The Boogie Man

I used to be scared to go outside alone after dark. At first glance this might seem quite a reasonable fear. There are bad people in the world and it most types of random violence occur after a dark.

The thing is this: I wasn't scared of a person getting me in the dark. No I had a genuine terror of creatures that lurk in the dark, that sort of pitch black that swallows one up whole for no apparent reason. Boogie men.

I'm not entirely sure where this fear came from. The parents didn't let us watch scary movies and they didn't fill my head with stories of terrible night creatures. I remember one time when the baby sitter let us watch some made for T.V. movie where some ghost girl went about killing her family in terrible ways, but I'm not sure if this was before or after my fear manifested.

No one might think that as a child I rarely had opportunity to be out after dark and would probably be true if I weren't a procastinator. My chores included taking out the trash and when later on I was the cater litter man (still am come to think of it). The old man would come home from work and cook us dinner. By the time we finished it was dark and the trash would need to be taken to the alley. If I had empty the trash after school the trash probably wouldn't fill up that late but I never thought that far ahead. So night would come and I would Be at the back door ready to make a mad dash to the garbage can and back.

The problem was this: I have brothers who delighted in torturing me.

I would make an Olympic sprint out to the alley and past the decrepit garage that surely housed some kind of evil spirits and then I would gain even more speed on the way back as my back was now turned to the horrors and I couldn't see to dodge em. The worst part was always that sprint back, sure that some mad beast of darkness was just behind me, just about to get me.

Then I would get to the back door only too find that one of my brothers (usually my little brother) had either put the chain on the door or locked me out entirely. I was big even then and the old man had to have words with my brother as One night I was in such a state of panic that I just about pulled the chain lock out and did a job and the old wood door frame.

Then we get older and find other things to be afraid of. I prefer to take my walks after dark so as to avoid exposing myself to too much ultraviolet radiation. (sure I could use sun block but I just can't stand that oily feel). Sure my heart my skip a beat or two if I hear someone walking behind me, but that is only natural. I prefer to be awake during the night and enjoy the less hurried aspect of the world. One can stroll down the street and not have to pay too much attention to the traffic because there isn't any. You can hear a car long before it gets anywhere near you.

I still don't watch horror movies. Those terrible acts of grotesque bloodshed disturb my sleep to much and there is always the after effects. After a horror movie the night seems almost sinister. A footstep or noise behind me is almost enough to induce a cardiac arrest and the every tree or bush hides something menacing.

Ok maybe I'm sill a little scared of the Boogie Man.

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