# As a kid, were you afraid of the dark? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 11, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317 "2019-02-11T02:34:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/1 "2019-02-11T02:34:22Z")
Or maybe later in life? Were you afraid of real-world threats or supernatural/ghosts/paranormal? If you were afraid, how did you cope? Did you have strategies for dealing with this fear? Did you confide in anyone? I was always very afraid of the dark. As an only child, I’d lie in my bed at night, terrified. Of what? Some indeterminate supernatural forces of evil that were watching me for purposes I couldn’t fathom. I had awful nightmares that I couldn’t shake until well into the day. I wasn’t afraid of real-life burglars or criminals–it was always something supernatural against which humans were defenseless. I didn’t confide in my parents. For one thing, I didn’t expect any sympathy. I figured they would either ridicule me or just blow me off–had no reason to expect anything else. I didn’t ask for a nightlight–to my way of thinking, no help was available, and I just had to suffer. Also, I assumed my parents would be powerless against whatever evil entities had me in their sights, and seeking help would only anger the evil ones and amp up or hasten whatever fate awaited me. One of the ways I coped was if I woke up during the night, I’d turn on my light and read comic books until it started to get light outside. Then I’d go back to sleep for however long I could. I don’t know if my parents ever saw the light on in my room. They never came to investigate. This went on into my early teens, as I recall. There was a period in my 30s, too, where this kind of fear plagued me. A girlfriend and I messed around with a Ouija board, scared the pee out of ourselves, and swore it off. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/2 "2019-02-11T03:43:47Z")
I don’t recall being afraid of the dark specifically, but I do recall a fear of certain places, like dark basements. We had a summer cottage when I was a kid, and there was a road that ran past an abandoned deteriorating old house that could have been straight out of a ghost movie. You could not have got me to spend the night there for a zillion jillion dollars, especially with a cemetery being conveniently nearby, so the ghosts didn’t have far to go. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/3 "2019-02-11T03:58:43Z")
I wasn’t afraid of the dark, especially, but I _was_ terrified of those…those things out there in it. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/4 "2019-02-11T04:00:29Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > I wasn’t afraid of the dark, especially, but I _was_ terrified of those…those things out there in it. Well, that’s kind of what I mean. What things? ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/5 "2019-02-11T04:05:11Z")
I don’t think I was especially afraid of the dark. I have lots of sibs and someone was always going through a phase. My baby sister was a roamer at night. She might end up in any of our beds, saying something scared her. She’s still a bed hopper, but for different reasons;) Only one of my kids were. My middle daughter. I used to say she slept in my bed more than her Dad did. Yep, fun times. ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/6 "2019-02-11T04:16:34Z")
I wasn’t afraid of the dark. It was what I could see that would cause a problem. As a child I was slightly OCD and, while laying in bed, I would see things that “weren’t right”, like an ornament not the way it should be, or a shirt cuff not hanging properly. I’d have to keep getting up over and over to “fix” things. Finally I realized that if I couldn’t see it, I wouldn’t know about it. So I’d get my mom to shut off every light in my room, close the bedroom door and turn off the hall light so I’d be in pitch black. Finally I had peace at night. ---
**Author:** ![Garak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d78d45/32.png) [@Garak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garak)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/7 "2019-02-11T04:21:59Z")
I slept with the light on so skeletons couldn’t get me ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/8 "2019-02-11T04:32:29Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Well, that’s kind of what I mean. What things? _Nameless things. Things that are very, very old, as old as time itself. Things of which we dare not speak, lest the very mention invoke their ageless power._ Those things. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/9 "2019-02-11T04:55:25Z")
Not at all after the age of six. I vividly recall the possibility of monsters under my bed until one night at that age I steeled myself to poke my head down there suddenly and saw there was nothing there. The dark was my friend ever after. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/10 "2019-02-11T05:17:33Z")
When I was a kid, I wasn’t afraid of “the dark” as such: It was how everything else appeared in the small dim ambient light that might filter in under the door, the moonlight through the blinds, and my imagination getting the best of me. Or maybe it was the devil’s head nightlight… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/11 "2019-02-11T07:11:49Z")
When I was very young I was afraid of monsters under my bed. I grew out of that before I was 5. Then I recall occasionally being outside at night when in my tweens and thinking someone might be following me, so I’d scamper to get indoors as soon as possible. It was never a crippling fear, it was just a minor fleeting paranoia, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/12 "2019-02-11T07:23:53Z")
My daughter is 10 and we’re working with her right now to n it. She’s not able to really articulate why, but that’s ok. I’m using a process of gradual exposure, where she goes from a light to dark area but stops before she gets too scared. Then she stays for an increasingly longer period of time. I was never afraid of the dark myself, but have my own irrational fears so I can get it. ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/13 "2019-02-11T13:15:22Z")
Nope, never afraid of the dark. As an adult, I can get spooked by strange noises the house makes as it settles. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_stainless_steel_rat/32/5727_2.png) [@The\_Stainless\_Steel\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Stainless_Steel_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/14 "2019-02-11T13:56:13Z")
When it comes to sleeping, nope, never had a night light or anything else. Being outside at night, I am a little more wary, but that’s because of others humans, not any spirits or monsters. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/15 "2019-02-11T14:07:20Z")
I don’t remember ever being afraid of the dark. But I think there was a nightlight in my room, so maybe I was never really IN the dark. I always liked the dim as a child, it felt safe, like it hid me. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/16 "2019-02-11T14:17:29Z")
I don’t recall being especially afraid of the dark. I’m Sure there was a night light of some sort up to a point but I don’t remember. I do remember being afraid of tornados and of one hitting our house. As a Jersey kid that’s not exactly rational. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/17 "2019-02-11T16:13:21Z")
No. As a young child, I used to stay awake well after being put to bed, usually just sitting up and talking or singing to myself so I was well used to my dark bedroom. Never worried about monsters, etc. Outdoors, there was still a lot of undeveloped land so I was quickly used to darkness outside as well. Obviously I’d rather not trip over an unseen thing and hurt myself but I wasn’t “afraid” of it (unlike my wife who hates driving alone down nighttime country roads where it’s just a dark expanse in each direction) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/18 "2019-02-11T16:14:55Z")
I was afraid of the dark, but I don’t remember why. No monsters or anything supernatural. The hall light had to remain on until I was asleep; if anyone turned it off, I’d yell. As an adult, the room can’t be dark enough. I don’t like sleeping where any light at all is coming in. But now, my older brother is the one who needs a light on. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![Periwinkle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Periwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Periwinkle)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/19 "2019-02-11T16:46:47Z")
Yes, as a child I was afraid of The Devil. The church that my mom took us to all the time had quite colorful descriptions of what was waiting for sinners in Hell, and I was scared of The Devil and demons coming to get me. My mom always left the bathroom light on at night and I left my door open. As a teenager this dissipated, until I read Salem’s Lot. I made my sister sleep with me for at least a year after that. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2019, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317/20 "2019-02-11T18:31:44Z")
I was never afraid of the dark that I can remember. I used to walk home through the woods from my friend’s house after dark fairly often, and I’d be outside at night looking at stars and catching lightning bugs. I remember thinking there could be monsters, but then I thought “I’ve never seen a monster, no one I ask has ever seen one, you’d think if there were monsters you’d see them in books and news and on TV.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/as-a-kid-were-you-afraid-of-the-dark/829317.md?page=2)