So, I was wonder if you guys/girls had as a kid some kind of fear that now looking back you wonder why you could call 'irrational', you know, a fear that doesn't have a reason to feel, something like 'I have fear that a rocket from the space fall in my head'.
In my case, I had this fear of when I entered the bathroom in my home, to see in the shower, a skeleton sitting in the floor, as I remember what I imagined, with the arms raised like its hands were tied or chained to the ceiling or something like that.
I remember well, this not always happen, not always when I went to the bathroom I needed to check behind the curtain if there was a skeleton tied, with its head down, pressed again its chest, like it was on purpose forgotten to die and rot.
And the funny thing, it is that it never occurred to me that how a skeleton would get in there in the shower, if someone of my family drop it there. I mean, it was not like, 'oh I hope not found a skeleton tied in the bathroom that probably my dad or mom or brother or sister bring it from somewhere'. No, no, that never cross my mind.
Now, I had this theory of why I had this 'irrational fear':
Back in the early 90s, here in my city, a local TV channel (in that time in home we don't had TV cable) on Saturday at 10 PM shows horror/thriller/suspense movies, but mostly horror films from the 80s, you know 'Friday the 13th', 'A Nightmare on Elm Street', 'Critters', 'Pet Sematary' and so (not a bad selection of films, you know); And in that time I had 6-8 years old, I had anxiety and a vivid imagination, and I remember that I really hated that kind of movies, probably because late that night I 'dreamed' and I couldn't sleep.
Anyway I bet that I prefer to watch in other local TV channel in the same time slot some action movies, specially with martial arts, and, of course, my brother and my sister that in that time were teenagers, and always 'win', so in some way I was 'forced' if we dinner before, to go to sleep early if I don't want to scare or dinner watching my plate, or my feet. My mom and dad, also watch the movie, but I bet they didn't like it. Actually, I don't remember why my parents don't complain about the movie showed (This mean that they also liked horror movies?). I think I should ask this.
I don't know, besides it was something weird, when I look back at my childhood this is not one of the thing that come first. That are riding bicycles, buying candies, playing football (soccer for Americans) on the street, but not this fear.
Had you some irrational fear as a kid?
No. I was too busy being afraid of real life.
I grew up during a civil war so my fears were all too rational and way too real.
Going to the toilet while watching Jaws for the first time aged 4.
I was afraid of my parents. I had no time to be afraid of spiders or the dark. As I grew up, I was never afraid of anything. Angry- very much so. But never afraid.
Some things give me the willies that are very irrational.
For example- men with man buns give me the creeps. Why, I don't know, but I find it creepy.
Anubis terrified me when I was little, after seeing him get somebody on a TV show. After that I was sure he was going to come in our house and I kept thinking about that expressionless jackal face of his.
My dad told me Anubis was nice and only lived in Egypt; my mom said Anubis wasn't real. Young as I was I knew there was a flaw there since something that wasn't real couldn't live in Egypt, and I wasn't comforted.
If you think about it, the concept of Anubis sneaking into our house at night made as much sense as the fact Santa and the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy somehow found their way in.
Those were some scary few weeks.
Quote from: Alex on February 10, 2022, 04:42:46 AM
Going to the toilet while watching Jaws for the first time aged 4.
Oy :buggedout:
Reading my first post sounds like my parents forced me to eat my dinner watching a horror movie, every Saturday, but actually, if was not like that.
What I remember it was we were dinning and in the TV was 'House' (with 'The Stuff', in Spanish 'La Cosa', are two of the movies titles that I remember well, the title 'House' was not translated to Spanish, don't know why), and as the movie is more funny than scary, probably I was not feel scare, but I remember that in a scene I was looking my plate and, in other scene, my lap (not my feet as I said before).
Again, I should ask my parents, and probably my brother or sister about those Saturday night.
Quote from: RCMerchant on February 09, 2022, 08:10:10 PM
No. I was too busy being afraid of real life.
