Is anyone scared of ...

[KateHL]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?

[wheunis]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?

I'm gonna have to plead the fifth on this one...
:p

[saraban]

I don't believe in ghosts but I have a strong imagination. When the dark oppresses and thoughts don't illuminate, is the time ghosts appear.

[saraban]

I'm someone who gets nervous round stuffed dangerous animals in museums.

[Bram Kaandorp]

No to such a degree as you describe, but I do get just a bit anxious after watching a scary movie.

Luckily, I detatch myself from the film more easily now, but every now and then something can really get me going, especially late at night.

I can't really give you much advise, other than to skip the really extreme films, and build up (if you want to watch the extreme ones at all).

[KateHL]

I chalk it to PTSD and an over-stimulated imagination with a dash of bi-polar. Also, I'm terribly afraid of the dark since I can remember. I really need to find a non-woo shrink.

[Professor Yaffle]

When I've watched a horror film late at night, I make my way to bed with my back against a wall, all the way so that a mad axeman can't sneak up behind me.

[Resume]

When I've watched a horror film late at night, I make my way to bed with my back against a wall, all the way so that a mad axeman can't sneak up behind me.

He has an ax, he can go right through the wall.

[fuelair]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?No - and I have a standing offer to spend the night in any haunted house as long as I can bring in weapons of choice and use them if I am assaulted/threatened in any way without threat of lawsuit or arrest. (this is to remove any human element that might game things).

[Resume]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?

When I was about nine, my buddies and I began to erect tents in our backyards for summer sleepouts. On one of these sleepouts, a particular late night ghost story stimulated something in my unconscious and I ended up back at my house at about midnight.

The old man woke up and noticed my distress.

"There's no such thing as *********** ghosts you *********** idiot. No get back out there to that tent and go to *********** sleep."

Pretty much worked.

Seriously Kate, I've calmed my own kids with similar fears using logic; if that isn't working for you there must be a reason and that's you trigger event.

[I Ratant]

He has an ax, he can go right through the wall.
.
LOL!
Such a comfort you are! :eye-poppi

[Resume]

.
LOL!
Such a comfort you are! :eye-poppi

Only here to help.

[Lucian]

I'm someone who gets nervous round stuffed dangerous animals in museums.

When you say "stuffed dangerous animals," do you mean dangerous animals who have already gorged themselves on so many visitors that they couldn't possibly eat another, even if he or she is wafer thin? If so, I think you're wise: they could still maul you--you know, to burn calories, so they're ready for more visitors.:lion:

[Learjet]

My subconscious is afraid of ghosts, and demons and aliens and zombies... Yet it is strangely allured to female vampires. :blush:

[wheunis]

Only here to help.

Knowing is half the battle!
...
The other half is looking good while running with liquid seeping down your legs?

[ExMinister]

It's funny, I helped my kids use logic to deal with nightmares when they were little and they never had many, I think as a result. I don't get scared of ghosts. I don't watch horror movies because I have an overactive imagination and I don't need to give my mind any more material to draw on. But when I have sleep paralysis/hallucinations I can still get absolutely, mindlessly terrified. It's like all my logic goes right out the window. It's because of them that I still leave a closet light on, even in my 40s. :blush:

[Howie Felterbush]

When I was about nine, my buddies and I began to erect tents in our backyards for summer sleepouts. On one of these sleepouts, a particular late night ghost story stimulated something in my unconscious and I ended up back at my house at about midnight.

The old man woke up and noticed my distress.

"There's no such thing as *********** ghosts you *********** idiot. No get back out there to that tent and go to *********** sleep."

Pretty much worked.

Seriously Kate, I've calmed my own kids with similar fears using logic; if that isn't working for you there must be a reason and that's you trigger event.

Your dad is R. Lee Ermey?

Cool!

[Resume]

Your dad is R. Lee Ermey?

Cool!

My dad would say he made R. Lee Ermey.

After you told him who that is.

[lionking]

When I've watched a horror film late at night, I make my way to bed with my back against a wall, all the way so that a mad axeman can't sneak up behind me.

I'm the same. After watching The Ring I took one of the kids out late at night, and when I got home it was dark and foggy. A possum scurried across our roof and I nearly had a heart attack. I didn't sleep much that night.

[MG1962]

I'm the same. After watching The Ring I took one of the kids out late at night, and when I got home it was dark and foggy. A possum scurried across our roof and I nearly had a heart attack. I didn't sleep much that night.

I had just finished watching the exorcist one night went out for a smoke and a white specter floated past me - once the mostly rational side of my mind re-established itself I realized it was a white plastic shopping bag caught on the wind lol

[rickps]

My subconscious is afraid of ... demons and aliens ... Yet it is strangely allured to female vampires. :blush:

What about succubi? And the aliens that cavorted with James Tiberius Kirk? :D

[Stray Cat]

What a bunch of scary cat wusses you all are. :D

I was never allowed to watch anything remotely horror based as a child (for the majority of my childhood my Happy Clappy Christian mother refused to allow a TV in the house).
And I was only talking to someone the other night about as a child, I'd hear about things like Hammer House of Horror from school friends and wish I could watch stuff like that. As a result when I had nightmares, I actually used to enjoy them and if I awoke from one, would try to get back to sleep to continue it.

