings when I am pulling down the stairs have been alleviated by what you said...anything that could be up there could not still be alive on account of the HEAT. I have not enjoyed going out into the ocean since seeing the movie "Jaws". I loved your comment to Kim at Savvy Southern Style about the hummingbirds sitting on your finger.
BATS!!!! When I was a kid, I had read a story about a bat getting in thru someone's bedroom window and biting a kid. That poor kid had to go thru all sorts of shots.......ever since than I can not have a window open without some sort of screen.....awful awful bats!!!!!
When I was little and going to the movies when it only cost a dime, I saw a movie called "Invaders From Mars." After that, I sneaked into bed with my parents for two months, having dreamed about the creature who poked giant needles into people's stomachs!
I was also deadly afraid of needles - the kind they give you shots with. I think there is a connection between the two fears. Hey, I'm just now realizing that!
Don't ask how I grew up to be a nurse.
Namaste.........cj
I do not watch scary movies. Not ever.
My father used to tell about a scary movie he saw as a child called "The Face in the Window." Now that freaks me out to this day.
We live across the street from two pitbulls and two neighbors up have another. Yes, I am scared.
I used to have recurring nightmares about someone (changed from time to time) falling down a deep well and calling my name all the way down. That final "e" does me in every time. Ha!
Think we're certifiable?
Neat post. I'm a scardy cat too! I seem to get worse as I get older! Too many to list, but in the past few years two things are bothering me more. I read in the paper about a small alligator going through a doggie door in someone's house and being beside the owners bed when he woke up to go to the bathroom! Yikes! We live in FL and I have this fear even tho we don't have a doggie door! LOL! I also fear snakes getting in the house, there was a five foot snake in our garage recently.
Yep, I sleep with a night light on!
I'm a Christian and try not let others put me on a guilt trip because of fears! I know what the scriptures say, etc!! ;-)
Katherine
I am glad I read this post in the morning instead of at night1
I just will not go see scary movies. Can't take it. I use to be afraid of open windows at night. Not anymore. This was a cute post.
You also cracked me up with your comment about scarfs on your tables.
Hugs, Marty
Oh...why did I read this?! Hubby is at the lake for a few days and I have been alone, even at night. That's scary enough for me, not having my big guy protect me from burglars or things that go bump in the night. When I was a single girl living alone, I always checked the closet and under the bed for anything or anybody lurking. I don't know what I would have done if I saw anything!!!
XO,
Jane
What a great story teller you are! I enjoyed reading the whole thing.
Glad you're big and all grown up now? Those first impressions stay for a lifetime!
~Pam
pamspaintparlor.typepad.com
Elevators - I ride in them, but I never like it...Needles - when I have to be "stuck" I want to cry & hide like a child would do! Sometimes the truth is embarassing.
LOL...you wouldn't like it here. Bobby G. doesn't go in a room that he doesn't leave the closet door open. I preach to him about it but it does no good. Drives me nuts! My big dog....you would love...he's a dollbaby. I love his deep bark though and hope whoever hears it at the door hangs back a little. Great post BJ. xoxo
That is a kitchen most of us would love having. The one you have works just fine with all the good food you put out. It never hurts to dream. It did not reach 100 today.
I can remember an old movie that scared me years ago! Someone hiding...and Chuck Conners looking for them! heehee! I should try to find out what in the world that movie was! Fun post, my friend! Now I'll go look at pretty kitchens! ♥
OMyGosh, Just came across this post and flash backs came pouring in...I recall watching Frankenstien at a friends house and having to run a block home in the dark. I just about wet myself running to arrive home...and then as a young tween..The Creature from the Black Lagoon...Oh my...
I do not EVER watch scary movies, that stuff just sticks in my brain and won't let go so I avoid them like the plague. When I was a kid I never let my hand or foot hang off the bed. Tell me why the imaginary "whatever" that was under the bed in my childish imagination can't get to you if nothing is hanging off. Ridiculous is what it is, but I still felt if my foot hung off the bed I would feel a hand reach up and grab it. I jumped into and out of bed much longer than I care to admit over that silly imagining. Now, I'm just afraid of spiders.
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