under the bed

[neddy65]

remember when you were a kid and you turned the light off, you had to run towards the bed and jump from a distance so the thing under the bed couldn't grab your ankle. Anybody ever get that feeling now ?
How bout something looking in your window after the lights go out?(insert scary music of your choosing)

[sipsake]

I remember reading a short story by Stephen King...something about a monster and the closet door being "open just a crack."

Open closet doors make me nervous to this day.

I remember in an a preface to one of his books he talked about how he always sleeps with both feet under the covers. That thinking something hiding under his bed was going to grab his leg was a totally irrational thought. But if something under his bed ever did grab his leg, he'd have a coronary and die on the spot, so it's better just to be safe.

[Thraeryn]

I can't sit in the half-darkness.

I can't see in the half-darkness. Other things can see in the half-darkness.

I prefer a deep, black darkness that hides me from all but the supernatural, that keeps me unaware until the death is upon me.

On a practical note, this makes going to bed a real pain. I have to be in a position to close my eyes almost immediately after the lights are turned off. It also limits my enjoyment of nighttime sex; I like being able to see just that much.

[prosequence]

Not the bed... but if I'm going down stairs that are open inthe back... I have a fear of someone slashing my tendons...
icky icky icky

[Beltruckus]

I always get the feeling something is watching me through my windows, I don't want to look up but eventually I do and nothing is there. I know one of these times i will see something and probably scream, I really freak myself bad with that. For a long while i slept with the covers over my head in a fetal position facing the wall, my mom thought I was going to suffocate myself doing this.

[lemming]

hehe i think about the tendon thing too..ever since i saw petsemetary was it? maybe something else but i remember some old guy walkin near a bed and gettin his achillies tendon slashed

[orange monkeyee]

I am scared to walk through my room in the dark because there is so much shit on the floor. I am scared of having something stab my foot or trip and fall over piles of stuff. The garbage can monster scares me the most.

[Mel]

Yeah... sadly I still am scared of those things

[Flesh]

haha orange monkey

[QuasiMojo]

I had the werewolf "Down in the Basement"(where I slept) at my grammas house.
I know what you mean.


BTW Rooster?
take it to a personal message to one of the Mods.
)shit, i guess i couldve done that too...(

[GakFace]

Nah, I'd position my bed up parallel to the hallway for one reason... to run and jump on the bed.... ... and other times to hurdle it. I was just a freak that way.

BUT, for a long time I always felt freaky going down into the pantry in the basement.. and sure it was kinda dark. But since then, I have come to acknowledge the many spirits that wander around me and pass me.. It no longer bothers me, as I know that if I treat them with respect, they do the same.

Of course being super paranoid before going there... then i'm pretty freaked out as I'm thinking of every sort of demon that wants to pester me.. not fun. If there really is a spirit there.. Ya gotta try to show no fear, and stand your ground. Don't necisarily attack as you might not know what you're up against, but simply... heck ignoring them will work. What's a great method to ignore them in bed? Turn on your radio. Thats what I do when I'm really paranoid.

[onodrim]

Yep, I identify with a lot of you. I think I'll be afriad of the dark forever. If I hae to go through dark rooms or hallways, I'll run straight thourgh so I'm in them as short a time as possible. I also can't sleep unless all the doors are closed, the closet is closed, and I'm fully covered by my comforter. I know there *really* isn't anything there to get me, but I cant help it, I still feel like something is out there.

[Johnny Rotten]

I think it's job stress, but I've been particularly apprehensive lately about stepping outside at night for a cigarette. Even when I go from my bedroom to the kitchen late at night, I can't do it in the dark (even though it's not that dark). When outside smoking at night, I feel a little paranoid about being outside the boundary of the house itself. It's a very quiet suburban neighborhood, with the loudest noise being the wind rustling in the trees. I even got spooked by a cat fight the other night.

[IC3]

I hate walking up my basement stairs in the dark...I have to kinda run or go quick, It feels like something is right behind me that's going to drag my ass back down the stairs.

[fooseballwiz]

I'm really scared of the dark now ever since someone close scared me really badly!


I love you neddy 65!

[Psivage]

I'm 33 years old. And I still check under the bed. There is something about the fear of somebody hiding under gets to me. At home I removed the box springs(?) and I have have two materess on the floor. When I spen the night a my parents when they leave town. I check. I sleep with a knife on my night table and one stuck between the materess.