Needless to say, as an adult, I'm not frightened of anything (except commitment :D) and watch horror films all the time (unless I'm on one of my regular night time walks on the top of the moors or something like that).

As to the OP, are you sure it's ghosts you are scared of, it sounds to me more like it's the dark that's the problem?
It just doesn't seem to fit that you don't believe in ghosts but you're still scared of them.

[Beerina]

I want to die by succubus.

[tsig]

I want to die by succubus.

OK, we'll throw you under the succubus.

[philkensebben]

After watching the Friday the 13th series, I kept seeing camp counsellors having sex everywhere.

[Jeff Corey]

You worked at same camp I did?

[wheunis]

Ever since Jason Russel, I have been mortally afraid of being in San Diego.
That count?

[Loss Leader]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts?


The only power ghosts have is the ability to make you regret things.


That being said, I live in perpetual terror of my ghosts.

[Silly Green Monkey]

After watching Shawn of the Dead I started flinching at doorways. All the other zombie movies, and THIS one does it to me?

[Learjet]

What about succubi? And the aliens that cavorted with James Tiberius Kirk? :D

Oh yeah forgot about the green Orion slave girls.

[Minarvia]

Not me. I love to watch horror films, even really bad ones, and the only bummer is that I NEVER get scared of them. I only get scared when the human element is there and the supernatural ruled out.

I saw "Insidious" when it came out and the ticket gal said, "Wow, you are seeing this by yourself? Be prepared to be scared!"

Well, I wasn't. It was an all right film, but did nothing for me. Other movie-goers said the same, but others said they would have nightmares for days. :)

[JJM 777]

ghosts
Ghosts, no.

The potential possibility of a criminally minded human lurking in the dark forest, sometimes.

[Saule]

Not me. I love to watch horror films, even really bad ones, and the only bummer is that I NEVER get scared of them. I only get scared when the human element is there and the supernatural ruled out.


Ghosts, no.

The potential possibility of a criminally minded human lurking in the dark forest, sometimes.

Ditto.

[Stomatopoda]

Imo, the scariest horror stories involve either non-supernatural humans or anthropomorphized concepts. Also, helplessness is a requirement. It's rarely scary if the protagonist can fight back.

[Halfcentaur]

Yes, I have a terrifying imagination. Depending on my mood, being outside in the dark causes me to imagine absolutely disturbing images and concepts connected with ghosts. It's tied into being helpless against a non corporeal attacker, or the sorrow and confusion associated with existing in an in between state of reality. Sleep paralysis has been one of the most terrifying experiences I've had.

I often have terrifying dreams filled with anxiety dealing with ghosts. Ranging from every door in a house being opened and slammed repeatedly by invisible forces to being filled with panic as I avoid looking at any shadow, for when I look upon a shadow I will see a spirit manifest there.

As a child I was fascinated by monsters and ghosts. The most disturbing ghosts were not demonic beasts, but people who looked like old 19th century photographs, faded and black and white in old dress.

The old woman in the original Ghostbusters scene in the library still fills me with a sense of dread and madness. It's the notion of perpetual madness and loss of control I think, coupled with the cold demeanor of people in those old photos.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v84/evilknick/images1.jpg

The original Ghostbusters and the movie Poltergeist both were massive influences i think on my childhood fear of these things, coupled with a fear of going insane, as psychosis runs in my family. I think the scariest scene in Poltergeist is when all the apparitions are walking down the staircase, just normal people you can vaguely see.

I often go for walks outside at night, and if I am not careful i will begin to obsess over the most disturbing mental imagery of apparitions as I step through the nearly pitch dark evening. I love the way simple light and dark can have such an influence upon mood.

[jimbob]

What a bunch of scary cat wusses you all are. :D

I was never allowed to watch anything remotely horror based as a child (for the majority of my childhood my Happy Clappy Christian mother refused to allow a TV in the house).
And I was only talking to someone the other night about as a child, I'd hear about things like Hammer House of Horror from school friends and wish I could watch stuff like that. As a result when I had nightmares, I actually used to enjoy them and if I awoke from one, would try to get back to sleep to continue it.

Needless to say, as an adult, I'm not frightened of anything (except commitment :D) and watch horror films all the time (unless I'm on one of my regular night time walks on the top of the moors or something like that).

As to the OP, are you sure it's ghosts you are scared of, it sounds to me more like it's the dark that's the problem?
It just doesn't seem to fit that you don't believe in ghosts but you're still scared of them.

When I was a kid (5 and under) I used to live within sight of Pendle Hill.

