Jo and I were just talking about the common fears and fantasies that all children with imagination seem to share. Phil had sent me a link to an article about these two little girls who were inadvertently traumatised when they sat down alone to watch their new Harry Potter DVD, and it turns out that the box contained a DVD of the Exorcist. lol…awesome. Poor things.
Anyway, we were talking about things that seem to scare all children, and carry over into adulthood:
1. Dolls and clown dolls. I was always afraid that they would come alive in the night while I was sleeping. I could picture the click of the eyes opening, and the mouth parting to show tiny, sharp teeth.
2. The need to have the wardrobe or closet completely shut. I still can’t sleep with the closet door open. I don’t know how anyone with any imagination at all can. That’s very weird childhood logic, though – monsters can’t open closet doors?
3. Sleeping completely covered by the blankets, and nevernever with your feet hanging over the side of the bed. (Your foot could be grabbed by something under the bed.) Again, very skewed child logic: monsters can rip you to pieces, but they can’t get through a duvet? Stephen King once said something to the effect of “As an adult, I know that there isn’t really anything under the bed. I also know that, if I turn off the light and jump into bed, and keep my feet under the blankets, nothing will be able to get me.”
:) It’s sort of like flying dreams, and anxiety dreams where you’re in class and they’re having a test that you haven’t studied for, and you look down and realise that somehow you arrived at class totally naked. (Like you wouldn’t have realised that on the way in!)
Clowns of any type and/or variety freak me out. It always seemed the perfect disguise for a child molester or some serial murder to me. *shudders*.
Yep, on both 2 & 3. Never could sleep with the closet open or my feet hanging off the bed. Still can’t and I’m 34.
Have never had flying dreams or naked at work or school dreams. Wonder what that says?
I wonder if it’s a female thing…I’ve never had the doll/clown fear..and the only reason for closing closet doors is so you don’t smack your head on them when you get out of bed in the middle of the night!!
As for flying dreams…I’ve never had one of those, nor have I had the ‘arrive at work naked’ kind…
Hmm..I wonder what strippers dream in that case?