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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To still believe in monsters?

64 replies

GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 18:56

I'm 27 and very gullible.

When I was in year 7, someone told me that the Paranormal Activity films were real footage. I believed them.

From the age of 12 until about the age of 25, I had an intense fear of zombies and I was convinced that COVID was going to turn into a zombie virus. I rarely left my house because of how convinced of this I was.

I can't sleep without my bedroom light on. Night lights don't work to reduce my fear. If I have my bedroom door open, I can cope with sleeping with the landing light on.

I don't know why I'm so convinced that monsters are real, but last night I tried sleeping with my light off and nearly had an anxiety attack because I swear I saw shadows near my door.

I feel absolutely ridiculous for still being scared of monsters and for still believing in them, and I feel unreasonable because I'm 27 and surely I should be over this by now?

Please don't be mean, I already feel stupid enough for still having these fears 😅

OP posts:
CryOverSpilledIrnBru · 22/10/2025 20:10

Could you be autistic @GarlicBreadStan ? What you said about taking things literally made me think of this.

Original poster
GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 20:15

CryOverSpilledIrnBru · 22/10/2025 20:10

Could you be autistic @GarlicBreadStan ? What you said about taking things literally made me think of this.

I am awaiting an assessment for autism. I just didn't want to put that in the post in case people questioned why I'd put it in 😅

OP posts:
flapjackfairy · 22/10/2025 20:21

GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 19:03

Thank you 😭 I've had so many people laugh at me when I've told them that I don't tell anyone anymore (apart from Mumsnet, apparently, lol). If it's dark outside I can't even wear headphones in case a zombie runs up behind me and I don't hear it. My fear of zombies isn't anywhere near as bad as it used to be (due to exposure therapy) but it took me until this year to Google if a zombie virus would ever be possible

Show quote history

I am wondering where you found the zombies to take part in the exposure therapy !
Honestly lots of us have irrational fears so be kind to yourself. .

Original poster
GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 20:24

flapjackfairy · 22/10/2025 20:21

I am wondering where you found the zombies to take part in the exposure therapy !
Honestly lots of us have irrational fears so be kind to yourself. .

Show quote history

TV shows, watching my partner play zombie games, etc :)

OP posts:
NarnianQueen · 22/10/2025 20:46

A strong imagination can be great if you’re a writer or a film maker - but it can also be a disadvantage when it comes to things like sleeping alone and hearing a noise!

Try to avoid scary films and stories and watch something funny before bed ❤️

flapjackfairy · 22/10/2025 21:43

GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 20:24

TV shows, watching my partner play zombie games, etc :)

Show quote history

sorry that was my pathetic attempt at humour.

DoYouReally · 22/10/2025 21:57

Can you use logic & facts to help you?

Logic:

  1. You have been alive about 10,000 days.
  2. Even if they did exist, in that time, a monster has never ever came anywhere near you.
  3. The only monsters/zombies you have encountered are in films or computer games - never in real life
  4. Past performance is the greatest predictor of future performance.
  5. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that you are anything but save for the next 10,000 days, like you were for the last 10,000.
Original poster
GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 22:34

flapjackfairy · 22/10/2025 21:43

sorry that was my pathetic attempt at humour.

Show quote history

Ah! Don't worry - I'm not the best at picking up on humour, so it's probably more because of me than you 😂

OP posts:
SnugglyJumpersMakeItBetter · 22/10/2025 22:46

Get a couple of house rabbits! Seriously, I used to have a pair of bunnies and when the first died I brought his brother into my room so he wouldn't get too lonely out in the shed. He was incredibly fierce and would growl/scrabble at anything that got in his space without his express permission. He was death to all monsters.

Also, rabbits are awesome.

freedo · 22/10/2025 22:59

i'm scared of the dark & hate windows at night.

My idea of hell is a big detached house in the country 😆

MsSmartShoes · 22/10/2025 23:16

YABU to be afraid of monsters. YANBU to be afraid of the dark. I hate not being able to see, it makes me feel vulnerable and unsafe.