There was a story about some local giants fighting and throwing stones from one hill to another, which I had either misunderstood or been told was witches and I used to get really confused at night time about this and worried.

Mind you, what really scared me ETA: at that time was a half remembered and even less understood news programme about the neutron bomb - as an adult, I've worked out that this must be what it was talking about, because I can remember the mushroom cloud and the fact that it killed people butnot property.

[Stray Cat]

When I was a kid (5 and under) I used to live within sight of Pendle Hill.
The moors I grew up (and have spent many hours walking on alone since from the age of about 12) is Saddleworth Moor. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but for the benefit of others, that's the one where Myra Hindley and Ian Brady used to bury the bodies of the children they killed.

[jimbob]

The moors I grew up (and have spent many hours walking on alone since from the age of about 12) is Saddleworth Moor. I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but for the benefit of others, that's the one where Myra Hindley and Ian Brady used to bury the bodies of the children they killed.

I wondered if taht was where you were?

:)

[Stray Cat]

I wondered if taht was where you were?

:)
Yes, I'm on the Yorkshire side of the moors. :)

[JoeBentley]

I'm a diehard atheist, skeptic, and rationalist.

And I spend an inordinate amount of time mentally preparing zombie defense strategies for rooms and buildings I'm in.

[Tatyana]

When I've watched a horror film late at night, I make my way to bed with my back against a wall, all the way so that a mad axeman can't sneak up behind me.

Snap.

Serial and psychopathic killers and zombies are my fear factor.

My house is about 75% zombie-proof, I really need to make it 100% zombie proof.

When I lived in residence dorms in Uni, I had a psychopathic killer escape plan for most areas, the shower was always a concern, especially as I ran late at night and then had a shower.



:)

[Bell]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?

Just hide behind MdC. If something bad happens, it will happen to him first.

[Cainkane1]

Ghosts represent dangerous presences. When I watched "In Cold Blood" it the part where they were breaking into the Clutters house scared me more than any ghost movie I could ever think about watching. The bad guys weren't ghosts but ghost represent dangerous presences in our homes and elsewhere.

[JoeBentley]

Well that's all any good horror is, a base, raw emotional fear distilled down to it's most basic level and then replaced with a metaphorical representation, an archetype, something thematically related to the base fear without being it exactly so we can process it in an entertaining and/or interesting way.

As you say the archetype "Ghost" in fiction is a base fear on the intruder in our homes, our inner sanctums where we're supposed to be safe.

The "Vampire" is all wrapped up sexuality. The "Zombie" has been used to represent various forms of mindless following (Communism, Consumerism, etc.) The "Frankenstein" represents the fear that our creations will turn on us. The "Werewolf" is the fear of uncontrollable dark inner sides. The "Slasher" is a fear of the the "dangerous stranger." The list goes on and on.

[RayG]

As a Canadian kid growing up in the sixties, my biggest fear was Russia and the States tossing nuclear missiles at each other. Man, I used to have horrible dreams where the sky was filled with either planes dropping bombs, or missiles heading to their impact point.

I was a huge monster lover as a kid. The old monsters especially... Frankenstein, the Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and that freaky thing from The Forbidden Planet.

Ghosts paled in comparison, and I've never given them the time of day, or night.

The only thing that scares me these days are humans and parenthood. Ghosts won't stick a knife in you, but some demented human might.

RayG

[EHocking]

I had just finished watching the exorcist one night went out for a smoke and a white specter floated past me - once the mostly rational side of my mind re-established itself I realized it was a white plastic shopping bag caught on the wind lolAh, I see your problem here - you have your movies mixed up.

American Beauty. Not The Exorcist.

[23_Tauri]

Like many here (with the exception of the Curmudgeonly Old Git ;) ) I get very afraid after watching horror films, despite knowing "it's just a movie on the telly". I find them terrifying. I too make my way to bed with my back against the wall and my heart in my mouth. But I'm not afraid of the dark, or silence, or being outside at night-time. Perhaps this is because I grew up in the countryside.

[xtifr]

Please note that you can be scared by something in a movie that is impossible or even insanely implausible, even if the paranormal isn't involved.

Case in point: at a science fiction convention, while seriously sleep-deprived and somewhat intoxicated, I watched a movie called Death Race 2000, a very silly, campy movie about people driving around and competing to kill pedestrians for points. The movie ended at about 4AM, and I had to walk back across two parking lots and one street to get to my hotel. Every time I heard a car, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Intellectually, I knew I was in no danger, but after an hour and a half of associating "car engine noise" with "someone's going to die", my subconscious was harder to convince.

[KateHL]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.

[Weak Kitten]

No - and I have a standing offer to spend the night in any haunted house as long as I can bring in weapons of choice and use them if I am assaulted/threatened in any way without threat of lawsuit or arrest. (this is to remove any human element that might game things).

Oh oh, I HAD that dream! It was a blast!

