BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Paranormal Nyctophobia

Nyctophobia is the fear of the dark or of the night.

Did you ever have this fear? Do you still have it?

What did you do to overcome it?

Doesn't every child at some time? Some of us never outgrow it too!
My most memorable nyctophobia moments are from when I stayed each summer at my grandparent's home, a big old redbrick manse with those brass push button lightswitches. The one at the top of the stairs didn't work so when I would go up to bed, I would have to turn off the lights at the foot of the stairs. (parsimonious and parson are not unrelated... wouldn't dare to leave the light burning in the stair!) It is a wonder I didn't have an Olympic career in the dash or hurdles because I booked it up those stairs in the absolute dark. My vestigal tail was curled right between my legs- I could feel whatever was behind me right on my butt! Scarey, scarey. I can get moments of that same depth of fear when in a place where I can't see what's behind me, but never to the same purity of terror.

"oh the ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, and things that go bump in the dark..." Trishh

Oh, yes. Mine was related to the monster under my bed. The one that would grab the ankles of little children who tried to get up at night without permission and then drag them into the abyss below the house. (Thank you, oh sisters dear, for this wonderful phobia.) I had problems with this even into my early teens.

Under the bed! Oh my, I forgot about how awful that was. If you had to pee in the middle of the night you'd try to hold as long as you could then when you couldn't wait a minute longer, LEAP as far out from the bed as possible!

I was terrified about that gap under my bed too, but it was a real man I was afraid of. I do recall the day when I was maybe 10 trying to fish something out from under the bed and realizing that I couldn't fit under there... how silly to think a big person could! Thank goodness I didn't have a sibling who imbued the under the bed guy with super skinny shrinking powers! T

Dont for get the closet monster in you brother-sisters closet that only they could control!! my cosin told me if i got into her closet the monster would take my voice and make me a slave to her if i even touched the closet door!!! and she was mean!!!

and i like to talk!!! I always wondered where my monster was she liked my types and played them but never put them up!!! i got riped off!!! lol

The monster under my bed was more than enough for me. If I'd had a closet monster too, I'd have to have had some therapy. Older siblings (mine are significantly older) can be very cruel.

My son has been pretty good about the monsters in the dark issue. Except, thanks to a horrid care-giver who thought it was cute to tell little ones that there was a monster in the potty that ate all the poo, we have a potty monster issue to deal with. All the lights in the house have to be on for him to use the bathroom at night, no matter what we tell him.

Ah...the oft-misquoted quotation....

Sorry to bring this up again Trishh, but is this the one you mean...?

Scottish Prayer


Traditional

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!

I have the one child in the world who is NOT afraid of the dark!

We used to leave all the lights off in the downstairs at night thinking Seth would never go down there by himself (because of course it was too scary down in the dark basement all alone) HA! HA! and HA!

He was hiding under his Dad's office desk giggling when I finally found him. And he was only 2!

AAAAUUUUUggghhhhh!!!!! (For you newer people to the forums, y'all have not been through all of Seth's adventures with me, let's just say I am the one usually scared to death.) <img src="/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

I was never scared of the dark persa. I was scared of my cousins closet day or night (she put her brothers battery opperated robot that says beware im going to get you and lite up light ahaunted house in under a light blanket in her closet)... as far as the potty monster try putting one of thore drop in thingys that change the color of the water and say that it is a monster gaurd!!! and if you use them take it out and say that the monsters gone because the water changed!!