RightOnTheEdge · 22/10/2025 23:27

I'm not scared of the dark when I'm in bed. I loke it dark and can't relax if someone leaves the landing light on and I can see it under my door.
I'm not afraid of being outside in the dark either.

I do really hate walking around my house in the dark though. It really gives me the creeps. Especially going upstairs, I want to run up like someone is chasing me!
I also don't like looking out of the window in the dark. I live in quite a quiet area and I feel like there might be a creepy figure like Jason Voorhees or something lurking out there 😆

I do think that yours is a more serious anxiety though OP. Maybe some kind of therapy might help.

RightOnTheEdge · 22/10/2025 23:29

freedo · 22/10/2025 22:59

i'm scared of the dark & hate windows at night.

My idea of hell is a big detached house in the country 😆

That has always been my dream if I win the lottery. I feel you might have unlocked a new fear and ruined it now. 😱🤣

CryMyEyesViolet · 22/10/2025 23:35

GarlicBreadStan · 22/10/2025 19:03

Thank you 😭 I've had so many people laugh at me when I've told them that I don't tell anyone anymore (apart from Mumsnet, apparently, lol). If it's dark outside I can't even wear headphones in case a zombie runs up behind me and I don't hear it. My fear of zombies isn't anywhere near as bad as it used to be (due to exposure therapy) but it took me until this year to Google if a zombie virus would ever be possible

Show quote history

How did exposure therapy to zombies work?

Nutmuncher · 22/10/2025 23:37

Be more afraid of the lunatics freely walking amongst us during the daytime.

CryMyEyesViolet · 22/10/2025 23:38

SnugglyJumpersMakeItBetter · 22/10/2025 22:46

Get a couple of house rabbits! Seriously, I used to have a pair of bunnies and when the first died I brought his brother into my room so he wouldn't get too lonely out in the shed. He was incredibly fierce and would growl/scrabble at anything that got in his space without his express permission. He was death to all monsters.

Also, rabbits are awesome.

Our house rabbit recently died and I literally said last night to my husband we needed to get another one as I heard a bang and I’ve spent years telling myself it’s the rabbit and there’s no need to worry - harder to do now we don’t have the rabbits! So this is actually good advice…

I also don’t like the dark and literally run back from the toilet in fear if I go in the night, but I’m scared a man has broken into my house and is hiding, not of monsters.

2pence · 22/10/2025 23:46

Keep the light on. It helps. If you can sleep with it on then there’s no need to have it turned off. We’re hardwired to seek the negative, it’s how we stay safe. We don’t have to run away from sabre toothed tigers nowadays but no-one’s told our amygdala that and it’ll pump out the adrenaline regardless.

If you can recognise that monsters aren’t real, that what’s happening to your body is a result of our instinctive fight or flight response then you can start to shut that unhelpful inner voice up. It can take a while for your prefrontal cortex rational brain to override an amygdala hijack, but simply knowing that this is what’s happening and this is why you feel this way can help.

Sometimes tricking your brain with a sigh of relief can stop the fear from growing when it starts. Also worth exploring cognitive behaviour and how our thoughts influence our behaviour in a cycle and how it’s possible to take control to stop the fear embedding in the first place.

Irenesortof · 22/10/2025 23:56

Autism could mean you tend to be more trusting and literal than some people which would feed this fear. Hope the diagnosis helps, if you get it.
I was extremely scared of ghosts well into my twenties and could be again in some circumstances. You’re not alone.

Francestein · 23/10/2025 00:02

I think monsters are totally real, but they are always human. The myths surrounding monsters are fables to explain evil deeds and the consequences of naivety in a way that creates distance separates “normal” human behaviour from “evil”.

Frequentlyincorrectbut · 23/10/2025 00:43

I would sleep with the light on, there's no point in stressing yourself out.

It's not entirely irrational to fear monsters/zombies in films, they are meant to be scary- the problem is if it starts to affect your functioning or daily life. It does not sound like you are too badly affected, and if I was you, I wouldn't persist in doing exposure therapy with zombies because all you are doing is exposing yourself to images that are embedding in your brain, and you aren't going to come across an actual zombie, so I'm not sure what the end point is here- to think of one and not be scared? Try to move away from making them central in your life if you can.