Well, in some point all we had trouble as kid.
Quote from: Trevor on February 10, 2022, 04:10:17 AM
I grew up during a civil war so my fears were all too rational and way too real.
Sorry to hear that.
Quote from: Alex on February 10, 2022, 04:42:46 AM
Going to the toilet while watching Jaws for the first time aged 4.
I think that a lot of kids (and some adults) in that time avoid water, specially the sea, after watched that movie. Even pools.
Quote from: ER on February 10, 2022, 08:36:38 AM
If you think about it, the concept of Anubis sneaking into our house at night made as much sense as the fact Santa and the Easter Bunny and the tooth fairy somehow found their way in.
Do you mean, Anubis sneaking in your house take someone to the Underworld, like the Grim Reaper?
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 10:44:01 AM
Quote from: Trevor on February 10, 2022, 04:10:17 AM
I grew up during a civil war so my fears were all too rational and way too real.
Sorry to hear that.
I was born in what was then Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe: it was both the best and the worst of times.
No. I was fearless. When I think of the dangerous things I dared to do, I wouldn't try any now. However, I have always had an aversion to Blue Jays. Ick.
Quote from: Allhallowsday on February 10, 2022, 03:13:56 PM
No. I was fearless. When I think of the dangerous things I dared to do, I wouldn't try any now. However, I have always had an aversion to Blue Jays. Ick.
You said Blue Jays in capital letters, are you talking about the birds or the baseball team? (yes, besides I'm from a country that know more about football/soccer than every other sports, and probably know about football/soccer more than other subjects which are not relative with sports, I know, not much, about baseball) :twirl:
The OPERATION board game terrified the absolute hell out of me. Up till I was about 11 or so.
Something about the angry, creepy look of the patient and the loud BUZZ if you touched the sides just freaked me out. Even the box got to me, with the doctors gleefully digging inside the patient.
(https://c8.alamy.com/comp/MF34FP/operation-a-battery-operated-board-game-initially-produced-by-milton-bradley-and-now-made-by-hasbro-MF34FP.jpg)
(https://assets.rbl.ms/25590235/origin.jpg)
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 10:44:01 AM
Do you mean, Anubis sneaking in your house take someone to the Underworld, like the Grim Reaper?
No, my fear wasn't so cogently defined, Anubis was just archetypally scary to me at four and a half.
And according to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anubis doesn't come for you, you go to Anubis so he can weigh your heart to see if you've done more good than bad in your life. If you've been good you safely cross the path into paradise beyond a sea of reeds; if not a giant crocodile eats you and that ends your existence.
Sounds fair to me.
Actual footage of Anubis at work:
Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdHHvM26hQ#)
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 07:32:15 PM
Quote from: Allhallowsday on February 10, 2022, 03:13:56 PM
No. I was fearless. When I think of the dangerous things I dared to do, I wouldn't try any now. However, I have always had an aversion to Blue Jays. Ick.
You said Blue Jays in capital letters, are you talking about the birds or the baseball team? (yes, besides I'm from a country that know more about football/soccer than every other sports, and probably know about football/soccer more than other subjects which are not relative with sports, I know, not much, about baseball) :twirl:
No, I meant the birds. I think it was a typing reflex... I used to be a Baseball fan.
Quote from: retrorussell on February 10, 2022, 07:40:37 PM
The OPERATION board game terrified the absolute hell out of me. Up till I was about 11 or so.
Something about the angry, creepy look of the patient and the loud BUZZ if you touched the sides just freaked me out. Even the box got to me, with the doctors gleefully digging inside the patient.
Yep, is a kind of creep. But I think that definitely could improve the game if along with the buzz there is a scream, or depending on the body zone you touch, a little chuckle, like 'don't make me tickle'.
Quote from: ER on February 10, 2022, 09:50:22 PM
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 10:44:01 AM
Do you mean, Anubis sneaking in your house take someone to the Underworld, like the Grim Reaper?
