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Scott A. Carpenter, II WRT 1010 Section #8 September 25, 2013 The Battle with Fear You know how theres always that one kid whos always terrified of something? Always jumping at the next unsuspecting sound? He is even afraid of his own shadow? Well, I was one of those kids. At least until I was about ten. However, I was always conscious of what my surroundings were. But then again, the mind of a six year old kid is always wandering and sometimes warped. To start it off, I grew up with my dad constantly working, mostly coming home late. My mom was always the one to watch after my brothers and me. However, she was a great big fan of horror movies, and sometimes would blast the theme songs of some of her favorite movies, for example, Michael Myers Halloween theme song, loud from her television speakers. Naturally, a six year old at the time, I would be curious to know what was happening and would go to see. Every time, I was surprised with by a horrid image on the screen, ranging from Freddys horribly burnt face to Jason wielding a large machete chasing someone throughout the woods to slice them in half. After seeing these images, I would constantly think What if they com e for me next? and would have nightmares very often throughout the week, sometimes more than one in a night. One night, I remember having a nightmare in which a hole opened through my wall, and there was a strange being in I couldnt see. This continued over the course of one year, when the event changed. The next time I dreamt this nightmare, I brought an army of kids, and I led them into the wall to stop the evil being haunting my room. However, in the midst of the battle, I was

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kidnapped by another source. That woke me up late at night, and although I had the dream ever again, the thought still continued to haunt me every so often. It wasnt horror movies that made me cautious about my surroundings, no matter where I was. There were added factors that contributed to my feelings as well. A death in the family stirred up my emotions. One year, my grandfather passed away, and then a few months later, one of my grandmothers old friends too passed away. I wondered if I was next to go, even though I had my whole life ahead of me. I would go to school feeling safe, but when I came home after, I constantly checked under my bed and even in my closet to see if there were monsters anywhere. Vampires, wolves, even zombies were on my list of fearful things that went bump in the night. Strangely, however, I never believed in the Boogie Man. Dont even let me get started on going in the basement! I was so afraid of the washing machine because of the constant rumbling and the eerie sound that it made when a load was done. Finally, when I turned ten, the time came when I figured that it was time to fight back. I was at school one day when it was almost time to pack up and leave, when these girls were talking about the movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I was frightened for about a whole week before hearing another horror movie, Freddy vs. Jason. However, the views of this movie were entirely different as people constantly said that the movie was more funny than scary. This sparked my interest, as I figured it was an opportunity to start fighting my fears of the movies. Coming home, I told my mother of my desire to watch this movie to fight my fears (okay, I just told her I wanted to watch the movie). Even though she was shocked at my decision, she thought it best to start off watching the most famous horror movie of all time, Halloween. She was afraid that Freddy vs. Jason was going to frighten me still. I agreed, and upon watching it, I was afraid, but having my whole family at home with me reduced the fear level. After that I was able to

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watch any horror film that life threw at me. With this life changing event slowly happening in my life, I began to realize that it wasnt my fear of horror movies and thei r characters that frightened me, they were the effect. The cause of my scaredy-cat status was my fear of the dark. Going into the basement, looking out the window at night when it was pitch black, even hearing the crickets chirping scarred me drastically. But, after watching the films, I was confident in vanquishing my fears, slowly but surely. Now, I can fight Freddy. I can outrun Michael Myers. I can even stop Chucky from possessing innocent souls to become human again. Why you ask? I finally learned how to unmask the evil in the dark. I can prevent horrible curses from reliving its prophecy. With my fears vanquished, the supernatural cannot harm me. As an eighteen year old young adult, I look back and laugh at how scarred I was of things that never existed. Only in movies and in the imagination of everyday people did my fears exist. Im no longer afraid of the dark. I no longer fear the shadows that lurk in the night. However, the constant exposures to my fear in my childhood made me grow up to become brave. Growing up, I learned that the people who are timid in life know true courage. I believe this statement because without it, I would be paralyzed where I am and would be unable to fight what is now my fears.