It started out as a basic "haunted house" dream, then I got pissed off and went for an axe. It turned out that the ghosts were actually people in the walls so I started hacking through the walls trying to get at them. It was really fun and I was bummed when I had to wake up.

[Tatyana]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.


Simple solutions
- a bucket
- a bed pan
- a she wee and a bottle
- adult diapers

:p

[Tatyana]

I thought of another fear that I have on occasion.

Sharks.

I must admit I haven't ventured as far as I would have liked to when snorkling as I was snorkling by myself and thought of shark attacks even though I was swimming in an area that has been shark-fished out.

[xtifr]

I thought of another fear that I have on occasion.

Sharks.

I assume you know that this threat is not very realistic, even though sharks are real.

I want to emphasize this point, as I did with my earlier post about automobiles, because I'm worried that some ghosts-woo scammer will come along and point to this thread as evidence that skeptics aren't as doubting as they claim, because they can be scared by a scary movie.

Of course, in a sense, being scared of ghosts is more like being scared of sharks in your bathtub than it is like being scared of sharks at the ocean. But practically speaking, your actual chance of being attacked by sharks at the ocean is not that much different from your chance of finding them in your bathtub. Nevertheless, the fear can be real, at a gut level, no matter how ridiculous your conscious mind knows the fear to be.

[Tatyana]

I assume you know that this threat is not very realistic, even though sharks are real.

I want to emphasize this point, as I did with my earlier post about automobiles, because I'm worried that some ghosts-woo scammer will come along and point to this thread as evidence that skeptics aren't as doubting as they claim, because they can be scared by a scary movie.

Of course, in a sense, being scared of ghosts is more like being scared of sharks in your bathtub than it is like being scared of sharks at the ocean. But practically speaking, your actual chance of being attacked by sharks at the ocean is not that much different from your chance of finding them in your bathtub. Nevertheless, the fear can be real, at a gut level, no matter how ridiculous your conscious mind knows the fear to be.


Exactly, and I was off an island in Thailand and there were no sharks.

Even if there had been sharks, the chances of being attacked by a shark is virtually nil.

However, I still swam as fast as I could to the shore and cursed the fact I didn't have fins.

:D

[Halfcentaur]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.

You need a chamber pot. But don't get an antique chamber pot, it could be haunted.

[Halfcentaur]

I thought of another fear that I have on occasion.

Sharks.

I must admit I haven't ventured as far as I would have liked to when snorkling as I was snorkling by myself and thought of shark attacks even though I was swimming in an area that has been shark-fished out.

When i was around 6 or 7 I was the last person left swimming in a massive simulated wave pool at our local water park. I suddenly had the fear that some bastard who was evil and wealthy could feasible put a man eating shark into this giant swimming pool in an effort to wreak havoc and chaos. I knew this was insane, but JUST IN CASE I swam as hard as I could for a few hundred feet in a complete panic.

I also can't stand large deep bodies of freshwater. Something about the lack of visibility, the sense of massive space beneath me, and the idea of ancient primordial life forms just makes me keep my toes out of the water.

[Halfcentaur]

I assume you know that this threat is not very realistic, even though sharks are real.

I want to emphasize this point, as I did with my earlier post about automobiles, because I'm worried that some ghosts-woo scammer will come along and point to this thread as evidence that skeptics aren't as doubting as they claim, because they can be scared by a scary movie.

Of course, in a sense, being scared of ghosts is more like being scared of sharks in your bathtub than it is like being scared of sharks at the ocean. But practically speaking, your actual chance of being attacked by sharks at the ocean is not that much different from your chance of finding them in your bathtub. Nevertheless, the fear can be real, at a gut level, no matter how ridiculous your conscious mind knows the fear to be.I think the origin of my irrational fears are nothing more than whimsical entertainment to keep life slightly strange.

[xtifr]

It's funny, I helped my kids use logic to deal with nightmares when they were little and they never had many, I think as a result.

When my brother's six-year-old daughter sneaked out of her room to watch a scary movie one night, she ended up having nightmares for several days afterwards, of the waking-up-screaming type. He tried logic, but that didn't seem to help, so then he let her play a video game where she got to run around killing monsters. The next morning she announced, "daddy, I dreamed about monsters and I beat them all up!" And the waking-up-screaming didn't reappear.

Yet people claim that video games are bad for kids. Pshah! :D

[ExMinister]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.

So is your fear of the dark a ghost fear or more of a human-breaking-in-the-house kind of fear?

Just wondering because my oldest son is free of boogeyman and ghost type fears but he still can't stand sleeping in a dark room. When I ask him he says he just hates the dark. He has told me he's afraid of someone breaking in and he hates the idea that if something happened he wouldn't be able to see.

[Polaris]

My subconscious is afraid of ghosts, and demons and aliens and zombies... Yet it is strangely allured to female vampires. :blush:

Overrated. They give terrible head.

[lionking]

I thought of another fear that I have on occasion.