No, my fear wasn't so cogently defined, Anubis was just archetypally scary to me at four and a half.
And according to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anubis doesn't come for you, you go to Anubis so he can weigh your heart to see if you've done more good than bad in your life. If you've been good you safely cross the path into paradise beyond a sea of reeds; if not a giant crocodile eats you and that ends your existence.
Sounds fair to me.
Actual footage of Anubis at work:
Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdHHvM26hQ#)
OK, now I understand.
But in any case, how a little girl of four and half had fear of a Egyptian god with head of jackal and human body, that when you died, ripped off your heart, and weighting it against a feather, and according to your actions, determinate if you go to some kind of Heaven or if you deserve to be eaten for all the Eternity by a giant crocodile?
Yes, make more sense than Santa, the Tooth Fairy, a rabbit that lay eggs of chocolate, and all the cast from Shrek
Quote from: Allhallowsday on February 10, 2022, 10:43:41 PM
No, I meant the birds. I think it was a typing reflex... I used to be a Baseball fan.
Oh. Could be more irrational if actually is the Baseball team.
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 11:02:19 PM
Quote from: retrorussell on February 10, 2022, 07:40:37 PM
The OPERATION board game terrified the absolute hell out of me. Up till I was about 11 or so.
Something about the angry, creepy look of the patient and the loud BUZZ if you touched the sides just freaked me out. Even the box got to me, with the doctors gleefully digging inside the patient.
Yep, is a kind of creep. But I think that definitely could improve the game if along with the buzz there is a scream, or depending on the body zone you touch, a little chuckle, like 'don't make me tickle'.
Quote from: ER on February 10, 2022, 09:50:22 PM
Quote from: Argonaut on February 10, 2022, 10:44:01 AM
Do you mean, Anubis sneaking in your house take someone to the Underworld, like the Grim Reaper?
No, my fear wasn't so cogently defined, Anubis was just archetypally scary to me at four and a half.
And according to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anubis doesn't come for you, you go to Anubis so he can weigh your heart to see if you've done more good than bad in your life. If you've been good you safely cross the path into paradise beyond a sea of reeds; if not a giant crocodile eats you and that ends your existence.
Sounds fair to me.
Actual footage of Anubis at work:
Error 404 (Not Found)!!1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTdHHvM26hQ#)
OK, now I understand.
But in any case, how a little girl of four and half had fear of a Egyptian god with head of jackal and human body, that when you died, ripped off your heart, and weighting it against a feather, and according to your actions, determinate if you go to some kind of Heaven or if you deserve to be eaten for all the Eternity by a giant crocodile?
Yes, make more sense than Santa, the Tooth Fairy, a rabbit that lay eggs of chocolate, and all the cast from Shrek
There used to be a TV show called
Tales of the Gold Monkey that had a scene wherein an Egyptologist was poring over ancient artifacts and some cultist in an Anubis mask came and got him. Boy oh boy that did it for me!
I'm right there with you dude. When I was little, like daycare age, under 6, I remember many times when I was alone, I would get terrified that when I went back into the other room where my family was, they would all be replaced with life-sized voodoo doll looking things called mimis. Just dead-like sitting there with sewn on faces. Almost more terrifying was the voice in my head that I imagined was Guy Smiley from the Muppets telling me the mimis were going to be there. It stopped happening when I was in grade school, but I remember having to hardcore pump myself up to be super brave to go into the other room. Sometimes if I would hear my families voices or laughing it kind of broke the fear and I would be able to run and leave the room. Ha! Now that I wrote that out I know that sounds like a fake reddit creepypasta but it's 100% the truth.
I have a cousin that was terrified of places with tall ceilings when he was little because he thought he was going to fly up.
There's also an irrational fear of buttons that runs in my family. It was bad for me when I was little, but thankfully my mom had it too and didn't force me to wear buttons. I'm not going to lie, I don't like them much now, but I won't ugly-cry if I see them anymore.
