To be scared of monsters?

[ImLadybird]

So when I was little I was terrified of monsters that lived under my bed, kind of like the troll in the Three Billy Goats fairy tale. I used to jump as far away as I could when getting out so they wouldn't grab my ankles.
As an adult I've always had a divan bed with draws and I'd forgotten all about it but I recently moved house and got a new bed with a regular frame and a huge 60cm gap underneath - a breading ground for loads of monsters. This stupid irrational fear has resurfaced and I can't sit on the edge of the bed or let my feet dangle. It's ridiculous. I try to force myself but I get all panicky inside.
Do any of you sane MNers still have any childhood fears?

I couldn't have a bed like that either. Wardrobe open doesn't bother me though, it's rammed so full of shit that it wouldn't fit a monster if they tried.

Happy yes but what about Tremors? What will you do when they come up from the ground? Are there enough rocks/solid things to jump on?

Oh No!

I hadn't even thought about that Fringe.

I suppose there's the wardrobe. And Mr Flappy . . .

I'm still scared of mirrors because I'm worried that I'll see a murderer standing behind me.

I can't recall being scared of monsters but I remember being terrified of snakes coming into the house.
I get bothered about snakes coming up the toilet (when I'm using it) in the dark
But I'm fairly convinced that if a mass murderer comes into your bedroom in the early hours you can save yourself by hiding under the duvet - because of course it's bullet-proof, stab-proof, and can't be removed from the bed if you're under it Hell, they probably wouldn't even think to check under it....

I avoid footpaths and lonely woods and luckily I don't have much call for using them. Obviously I've read too many books about mad axe-men/monsters and serial killers and I just feel that they may be lurking, ready to attack me.
I think I've seen a dark hole in a wall (no, not a glory hole!) at a motorway service station in which you're meant to put your hand (after inserting money, I assume - I've never got close enough to find out) - it's meant to be mystic or something, perhaps it tells your fortune, who knows? The thought of putting my hand in something dark and mysterious like that frightens me. Silly, isn't it?

lifts I have always hated them... I managed to avoid them when I had to use a buggy/pram and made my OH go in them while I went up the escalators and met him at the top, I think it stems from my claustrophobia I have always had it for as long as I can remember.. I always get this thought that it will break down and i'll be stuck in there unable to breathe

Oh no. Having watched Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I would never put my hand in a dark hole. Never ever.

With you there Ladybird!

I blame my brother for me still thinking about this as an adult. When I was about 6 I confessed my fear to him so from then on he would occasionally hide under the bed and grab my ankles.

Monsters under the bed, yes.
Monsters in the wardrobe, yes.
Sharks in the sea, yes (even in very shallow waters).
Crocodiles in pools, yes.
Monsters on stairs/landing when it's dark, yes.
Ghosts, yes.
Witches in woods, yes.

Also, I can't look in the mirror if it's nearly midnight in case a demon pulls me through. (I have no idea where that fear came from).

I'm nearly 40 ffs.

I won't look out of the windows at night in case I see a witch.

I don't believe in witches by the way, it's a totally irrational fear. Obviously I would look out of the window if I had to, but it's something I try to avoid.

I'm also afraid that there might be sharks in the sea.

I'm afraid of the thing which lurks on the stairs waiting for me to go to the loo in the night with the lights out (because i was too half asleep to put them on).

It peers up the stairs and through the banisters at me, waiting for the flush so that i won't hear it come up behind me on the way back to the bedroom.

Arrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhhh.

A pp mentioned being pregnant and how much more often you have to do a late night pee trip. Strangely i'm never nervous about going about in the dark when i'm pregnant. Never worked out why.

Fiddlefigs - the first time I watched Jaws I was quite young, under 10 and had a massive imagination.

My mum regretted the decision to let me watch it in the many nights that followed when I was convinced Jaws was under my bed waiting for my feet. Convinced. Even though I knew it was ludicrous and it couldn't possibly happen, I knew he actually was there.

Remember the properly deep swimming pools? He lurked in the deep end corners of those too. Possibly why my swimming time ended up being so impressive. We had to dive in the deep end and swim for my life! Obviously didn't tell the PE teacher that in case she thought I was a loon.

As well as most of these I can't sleep with my back to the edge of the bed, when I was younger it was early hours of the morning and I remember telling myself it's stupid to think someone's going to grab my foot so I let it out then an ice cold hand grabbed my ankle fast forward 20 years my daughter tells me when she was in my room sitting on my bed when she felt a hand grab her ankle this came after I changed my bed to one with a gap .x.x

youallpissmeoff I used to think the same too at the swimming pool!!!

No legs out, no arms out and have to have a cover over me no matter how hot and uncomfy I am. The only part of the human body that is safe from Underbed Monstor Attack is the head - presumably because they find us as ugly as we think they are, and can't bear to look at us (boak).

Yep, this is me too. I also can't sleep with the curtains or the bedroom door open, and if I have to get up to go to the loo in the middle of the night, I can't look down the stairs (bathroom door is at the top) because that's where the monsters gather to plan how they're going to get under the bed.

There has to be some evolutionary basis for this, scared of dangerous creatures lurking in the dark.

Interesting theory re evolutionary basis. I've decided this fear of monsters living under my bed isn't irrational at all so until I can buy a new bed without a gap, I'm just going to have to run and jump. It's kept me alive this long - I should give it the credit it's due. I might just get myself some of that spray too, just to be sure.

I can't look down the stairs (bathroom door is at the top) because that's where the monsters gather to plan how they're going to get under the bed.

I knew I heard whispered plotting . . .

I used to be scared of most of these when I was younger.
I also remember my aunty got me and my sister a small China doll each when we were younger,and for some reason we were terrified that the dolls were going to murder us while we slept.so we ended up shoving the dolls into my sister's long hockey socks and tying the ends of the socks so the dolls couldn't escape.they lived in those socks in the back of a drawer for ages.
now I'm older I don't get scared of anything for some reason.I'm always watching horror films and paranormal programmes to try to get myself scared but it just doesn't work.....

I have heard of a young man who would flush the loo, put the lid down quickly, then run out at top speed so that the loonies down the loo didn't get him.