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Description
When I was small, I was freaked out by things I saw in the darkness. I would be in bed and mom would turn off the lights. I swear i saw dark shadowy critters run across my floor. They look like rats but had multiple red eyes covering their backsides. Lizard like creatures with monkey hands and beaks instead of snouts crawling up my walls. The worse was the serpentine like creature that slithered across my floor. I only saw it once. It's tail was as wide as 1 of my 9 year old thighs. I saw this slimy dark green creature slithering under my bed and never tried to look around my room again at night.
My pediatrician called it nyctophobia. He tried to desensitize me by gradually increasing my exposure to complete darkness.
My dad thought I was just misbehaving and refused to hear anything the doctor had suggested. My mom tried to get him to understand what irrational fear meant, but he ignored her. He was inconvenienced by the noise I made when the fear got to be too much. My dad's plan was to make me confront being in the dark or face severe and cruel ridicule and punishment until I submitted.

The first night after meeting the doc, my dad forced me to do tons of chores until I was too tired to stand. Then he forcefully got me ready for bed. Normally, I pleaded for mom not to turn the lights out, but he wasn't having it. He stood in the room, turned the lights off, and closed the door. I resolved not to utter a peep. He threatened me within an inch of my life if I screamed out. My only recourse was to pull the sheets tight over my head and curl up in the fetal position. I figured if I didn't see anything, there would be nothing to terrify me. My dad had insisted these things were in made up in my mind and I should just toughen up. So I lay in bed, facing the wall with my eyes tightly shut. I vowed to keep them shut no matter what.
As I lay there, I heard rustling in the room. The scurrying of what I supposed were the rat creatures across my floor. The monkey pawed lizard things climbing up my walls, and the big snake like thing curling up under the bed. There was something new tonight... a deep breathing that hovered over me. As I heard the usual nocturnal tenants meandering about, I heard my closet door open. Something big was breathing deeply, sucking in air and releasing it painfully slow. It sounded like someone hiding from a murderer in a slasher movie. It came close to my bed. I could hear it standing over me, then it got close to my head, and then the noise sunk to the floor and went under my bed. The breaths became shallow and weaker and then disappeared.
At some point I was relieved. The scurrying stopped, the breathing was gone, and the slithering noises had gone away. As my ears searched for any hint of movement, something grabbed the blanket and pulled it off. The cool night air made goosebumps pop out every where along my arms and legs. I curled up tighter and used my hands to cover my face. I felt the breathing come back stronger than before. What ever it was big and different than the other things. The breathing was loud. In and out, in and out. The smell of my room went from carpet deodorizers to rotten meat and rancid fish. Something huge loomed over me and I could feel the warmth from it. I could not see it but it felt like it sniffing me or looking me over. I could feel the breath first at my head then across my waist and then at my feet.
then it threw the blanket back over me. I curled the blanket back around me. I was frozen in fear. Breathing so deeply from fear. I freaked out, exhausting my oxygen supply under the blanket to the point...I passed out.
I woke up to mom shaking me violently and slapping at my face.
She yelled at me for being cocoon in my blanket. I don't care what your father said. She showed me a nightlight, my prescription, and emphasized we are going to do it gradually like the doctor suggested. She took my hand and we went downstairs for breakfast.
As she started making breakfast, she asked if I knew what happened to dad? I shook my head no. He turned the lights off closed the door and that was it.
She looked at me curiously, when something slammed against the basement door across from us in the kitchen. I ran to mom and she grabbed her rolling pin. Dad yelled from the other side.. Unlock the door... Unlock this @#$%^ door!!!
Mom looked at me in alarm as she raced to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. Dad leaned on the frame looking disheveled, covered in dust, dirt and his coveralls that looked like they had gone through a shredder. His clothes look like a cat had a field day clawed up the thick dark greyish blue cotton and polyester fabric. His face was bruised and his knuckles bloody. He wheezed between his words like he had been running all night.
he stumbled through the door and leaned on the door to slam it shut. He turned the bolt and then put his key into the bottom lock to secure it. Mom helped him to sit at the table. He stared at the door. Then swatted mom away and began walking towards the den. He lean on walls and mom begged to know what happened. Did you fall, what happened?
