Wednesday, October 28, 2009

A Halloween Post

In honor of Halloween, here’s a list of a few things that freak me out.

  • People who don’t “smile with their eyes.” You know what I mean? The person is smiling, but there is no change in the shape of his or her eye! It’s still wide open. He/she probably has no soul.
  • Public restrooms. Oh I could devote a book to this fear...I guess it started with horrible eighth grade girls who would burst into the Junior Elementary bathroom (when I was maybe 6 or 7) and turn off the lights and start calling for “Bloody Mary.” (They swore she would appear in the mirrors. I never stuck around long enough to find out for sure.) We poor elementary girls would be stumbling for the doors in the dark trying to pull our pants back up. It was awful. Also, I slightly freak out when someone enters a stall next to the one I’m occupying. I can’t function properly with a stranger so close.
  • The sound of cracking bones. Many, many visits to the chiropractor and physical therapist have helped me learn to tolerate this, but I still cringe and panic slightly when I hear it. (Insert shudder.)
  • Washing my face (at my bathroom sink, with my back to the door) when I’m home alone. Seriously, could I be any more vulnerable?
  • Thump Swish. This might be kind of a stretch, because although thoughts of Thump Swish (a fictional character my dad made up during bedtime stories) freak me out, I simultaneously love him. This duality of emotion regarding this unfortunate trucker (who, as the story goes, lost his foot while changing a tire in the rain and then spent the remainder of his days roaming the forest) is probably due to the fact that sometimes my dad made Thump Swish a good guy who rescued campers in distress and other times he terrorized innocent hikers. Either way, anything that reminds me of Thump Swish (i.e. the sound of a broom or - for some reason - the monster on The Village) slightly freaks me out.
  • Backward handwriting. There was this kid’s Halloween movie my brother and I used to watch where the main kid is possessed and (while entranced) slowly writes "Karen" backward on windows. Wait, was this a kid’s movie? Should I have been watching this? Mom?
  • Vomiting. I hardly ever do this. Ever. But when I do...yikes. Totally freaks me out.
  • Entering my apartment after dark when Kenny is out of town. Seriously, I have to call him as I'm getting out of my car and then I keep him on the line as I enter and turn on ever light and check every potential hiding place, particularly the shower.

Anyway, I may add to the list as I think of more things, so stay tuned...
What freaks you out?

11 comments:

lyndsey said...

i've always been afraid of dressed up characters, like mickey mouse at disneyland. even now i will sprint in the other direction if i see one coming. is that weird? haha.

also barfing freaks me out too.

Unknown said...

I also won't look in mirrors in the dark because of the same reason as you.

Anything noises in the house when Skyler is out of town.

Sometimes I hang a pair of jeans on the back of a chair to dry. Then, when I walk into that room again, my first thought is that it is a person.

I don't like when kids say creepy things in movies (and in real life, but fortunately I haven't seen that).

I'm scared of stairs that are not enclosed on the steps. I worry that someone will reach through on the other side and grab my feet.

I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Oh, and I hate scary movies. I like suspenseful but not scary.

Shanna Nemrow said...

Clowns...freaky.

Oh, and I HATE public bathrooms too. They became the source of even more torture once I had potty trained kids, who seem to have to go potty at the best times and places. I seriously am not only freaked out but utterly grossed out. Yuck. Yuck. YUCK!

.From Her. said...

Public restrooms. Can't do it. Just can't...

I hate windows at night time. I assume when I look outside, there is undoubtably going to be a person standing directly outside with is face plastered against my window.

Closets left open have the same effect when it's dark.

And showers. When I have to pee in the middle of the night, the shower curtain MUST be OPEN, otherwise, there IS someone in there. Waiting to kill me.

What the weird person?

SoCal Rogers said...

Any body of water that it not perfectly clear- lake, ocean, a pool at night. I am seriously afraid of sharks and even in a pool my mind can play tricks on me. The scene from Jaws or open water plays back in my head. (oooh... I just had a chill up my back just thinking about it!)

Kelli said...

What freaks me out is the extras at the end of the Karen movie you were talking about. We watched them and Karen was very much a transvestite and not the Karen that was in the movie.

Unknown said...

I've been thinking about this a lot during the past day. The most scary thing I can think of is....having kids!

A | E said...

warts and sprouting eyes on potatos.

Kat Clark said...

I can't believe that you are freaked out about washing your face when you are home alone. I TOO amd so freaked out about it when Michael is on call.

Melissa Tiek said...

I am terrified of clowns. I am freaked out by mold and the stuff growing out of the eyes of potatoes...a moldy potato with eyes growing on it is a bad thing in our house. I hate insects of any kind...and actually I am afraid of looking into mirrors in the dark just like you...my sister is the one who made me afraid of Bloody Mary.

heather said...

i TOTALLY hate being in the bathroom with my back to the door when I'm home alone!!! It really is the most vulnerable you can be. This includes showering, giving Wendy a bath, and washing my face.

confession #1: I can never look at the mirror to the bathroom medicine cabinet when I close it during these times because of the "nobody is there when you open it, then someone is standing right behind you when you close it" scenes in scary movies.

confession #2: Sometimes i even dial "9-1-" on my phone so if someone sneaks up i can just hit "1-send" to get help.

i also hate walking into a dark house alone.
i think i watch too much law & order svu.