Sharks.

I must admit I haven't ventured as far as I would have liked to when snorkling as I was snorkling by myself and thought of shark attacks even though I was swimming in an area that has been shark-fished out.

True story, I used to compete in surf races at Bondi and after rounding the buoys, I used fear of sharks to propel me to shore. I won the Surf Club championship one year. ;)

[Zax63]

Overrated. They give terrible head.

Yes, but the necking is unbelievable. ;)

As a child I was sacred by a monster in an episode of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea. 40+ years later I still follow certain anti-monster behavior patterns I developed from that. I can override them at need but that is my default behavior.

I enjoy scary movies but when I know something too intense is about to happen I'll often mute the sound or play it in slow motion. Once the surprise is over I can rewind and watch it normally.

[I Ratant]

Please note that you can be scared by something in a movie that is impossible or even insanely implausible, even if the paranormal isn't involved.
.
Roger that!
I saw the original "Alien" knowing nothing about what it was about. LOVED it!
A gal sitting close by almost fainted during one of the scenes..:)
.


Case in point: at a science fiction convention, while seriously sleep-deprived and somewhat intoxicated, I watched a movie called Death Race 2000, a very silly, campy movie about people driving around and competing to kill pedestrians for points. The movie ended at about 4AM, and I had to walk back across two parking lots and one street to get to my hotel. Every time I heard a car, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Intellectually, I knew I was in no danger, but after an hour and a half of associating "car engine noise" with "someone's going to die", my subconscious was harder to convince.
.
I love that movie! Sly Stallone's first major exposure! His perpetual sneer is hilarious. As is when he drives behind the wall the spectators are watching from, and knocks them all over the wall... :D

[I Ratant]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.
.
And you think the axe-wielder is -downstairs-???!!!!!:jaw-dropp

[I Ratant]

Yes, but the necking is unbelievable. ;)

As a child I was sacred by a monster in an episode of Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea. 40+ years later I still follow certain anti-monster behavior patterns I developed from that. I can override them at need but that is my default behavior.

I enjoy scary movies but when I know something too intense is about to happen I'll often mute the sound or play it in slow motion. Once the surprise is over I can rewind and watch it normally.
.
The "scary" movies of today are too gruesome for me. I don't need to see all that realism in the slaughters.

[Max_mang]

I also have a standing offer to spend the night in houses people claim are haunted, but japanese horror movies make even me think scary thoughts. The trailer alone for 'Ju-on' creeped me out for weeks. At one point, a women gets attacked by a demon in bed from under the blankets. That's supposed to be a safe place!

[GenghisKhan]

Yes, very. I cannot watch a movie that is even remotely scary. I can watch Boondock Saints even though it is rather gory, but even ET frightened me as a child (I haven't watched it since) due to him popping out of the bushes or some such at one point.

Since I no longer watch scary movies I am not nearly as afraid of the dark, but sometimes when my imagination kicks into full gear I find myself doing ridiculous things like leaping off the bed so nothing can grab my ankles, and practically ripping the shower curtains off to make sure there are no murders in there. (I have never even seen Psycho or any movie that has a murderer in the shower, but I heard the scene described once.) I also can not sleep with my feet uncovered, for fear of somebody/thing attacking them.

I also have a masochistic love for horror books. Stephen King and H.P. Lovecraft are two of my favorite authors. I recently read "House of Leaves" and for about a week after was freaked out about my apartment.

I guess you can't force that primal fear part of your brain to listen to the logical part of your brain or something.

ETA: Also, rather recently I was housesitting for some family friends. I came home from work one day to find a strobe light in one of the kid's rooms on. I tried to tell myself it was something easily explained, but common sense left me that day and I immediately called my mom so a killer would be more hesitant to murder me, since I had a "witness". Turns out one of the neighbor's kids turned it on when they came over to borrow something while I was away. I knew that their neighbors had keys to the house but that thought did not even grace my adrenaline-filled mind.

Crazy stuff, I can't say I blame people for seeing UFOs and whatnot, fear is a strong emotion.

[iknownothing]

Very. I would not be able to live alone without at least a pet. I can justify why a dog could logically make me less afraid, but really even a cat helps. I guess I feel like having some other living creature around keeps the ghosts away?

[quarky]

Any of you old farts remember a 3d movie from the early 60's called "13 ghosts"?

It was hilarious, because you had to be warned when a ghost was about to appear so that you'd know when to put the special 3d glasses on. It was impossible to get scared in that format. (Plus, the movie pretty much sucked.)

I am scared of the Marquis, however. i can't imagine what its like living with someone like him.
I mean that in a good way, I guess.

[Stray Cat]

Very. I would not be able to live alone without at least a pet. I can justify why a dog could logically make me less afraid, but really even a cat helps. I guess I feel like having some other living creature around keeps the ghosts away?
Maybe get yourself a sceptic?

No ghosts ever appear while there's a sceptic around.