He refused to answer. he flicked the lights on in the den and stared up. What ever he was hoping to see was clearly not there. Just dust bunnies clinging securely to 1970's popcorn ceiling texture. He left from the den and stormed upstairs. Mom and I followed.
Mom kept begging to know what happened.
He went to the hall closet and grabbed his baseball bat and then went into my room. He looked around the room, went to my closet and nearly yanked my string out of the bulb fixture. the light clicked on but nothing of interest was in there. he turned the light off and slammed the door.
He looked around the room. Mom grabbed him by the shoulders and demanded he tell her what happened. She asked what happen to him. He hadn't been to bed and comes upstairs looking like he went 9 rounds with a monster alley cat.
He began trying to think, trying to formulate a response. His recall didn't make sense. He didn't understand, and then he looked at me.
He sat down on the bed. he stared at the floor. You aren't going to believe me. I know why you scream at night. I saw them... I saw he cried. Mom and I looked at each other and then back at him.
There were big beetles scurrying up the walls and opossums with cat faces and rows of sharp teeth and claws as long as knives coming out from under the bed... they got on the dressed and stared at me. Their eyes glowed yellow and their fur look like it was soaked and caked in blood. I freaked out. i tried to wake you up but you wouldn't move, you wouldn't look up. Then something big and snake like came from under the bed. A big slimy reptile tail came from under the bed and wrapped around me tight like a python. It pulled me under the bed ...next thing i know it pulled me downwards , i fell from under the bed through the den and crashed into the basement on the boxes! the cats jumped down on top and began slashing at me. The beetles were scrambling trying to tear chunks out of me. I was punching and fighting until the sun came up They fled as sunlight poured into the basement. He looked at mom and she shook her head and began to sob into her hands.
You believe me don't you?
She looked at me and hugged me.
Dad looked at me and asked sympathetically isn't that what you saw... aren't those the things that kept you up at night?
No I said. I lizard things and rat things.
Then I took the medicine and the night light off my dresser and handed them to dad.

Description
When I was small, I was freaked out by things I saw in the darkness. I would be in bed and mom would turn off the lights. I swear i saw dark shadowy critters run across my floor. They look like rats but had multiple red eyes covering their backsides. Lizard like creatures with monkey hands and beaks instead of snouts crawling up my walls. The worse was the serpentine like creature that slithered across my floor. I only saw it once. It's tail was as wide as 1 of my 9 year old thighs. I saw this slimy dark green creature slithering under my bed and never tried to look around my room again at night.
My pediatrician called it nyctophobia. He tried to desensitize me by gradually increasing my exposure to complete darkness.
My dad thought I was just misbehaving and refused to hear anything the doctor had suggested. My mom tried to get him to understand what irrational fear meant, but he ignored her. He was inconvenienced by the noise I made when the fear got to be too much. My dad's plan was to make me confront being in the dark or face severe and cruel ridicule and punishment until I submitted.

The first night after meeting the doc, my dad forced me to do tons of chores until I was too tired to stand. Then he forcefully got me ready for bed. Normally, I pleaded for mom not to turn the lights out, but he wasn't having it. He stood in the room, turned the lights off, and closed the door. I resolved not to utter a peep. He threatened me within an inch of my life if I screamed out. My only recourse was to pull the sheets tight over my head and curl up in the fetal position. I figured if I didn't see anything, there would be nothing to terrify me. My dad had insisted these things were in made up in my mind and I should just toughen up. So I lay in bed, facing the wall with my eyes tightly shut. I vowed to keep them shut no matter what.
As I lay there, I heard rustling in the room. The scurrying of what I supposed were the rat creatures across my floor. The monkey pawed lizard things climbing up my walls, and the big snake like thing curling up under the bed. There was something new tonight... a deep breathing that hovered over me. As I heard the usual nocturnal tenants meandering about, I heard my closet door open. Something big was breathing deeply, sucking in air and releasing it painfully slow. It sounded like someone hiding from a murderer in a slasher movie. It came close to my bed. I could hear it standing over me, then it got close to my head, and then the noise sunk to the floor and went under my bed. The breaths became shallow and weaker and then disappeared.
