I guess it is not too uncommon for a little kid to think that a monster might live in their closet. I was no exception.
How do kids get this idea? My only recollection as to how I might have gotten the idea that a monster lived in my closet was after I was read the book, ‘There’s A Monster in My Closet’ by Mercer Mayer. Funny how a book that was probably intended to help kids deal with their fears, initiated the idea that a monster might be living in my closet.
It was from this point that I began to sleep with my closet door shut.
As I grew older the idea of a monster in the closet matured into the idea that some sort of psycho killer was hiding in my closet… or under the bed… or maybe in the shower.
I recall coming home to an empty house and having to check under all of the beds, closets and the shower to make sure that no one was hiding… waiting for the appropriate moment to come out and kill me.
I lived with this fear for a time.
I still remember the moment that I came to terms with the “hiding psycho killer” fear.
One day I came home. No one was home. As I started to initiate my usual routine of checking the assorted nooks and crannies for the hidden homicidal maniac a thought came to me… “If someone is in the closet, they are going to be in there whether I check for them or not.” And so I didn’t check for knife welding killers from that point on.
And I went on with my life.
Epilogue: It has been many many years since I have checked under the beds… in our showers… or in closets for homicidal knife welding maniac killers–And I am still alive.
in the process of weeding out 
April 12, 2010 at 4:35 pm |
Now there is a life lesson for you! Seriously, this is profound. What a great thing to learn while you’re still a little kid and can get on with the business of enjoying life.
April 13, 2010 at 7:42 am |
I don’t even have a door on my closet!
April 13, 2010 at 4:33 pm |
They were under the bed for me. I kept a hatchet next to my bed just in case they decided to try and grab me. I miss that hatchet sometimes. I also miss knowing that all the monsters were “under” my bed. Nowadays, they are out there walking the streets and they look human even…
April 13, 2010 at 7:23 pm |
I once knew a kid aged about 6 who didn’t want his older sister to go to sleep before him because of the “Grrrs” under his bed. If she did, he would lie awake thinking about them.
But I don’t remember ever worrying about such things as a child, and none of our children seem to have had similar fears. I did have recurring nightmares as a child, though, which I can remember far more vividly than the dreams I had last night.
April 16, 2010 at 7:22 pm |
Alligators lived under my bed. I think they still do. I was safe only, and I mean ONLY, if the covers were up to my chin and the only thing sticking out was my head. Since I am still alive, this is proof positive that my theory is fact. :o)