[JeanFromBNA]

When hinges creak in doorless chambers, when strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker, where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror With ghoulish delight.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz1W_omigwg

[Mark6]

If I ever saw something that looked like a ghost, I probably would be startled, but not scared.

Best take I ever saw on this topic is in Pier Anthony's fantasy novel "A Spell for Chameleon":

Magician Trent explains to Bink the basics of standing guard in a haunted castle. "If you see something that looks like a ghost, stab it with your sword. If sword goes through without resistance, you can relax because it is a ghost, and it can not hurt you. And if it is not a ghost, then a bold stab with a sword will go a long way to making it into one."

[ExMinister]

Maybe get yourself a sceptic?

No ghosts ever appear while there's a sceptic around.

:D

[Hokulele Mom]

Ask Hokulele about "How the Grinch stole Christmas" movie or the very first Star War movie. She is the girl who laughed at me going through a thousand-year old cemetary in Japan at night. It doesn't matter if your head knows there is no such thing as a ghost when your heart doesn't believe that.

H Mom

[Halfcentaur]

Very. I would not be able to live alone without at least a pet. I can justify why a dog could logically make me less afraid, but really even a cat helps. I guess I feel like having some other living creature around keeps the ghosts away?

The first time I had sleep paralysis I was around 14 years old. I thought a real demon had come into my room and was trying to psychically smother me into oblivion which I fought through force of will alone.

After I fought my way out of bed I ran into the living room and gathered all my dogs to surround me before finally falling back asleep.

[satakas]

even if you really-really don't believe in ghosts, there is nothing wrong in being afraid on "ghostly" situations. it is just an evolutionary thing - exaggerated fear helped your ancestors to survive and if you live today and sometimes feel yourself spooked out (especially in dark places, where predators tend to lurk around) even if you don't see anybody, it just means, that you're a survivor.

it has nothing to do with your skeptical mind. today it may be an irrational fear of a non-existent ghost but tomorrow it may save your life from a hungry tiger, that just escaped from a circus.

[Andrew Wiggin]

I don't believe in ghosts and I'm not scared by them. I do however have a normal startle reflex and I'm just as vulnerable to pareidolia as the next guy, so I'm vulnerable to the sort of stimuli that the credulous would call 'ghosts'.

[Andrew Wiggin]

If I ever saw something that looked like a ghost, I probably would be startled, but not scared.

Best take I ever saw on this topic is in Pier Anthony's fantasy novel "A Spell for Chameleon":

Magician Trent explains to Bink the basics of standing guard in a haunted castle. "If you see something that looks like a ghost, stab it with your sword. If sword goes through without resistance, you can relax because it is a ghost, and it can not hurt you. And if it is not a ghost, then a bold stab with a sword will go a long way to making it into one."

Seems to me that later on Bink did get some interaction with a ghost that potentially could have been harmful. It was just that while normally one would just walk away from a ghost, preventing it from posessing one's body, he was trapped by a dragon and in a position where he could not move. Thus the ghost was able to slowly move up to him and into him. Luckily, the guy turned out to be a decent fella.

[Halfcentaur]

One of the scariest things I heard as a child in the 80s was on an episode of Oprah, I believe her Halloween day episode around 1988. A woman claimed her house was haunted, and one day her child was in the bathroom sitting upon the toilet when an invisible entity began punching them in the head and face repeatedly.

I thought ghosts couldn't hurt you physically, so this was a massive shift in what I feared from such entities. I still get dreams based on that long ago episode of Oprah.

[ExMinister]

One of the scariest things I heard as a child in the 80s was on an episode of Oprah, I believe her Halloween day episode around 1988. A woman claimed her house was haunted, and one day her child was in the bathroom sitting upon the toilet when an invisible entity began punching them in the head and face repeatedly.

I thought ghosts couldn't hurt you physically, so this was a massive shift in what I feared from such entities. I still get dreams based on that long ago episode of Oprah.

My first thought is what a crazy cover for child abuse...But then, not sure why the woman would go on Oprah to talk about it. (?)

When I was young I somehow came to believe that yawning lets evil spirits in to possess you. I mostly only thought about it while lying in bed at night. To this day if I yawn at night in the dark I still tend to cover my mouth.

[EdipisReks]

i am able to separate fantasy from reality, so no.

[HansMustermann]

TBH, I can't think of any case where I thought there was a ghost around. If I think I see something moving in the dark, or weird noises, I tend to think stuff like "is there someone in the house?" or even more likely, stuff like, "does that sound like water dripping?", than "is there a ghost in the house?"

Mind you, I'm not saying I'm Mr Fearless or anything. It's just that if it comes to speculate about something being horribly wrong and about to get worse, I tend to come up with something that can actually be a problem. A burglar can be a big problem. A broken pipe can be almost as big a problem. But a ghost? Not so much.

I mean, even if the people who tend to see them are right (and I don't think so), ghosts are basically described as harmless.