[GakFace]

Originally posted by Johnny Rotten
I think it's job stress, but I've been particularly apprehensive lately about stepping outside at night for a cigarette. Even when I go from my bedroom to the kitchen late at night, I can't do it in the dark (even though it's not that dark). When outside smoking at night, I feel a little paranoid about being outside the boundary of the house itself. It's a very quiet suburban neighborhood, with the loudest noise being the wind rustling in the trees. I even got spooked by a cat fight the other night.

not to freak you out... But I've been feeling the same lately. (and i'm not currently working, so its not job stress for me). There don't you feel better? heh

or shall I end this with a pun??

You're not alone!

[StormBerlin]

I have a totaly irrational fear of the dark. This one time my boyfriend turned the lights off in the bathroon while I was taking a shower and I started to cry hysterically. It was horrible. Now I lock the door.

[GakFace]

yeah, Last year someone in my Social Psych class had the same fear. we were about to watch a movie, and so he turned the lights off. She freaked and run out of the room into the hallway. It was funny at first, until I (we) realized that everyone has a different fear, and the dark isn't to be reserved for kids.

I'm thinking tho that your b/f did that just so he could come to your aid while you were in the shower
(just tryin' for a grin )

[krwlz]

You are all a bunch of pussies!!!! Nah, just kidding, I used to be the same way, runa nd jump...the deck stairs were what got me the most. Never knew what could reach through the space between the steps....

But, I used to think iot made me less "manly" so I would force m\yeslf to walk slowly up the steps. Now I dont ever even think about the dark.

[yoshi]

Hey, even today, not one inch of my body hangs off the edge of the bed. And no matter how scared I am, I have to have the covers on up to my neck. And as a kid, I jumped really quick into my bed. Oh, and my closets had to be closed.

[slant eyes]

i think most of it has to do with your own mind. i used to work at an arena building and was responsible for closing the building down. prior to doing that, you were to lock up all the doors, then check all the bathroom stalls. i would walk through the arena in total darkness, despite stories being told. then i would get to the bathroom and i'd push open the first 3 stall doors, no problem. then my god damn mind hits me, 'what if there is a body hanging there', then from that point on, that's all that is on my mind for the remainder of the stalls. what was worse was that for some really odd reason, there would always be noises coming out of the bathrooms.

[Johnny Rotten]

Originally posted by slant eyes
what was worse was that for some really odd reason, there would always be noises coming out of the bathrooms.

You reminded of a bizarre ghost story I read years ago about a haunted bathroom. I managed to dig it up after much Googling:
http://www.pinn.net/~royaloak/Stories/bathroom.htm

Jon Northwood is also one of the few people besides Brian Bethel to have allegedly encountered Black Eyed Kids:
http://www.pinn.net/%7Eroyaloak/Stories/black_eyed.htm

Note: Don't read either of those stories at night.

[paddyjoe]

When I was young (maybe 8-11 yrs old), I had this really tiny bedroom, and the foot of my bed ended right at the door. So, for shits and giggles, my older brother would sneak in and tickle the bottom of my feet. Luckily, it didn't have a lasting impact on me, except that every time I see him now, I get the urge to kick him in the teeth.

[WhoaitsZ]

its not what under the bed. its the little demon that entersb etween the sheets i fear....

[slant eyes]

whoa...those stories are creepy as hell. anyone have any run-ins like those in the stories?

[neddy65]

Wow!!! THis is great. WHen I posted this thread i was just getting it out of my system but it is sooooo cool that I am not alone( pun intended)

[Baldrick]

hehe...

I was afraid of the dark as a young lad as well. But I actually rigged an "automatic light turner outer" at night - much to the dismay of my dad when he saw what I did.

My light switch was in the up position when the lights were on, and you flicked it to the down position to turn the lights out. So, I fastened one pulley to the ceiling above the light switch, and one pulley on the floor beneath the light switch. After cutting a small groove in the light switch itself so the strings wouldn't come off, I tied two long different colour strings to the switch. One string went through the upper pulley, one string through the lower pulley. The other ends were tied to my bedposts. I could then go to bed at night, and when I wanted to turn the lights out I pulled the red string. If I had to get up in the middle of the night, I could pull the other string (not sure why I colour coded that one, how do you see the green string if it's dark?!? ).

