How old do you have to be before you stop being afraid of the dark?
This August, Mr. Husband finished the basement and we moved all of our bedroom stuff down there and out of the tiny upstairs. Before, when someone wanted to go to bed, the other person had to sleep too, or else stay awake veeeery quietly. Frannie slept in the office, which you had to cut through to get to the only functioning bathroom. Suffice it to say, it was tight in here.
One night in July, I was sleeping in our living room/bedroom and I snapped awake, for no reason. Or so I thought–it was actually a dream. But one of those dreams where you think you’re awake, because you’re dreaming that you woke up and you’re laying in bed, looking around.
There are stairs in the living room that were put in to unite the two floors (this place was previously two studio apartments). The warmer air rises up them and at night I can almost hear the whooshing sound as the air blows upward, like the hole for the stairs is some kind of cavern or something.
That night I dreamt that something indistinct and blurry, like a glowy animal, flashed up the stairs and past our bed, rushing into the kitchen while I watched. I would then “snap awake” again (but would still be dreaming) and watch it all over again. I think this happened five times, and I was completely convinced each time that I was genuinely awake. The last time I woke up (for real) I was so scared it was going to happen again I thought my heart was going to pop.
Now it’s months later, and when I’m the last person awake and have to go down the stairs to bed (in the dark, so as not to wake up little Frannie) I still get the willies. It doesn’t help that I had a similar experience when I was pretty small, and I’m fairly sure it wasn’t a dream. I think this is why I have nightmares like this now.
Sometimes I feel like I’m the only grown-up around who gets the heebie-jeebies in their own house. At least I will be more sympathetic to Frannie when she hits her “there’s something in my closet” phase. Because, you know, maybe there is.
No. You aren’t the only one…my entire family sleeps with the lights on. My mother has been sleeping with the lights on since the movie “Poltergeist” came out.
The multiple nightmares with a nightmare happen to me when I am sleep deprived (which is almost all the time)…so it might be school and all those projects and work and such.
Better stop talking about it. I’m getting scared!
I’m digging your new design! Rock on
No, you’re not alone. My least favorite thing is going to the bathroom in the middle of the night…I have to check behind the shower curtain, because you know how monsters like to lurk in the bathtub.
I stay up to read quite frequently and Jason usually goes to bed at the same time every night. Some nights I walk down the dark hallway into the dark bedroom and tell myself that there’s no such thing as monsters, there’s no such thing as monsters. Then I start to walk/run and divebomb the bed and curl up beside Jason and make him put his arm around me to keep away the boogeyman.
So the answer to your question is never. I don’t think anyone ever feels completely secure in the dark. It’s been engrained in our subconcious that terrible things happen at night.