I used to take what I saw on screen very literally too, OP, and also have had phobias connected with that which have lasted years. Don't feel foolish, there are lots of things many of us are scared of which are a bit otherworldly, such as ghosts, spirits, 'signs' or contact from dead people after bereavement, night-time dreams, hallucinations like hearing knocks or noises or even just that certain people are evil. These things are common even though we are all supposed to be rational now.

If you feel you are unusually anxious or it affects your sleep (apart from when you try the light on experiment), you could chat with the GP, but I think part of your problem with this is that you see it as abnormal and that is freaking you out. Lots of people find the dark scary, though, and you are not alone in this even if in your case it fixes on certain types of images. I hope you sleep better tonight.

VoltaireMittyDream · 23/10/2025 00:56

For years I was irrationally convinced I’d be eaten by sharks any time I went swimming in the lake near where I live. I’d be fine for a while, floating around happily enough, and suddenly I would be seized by panic and the absolute certainty I was on the brink of being eaten alive.

It was so embarrassing - even when I knew logically that sharks don’t live in lakes, and the worst that could happen was that I’d be nibbled by a trout or pinched by a crayfish.

It eventually faded away in my 30s. I think I just got too tired for my mind to be willing to spend energy on shark fear anymore.

It’s awful to be scared of something you logically know is impossible - makes you feel like such a mug somehow.

freedo · 23/10/2025 07:27

even when I knew logically that sharks don’t live in lakes

Yes they do!

Original poster
GarlicBreadStan · 23/10/2025 08:49

Frequentlyincorrectbut · 23/10/2025 00:43

I would sleep with the light on, there's no point in stressing yourself out.

It's not entirely irrational to fear monsters/zombies in films, they are meant to be scary- the problem is if it starts to affect your functioning or daily life. It does not sound like you are too badly affected, and if I was you, I wouldn't persist in doing exposure therapy with zombies because all you are doing is exposing yourself to images that are embedding in your brain, and you aren't going to come across an actual zombie, so I'm not sure what the end point is here- to think of one and not be scared? Try to move away from making them central in your life if you can.

I used to take what I saw on screen very literally too, OP, and also have had phobias connected with that which have lasted years. Don't feel foolish, there are lots of things many of us are scared of which are a bit otherworldly, such as ghosts, spirits, 'signs' or contact from dead people after bereavement, night-time dreams, hallucinations like hearing knocks or noises or even just that certain people are evil. These things are common even though we are all supposed to be rational now.

If you feel you are unusually anxious or it affects your sleep (apart from when you try the light on experiment), you could chat with the GP, but I think part of your problem with this is that you see it as abnormal and that is freaking you out. Lots of people find the dark scary, though, and you are not alone in this even if in your case it fixes on certain types of images. I hope you sleep better tonight.

Ah I don't do exposure therapy anymore because I'm at a point where I'm more comfortable with my fear of zombies now - but years ago I used to wake up screaming because I was having such intense nightmares about it, and exposure therapy is pretty much the only therapy that works with me 😅 it doesn't affect me too badly anymore but for those 13 years, I got such little sleep that I was going into work and falling asleep, because I couldn't sleep at night. I could barely go out during the peak of COVID because I was convinced it would turn into a zombie virus 😅

OP posts:
LikeStrawberriesAndCream · 23/10/2025 09:13

Sounds like you have underlying anxiety and you were deeply affected watching Zombieland at 12.
Which is interesting because I (unwisely) watched American Werewolf in London at about the same age. It terrified me! It was funny too, but the bits on the moor, and in the tube station, and his scary visions... I couldn't sleep properly for weeks because I was convinced I would wake up to a werewolf in my room.
Even later in life, if I was out in the dark and noticed a full moon, I would think of werewolves and get scared. Sounds mad, eh? I know werewolves don't exist... but I'm also a bit scared of the dark and it seems like my brain locked in on that fear I felt watching a violent horror movie at such a young age.