At some point I was relieved. The scurrying stopped, the breathing was gone, and the slithering noises had gone away. As my ears searched for any hint of movement, something grabbed the blanket and pulled it off. The cool night air made goosebumps pop out every where along my arms and legs. I curled up tighter and used my hands to cover my face. I felt the breathing come back stronger than before. What ever it was big and different than the other things. The breathing was loud. In and out, in and out. The smell of my room went from carpet deodorizers to rotten meat and rancid fish. Something huge loomed over me and I could feel the warmth from it. I could not see it but it felt like it sniffing me or looking me over. I could feel the breath first at my head then across my waist and then at my feet.
then it threw the blanket back over me. I curled the blanket back around me. I was frozen in fear. Breathing so deeply from fear. I freaked out, exhausting my oxygen supply under the blanket to the point...I passed out.
I woke up to mom shaking me violently and slapping at my face.
She yelled at me for being cocoon in my blanket. I don't care what your father said. She showed me a nightlight, my prescription, and emphasized we are going to do it gradually like the doctor suggested. She took my hand and we went downstairs for breakfast.
As she started making breakfast, she asked if I knew what happened to dad? I shook my head no. He turned the lights off closed the door and that was it.
She looked at me curiously, when something slammed against the basement door across from us in the kitchen. I ran to mom and she grabbed her rolling pin. Dad yelled from the other side.. Unlock the door... Unlock this @#$%^ door!!!
Mom looked at me in alarm as she raced to the door and unlocked the deadbolt. Dad leaned on the frame looking disheveled, covered in dust, dirt and his coveralls that looked like they had gone through a shredder. His clothes look like a cat had a field day clawed up the thick dark greyish blue cotton and polyester fabric. His face was bruised and his knuckles bloody. He wheezed between his words like he had been running all night.
he stumbled through the door and leaned on the door to slam it shut. He turned the bolt and then put his key into the bottom lock to secure it. Mom helped him to sit at the table. He stared at the door. Then swatted mom away and began walking towards the den. He lean on walls and mom begged to know what happened. Did you fall, what happened?
He refused to answer. he flicked the lights on in the den and stared up. What ever he was hoping to see was clearly not there. Just dust bunnies clinging securely to 1970's popcorn ceiling texture. He left from the den and stormed upstairs. Mom and I followed.
Mom kept begging to know what happened.
He went to the hall closet and grabbed his baseball bat and then went into my room. He looked around the room, went to my closet and nearly yanked my string out of the bulb fixture. the light clicked on but nothing of interest was in there. he turned the light off and slammed the door.
He looked around the room. Mom grabbed him by the shoulders and demanded he tell her what happened. She asked what happen to him. He hadn't been to bed and comes upstairs looking like he went 9 rounds with a monster alley cat.
He began trying to think, trying to formulate a response. His recall didn't make sense. He didn't understand, and then he looked at me.
He sat down on the bed. he stared at the floor. You aren't going to believe me. I know why you scream at night. I saw them... I saw he cried. Mom and I looked at each other and then back at him.
There were big beetles scurrying up the walls and opossums with cat faces and rows of sharp teeth and claws as long as knives coming out from under the bed... they got on the dressed and stared at me. Their eyes glowed yellow and their fur look like it was soaked and caked in blood. I freaked out. i tried to wake you up but you wouldn't move, you wouldn't look up. Then something big and snake like came from under the bed. A big slimy reptile tail came from under the bed and wrapped around me tight like a python. It pulled me under the bed ...next thing i know it pulled me downwards , i fell from under the bed through the den and crashed into the basement on the boxes! the cats jumped down on top and began slashing at me. The beetles were scrambling trying to tear chunks out of me. I was punching and fighting until the sun came up They fled as sunlight poured into the basement. He looked at mom and she shook her head and began to sob into her hands.
You believe me don't you?
She looked at me and hugged me.
Dad looked at me and asked sympathetically isn't that what you saw... aren't those the things that kept you up at night?
No I said. I lizard things and rat things.
Then I took the medicine and the night light off my dresser and handed them to dad.