It took a couple of days for my Dad to notice that I cut up the light switch, and bolted things to the floor and ceiling. When he did, he really wanted to get angry, but was so impressed that at like eight years old I figured out how to do this, that he got a good laugh out of it and let me keep it. I used that thing for a good couple of years before I lost my fear of the dark!

Needless to say, my Mom and Dad to this day remind me of this, and even show my daughters what Daddy did when he was afraid of the dark every time we visit.

[Unknown Poster]

As a child I used to always have to be under the covers, no part of my body hanging off the bed, closet door shut, and hallway light on, or there was NO WAY I ould fall asleep. Somewhere around 12 or so, those fears just went away. Now I regularly sleep with both of my feet hanging off the bed, just more comfortable that way.

I do remember sometimes, after my eyes would get used to the dark, I would turn stuff into my room into monsters and stuff. One time like the night before the first day of school, when I was like 10, I could've sworn that there was a withc sitting on a chair looking right at me. In my head, I knew that it was just my backpack slung over the back of the chair, but there was no way in hell I was gonna go move it.

[fuzzix]

I used to sleep with the light on for years,, now I can't stand it. I've gotten so used to walking around a dark house at strange hours that I rarely get jittery now, a healthy dose of scepticism helps too of course

[meff]

Well shit, doesn't apply because my bed is *on* the floor. I don't recall being scared of the dark too much, and not much scares me, though I do get annoyed by all the noise my downstairs neighbor makes :/

[motdakasha]

I've always had a problem with open doors, empty space, and my basement. I absolutely cannot sleep if there is a door within view that is ajar such that the inside of that door is pitch black. Large empty or spacey rooms creep me out big time (I am slightly agoraphobic). I used to have a realllly messy room, then I finally cleaned it up and I couldn't sleep for days! My room had become so clean I got scared of my room (and my room has always been the safeplace in my house, see next paragraph). Finally, I put a table in the center of my room so I wouldn't use clutter to fill it up and now I feel better in my room. It's safe once again.
And my basement is the killer fear here. It even creeps out some of my friends. We all feel that there is something coming at us, some kind of impending doom when we go up or down the stairs. I still haven't gotten over this and neither has my sister. I found out not too long ago that she also goes up and down the stairs with her back flat against the wall. I had no clue she was also afraid of it. Sometimes this sensation will follow me up the rest of the flights of stairs in my house (three flights in total). One way I deal with it is to carry my ferret around with me. It's less scary then. The way I figure it is this: If I can see it, so can any animal. My ferrets and dog haven't "detected" anything, so obviously it's some unfounded fear that isn't based on anything real. Sometimes, even still, it gets pretty ridiculous because I'll sprint up the stairs sideways with my back against the wall and all the lights on. There were a few times I've actually been on the verge of screaming, heh. Basically, it's like Evil Dead, when it films the evil stuff coming at the cabin only you can feel it coming at you, chasing you. I thought at first this was just another thing relating to my agoraphobia, but then why would everyone else have the same problem? And I don't believe in the devil or demons. For the superstitious, this is where I played ouija two or three times without saying goodbye, but I'd like to add that when we first moved into the house (way before the ouija board) I was utterly afraid of it. I was completely paralyzed in fear of the entire house! It was a very similar feeling to the stairwell, but a little more intense and different. So, only to be afraid of the stairwells and sometimes the kitchen is definitely an improvement.

Okay, I need to stop adding to this post because it's already a monstrosity!

[motdakasha]

Originally posted by Johnny Rotten
You reminded of a bizarre ghost story I read years ago about a haunted bathroom. I managed to dig it up after much Googling:
http://www.pinn.net/~royaloak/Stories/bathroom.htm

Jon Northwood is also one of the few people besides Brian Bethel to have allegedly encountered Black Eyed Kids:
http://www.pinn.net/%7Eroyaloak/Stories/black_eyed.htm

Note: Don't read either of those stories at night.

HOLY BEJESUS. I started reading the black eyed one and I just got through part I. My nose is snotting and my eyes are teary! CREEPY. Man, I read the second part now and I have to sniff every 15 seconds because I've been so teary eyed!!! D: So not reading the bathroom one until tomorrow (well, when I go to sleep and wake up).

I'm also afraid of looking at mirrors in the dark. (I'm just a scaredy cat when it all boils down. I have a t-shirt to prove it, too.)