The tied up skeleton you mentioned reminds me of the bog mummies or Otzi. I think a lot of tabloids like Weekly World News would feature them on the cover a lot in the 90's.
Quote from: Paquita on February 11, 2022, 12:44:09 AM
I'm right there with you dude. When I was little, like daycare age, under 6, I remember many times when I was alone, I would get terrified that when I went back into the other room where my family was, they would all be replaced with life-sized voodoo doll looking things called mimis. Just dead-like sitting there with sewn on faces. Almost more terrifying was the voice in my head that I imagined was Guy Smiley from the Muppets telling me the mimis were going to be there. It stopped happening when I was in grade school, but I remember having to hardcore pump myself up to be super brave to go into the other room. Sometimes if I would hear my families voices or laughing it kind of broke the fear and I would be able to run and leave the room. Ha! Now that I wrote that out I know that sounds like a fake reddit creepypasta but it's 100% the truth.
There's also an irrational fear of buttons that runs in my family. It was bad for me when I was little, but thankfully my mom had it too and didn't force me to wear buttons. I'm not going to lie, I don't like them much now, but I won't ugly-cry if I see them anymore.
This remains me the 'Coraline' film: buttons sewed as eyes, parents like dolls... Yeah, I think I could have that fear if the movie would be released in my childhood.
Thanks to 70s/80s television and movies, I was terrified of quicksand when I was a kid. It seemed like every cop/action adventure show ("CHIPS," "Charlie's Angels," "Emergency," etc.) had a scene where someone fell into quicksand and had to be rescued.
From this, I naturally assumed that random puddles of quicksand were literally everywhere, just waiting to swallow me up if I wasn't careful. When walking outside, I made sure never to stray off of the sidewalk. :D
Quote from: FatFreddysCat on February 11, 2022, 01:36:31 PM
Thanks to 70s/80s television and movies, I was terrified of quicksand when I was a kid. It seemed like every cop/action adventure show ("CHIPS," "Charlie's Angels," "Emergency," etc.) had a scene where someone fell into quicksand and had to be rescued.
From this, I naturally assumed that random puddles of quicksand were literally everywhere, just waiting to swallow me up if I wasn't careful. When walking outside, I made sure never to stray off of the sidewalk. :D
I wonder if Erik Estrada fell in a sandbox with motorcycle and everything...
Looking back to the middle seventies (when I was about nine or ten) an irrational but real fear I had was that a police squad car or Land Rover would pull up outside my house and my Dad wouldn't get out of the car, but some top brass police officer would to tell my Mom my Dad had been killed in action. :bluesad:
Dad served in this unit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_South_Africa_Police#Under_the_British_South_Africa_Company (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_South_Africa_Police#Under_the_British_South_Africa_Company)
Quote from: Trevor on February 12, 2022, 01:20:07 AM
Looking back to the middle seventies (when I was about nine or ten) an irrational but real fear I had was that a police squad car or Land Rover would pull up outside my house and my Dad wouldn't get out of the car, but some top brass police officer would to tell my Mom my Dad had been killed in action. :bluesad:
Dad served in this unit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_South_Africa_Police#Under_the_British_South_Africa_Company (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_South_Africa_Police#Under_the_British_South_Africa_Company)
Trevor, when I read your post where you said that you'd grown up during a civil war, I didn't know that the war was so close to you and your family!
I hope that nothing bad has happened to your dad in those years.
Quote from: Argonaut on February 12, 2022, 06:57:53 PM
Trevor, when I read your post where you said that you'd grown up during a civil war, I didn't know that the war was so close to you and your family!
I hope that nothing bad has happened to your dad in those years.
Thanks for the nice words: Dad developed PSTD after the war ended and passed in 2008, sadly. He was a good man and I still miss him.
That's one of the reasons I get so mad when I read or hear of "celebrities" saying they were so stressed that they developed post traumatic stress disorder: they should try serving their countries and see how they deal with that.