[Buckaroo]

When hinges creak in doorless chambers, when strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls, whenever candlelights flicker, where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present, practicing their terror With ghoulish delight.


You beat me to it. :)

BIG Haunted Mansion fan here.

[JeanFromBNA]

You beat me to it. :)

BIG Haunted Mansion fan here.

;)

[xtifr]

Suspension of disbelief is an important element for enjoying fiction. However, there's an important distinction between suspending your disbelief and dropping it entirely. Skeptics are perfectly able to do the former without doing the latter. Which is why we can still enjoy a good, scary story without actually believing in ghosts. And, in fact, why we can enjoy fiction at all! :)

[quarky]

Caspar, the friendly ghost, was pretty scary. I don't know why i found him to be extra creepy. Whereas, Wendy, the friendly witch, was ok. Misogyny on my part? Wendy was cute. Cuter than Lil' Lotta. Also, Richie Rich, though not a ghost per se', was the first cartoon hero that i wished to become a ghost. And Archie, for that matter.

Ultra-bland morality, disguised as comic relief...very scary stuff.
And even that pablum was controversial for the moral right.

Though I digress, and have drifted.
As i choose to live "off the beaten track", where all manner of things go bump in the dark, and the monsters under the bed have been replaced with brown recluse spiders and copperhead snakes shedding their skin, fear of ghosts would be palliative.

[Stomatopoda]

on the topic of fear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcrJ2HFKogs

[xjx388]

When I was about 7, I saw The Exorcist for the first time while visiting family in
Texas. That movie scared the **** out of my catholic kid's mind. When we went back home to California, I tried to fall asleep the first night. Imagine my horror when my bed started shaking! Turns out it was just a little tremor but my parents couldn't convince me of that. I was being possessed dammit!

I have not seen The Exorcist since then and when I come across pictures of
Linda Blair in makeup, I startle like an infant. This despite the fact that I'm no longer Catholic, don't believe in the Devil and not really scared of anything supernatural.

[quarky]

Fear of Linda Blair in makeup is a legitimate issue.
Or Tammy Faye Baker, for that matter.

[Cainkane1]

ghosts, despite that they don't believe in said ghosts? I am, usually after I see a horror movie. It usually lasts up to nearly a year (I shouldn't be allowed to watch scary movies). And it only happens at night with no lights on. Sometimes I feel that I'm utterly crazy. When I'm scared of ghosts, I curl up in a ball and I say, "physics, physics, physics" over and over.

Anyone else?
I think people are afraid of so called haunted houses because large empty spaces in our minds ougt to be occupied and we instinctively fear what our ancestors feared about large empty spaces. Nothing kept predatory humans and animals out of caves for instance.

[tsig]

Fear of Linda Blair in makeup is a legitimate issue.
Or Tammy Faye Baker, for that matter.

Tammy Faye with crocodile tears streaking her makeup, the blood runs cold.

Then she opens her mouth. Old Ones eat me now!

[Traveler Steve]

You beat me to it. :)

BIG Haunted Mansion fan here.

I've been going to Disney World every year for a very long time, absolutely love HM. I admit that the Bride does give me chills. One Halloween I was down there with friends and dressed as the Gravedigger for the Party they run. Fun stuff!

Ghosts et. al don't (and didn't) get to me, but I admit when I was a kid I got pretty freaked out swimming in any public pool. I always had the fear that "they" (not sure who) would open the grate at the bottom and release pirana or sharks or somesuch.

[aggle-rithm]

I don't really get afraid of ghosts. When I'm afraid in the dark of night, it's my own mind I'm scared of. It's turned on me a few times, and I don't really trust it.

[Resume]

I don't really get afraid of ghosts. When I'm afraid in the dark of night, it's my own mind I'm scared of. It's turned on me a few times, and I don't really trust it.

"There are no haunted houses, just haunted people."

I don't know who said that, but I think it works.

[luchog]

I'm a diehard atheist, skeptic, and rationalist.

I'm definitely the latter two; though not the first. I absolutely do not believe in ghosts of any sort, and never have. Even as a kid; and horror movies never scared me, they just made me laugh (except Poltergeist, that frightened me pretty good at the time). I am definitely not afraid of ghosts.

Unless they're spider ghosts. Spiders scare the crap out of me.


And I spend an inordinate amount of time mentally preparing zombie defense strategies for rooms and buildings I'm in.
Well, that's just prudent. Any reasonable person would do the same. In fact, that's number three on my list of necessities for any house I buy. 1) Must have a yard suitable for growing things. 2) Must have a gas range in the kitchen, or have hookups so I can easily install one. 3) Must be easily defended against zombies.

[Xulld]

Yeah, I think this stems from my darkphobia. I won't even leave my bedroom at night because the hallway is dark and scary. I need some therapy so maybe some day I will be free from the fear. It's not fun to hold your pee in for several hours until the sun rises.

About once a week I hear a noise downstairs and try to wake up the Marquis to make sure there's not an axe-wielding madman waiting to chop my head off.

Maybe a flashlight would help?

I am kind of a stick in the mud type, I am not immune to fear of the dark, or random imaginary flashes of concern, but am not apt to being afraid of the dark to the point of it effecting my behaviors. My advice, get a flash light, and go pee!

Ghosts, vamps, run of the mill horror movies never did it for me. ME? I was afraid of movies like JAWS, or Deep Star Six.

When I was a little kid I would see nothing in the pool, but still be afraid to jump in alone lol. I loved swimming, and before that dam pair of movies I was fine with swimming alone, but not after!!!!

For me it was becuase there really do exist monsters in the sea, and maybe a little bit of the lizard brain WAAAAY in the back was still saying, WATER IS DANGEROUS DUDE!

[CORed]

I had just finished watching the exorcist one night went out for a smoke and a white specter floated past me - once the mostly rational side of my mind re-established itself I realized it was a white plastic shopping bag caught on the wind lol

I remember when I saw "The Exorcist" when it first came out. I was pretty scared until about halfway through, when my willing suspension of disbelief overloaded and I thought, "Come on, give me a break!".

[I Ratant]

Tammy Faye with crocodile tears streaking her makeup, the blood runs cold.

Then she opens her mouth. Old Ones eat me now!
.
Get the tee-shirt!

[elipse]

Ditto.

same here. Crazy man with ax/gun/grudge= create plan to get out of house while my roommate is being killed. Try to think what would be the best weapon in my bedroom (there's really nothing. Like, nothing.)
ghost/zombie/guy who lives in dreams= no thoughts at all post-movie

Frankly, I don't think this makes me really that much more rational. Getting robbed might be a reasonable fear, but the idea of a killer in a ski mask is almost as unreasonable as a fear in ghosts. My mind can relax at impossibilities, but, apparently, not improbabilities.

[BStrong]

Ghosts?

I ain't afraid of no ghosts.

I do have a friend who is afraid of ghosts, and claims to have seen ghosts more than once.

[elipse]

If I ever saw something that looked like a ghost, I probably would be startled, but not scared.



That's the best way to describe what horror movies actually do. Gross, gorey movies are different, but the "don't go up the stairs" type movies really are in it to startle you.

I have no problem with those movies. I can't stand movies that set up a horrifying scenario and then show you vividly what's going on. Bleargh.

The shining? Awesome and creepy, but no nightmares. Misery? Nope, I will never watch that. I do not need to do that to myself.

[MetalSeagull]

I looked at someone's ghost photos yesterday. They were just pictures of trees, shadows, and dappled sunlight reflected off windows. But he saw ghosts everywhere. He's a nice guy but completely delusional.

If only horror movies depicted ghosts like that, I could stand to see them. I like comedy and absurdism.

[Jre1983]

Less often than ghosts, it's alien abduction for me, and usually only after I've watched some overly credulous "documentary" or watched a movie involving it, or early x-files. Aliens are like the only thing I can't totally convince myself are crap, even if all the ufology stuff I've seen is garbage. But sometimes ghosts.

[Stomatopoda]

Just remember to sketch out Pythagorean Theorem, using any available implements, so the aliens won't mistake you for livestock.

[Jre1983]

I find that if you sigh instead if flinching when probed, they don't come back.

[tsig]

Just remember to sketch out Pythagorean Theorem, using any available implements, so the aliens won't mistake you for livestock.

Unless they're brain sucking aliens looking for intelligent life.

[Soapy Sam]

I'm scared when alone in the dark- but, oddly, it's only when I'm indoors. I've been alone in the absolute dark underground in caves and loved it.
I have no idea why I get spooked . I don't believe in ghosts at all, but the fear is still there. It just seems to be how humans are wired. So we look for something spooky- and of course we find it.
It's a wholly different fear from fear of Ebola or nuclear war or lurkers in the dark.
Irrationality is real. Ghosts ain't. (Which I find kind of sad, but there it is.)

[Foolmewunz]

I don't enjoy suspense movies - I just don't like being scared/manipulated like that and even though I recognize that they're just the product of talented film-makers doing their thing (and sometimes the product of untalented hacks doing their thing), a well-built suspense/horror scene can really get to me. But it ends there. I leave the cinema or turn off the DVD and it doesn't stay with me.

Now, books on the other hand.... I can recall sleeping with a light on for about a week when I was about twelve... Curse you, H.P. Lovecraft! Scared the crap out of me.

But the worst was when I was about 19 or 20. I fell for the conceit of The Amityville Horror and believed the foreword - that it was a true story. Lights on? Hell, I didn't sleep the night I read it. I kept reading and kept looking out the window hoping the sun had come up. I fell asleep about ten a.m. Someone later that day told me that it was not non-fiction and I just erased the fear from my mind. Snap! Just like that! But I still won't buy/read horror.