photo by: zombizi

I was reading on Haley’s site The Beacon about her recent Karaoke party. Singing in public is one of my greatest fears. I would negotiate my soul to the devil to keep from having to sing in front of others. I stay away from Karaoke parties unless I have been promised I will not be asked to sing or expected to perform in any way other than to pass out the drinks. This got me to thinking about other things that scare me. As a child a Jack in the box would scare the the crap out of me. I did not mind clowns but I hated it when it would pop out of the box. Below is my list of things that can still make me panic, cry and start drinking.

People sneaking up on me. I have slapped people for not making enough noise when they approach me. Not out of anger but out of fear when I realize someone is close to me and I didn’t hear them coming. My husband is especially good at this. Our current home has carpeting and I have decided all future homes will have hard wood floors and I have been considering sitting a basket of noise makers near the door.

Horror Movies. I have promised my husband to never watch horror movies alone at night. I can watch them during daylight hours only when he is scheduled to be home at his normal hour. He had to travel with his last job and I had a bad habit of watching horror movies while he was away. I would call him as I was turning on every light in the house while walking around with a hammer and whatever aerosol product was handy because I heard a noise. You could tell when he traveled because our electric bill was always higher. Common sense says don’t watch horror movies, but I can’t change the channel when I see one on television. Physically can’t take my eyes away or flip the channel.

Street grates and manholes. Things are great as I am walking along the street. Until I come to a street grate or manhole. I can’t walk over them. You laugh but those things explode and fall in all the time around this area.

2am calls or any call prefaced with are you sitting down or is your husband with you. No one calls you at 2am with good news and they want you to sit so you don’t hit your head when you pass out.

Unidentified spiders or snakes. As long as I know what type of spider or snake it is, then I am okay. If I don’t know, then get it the hell away from me.

Open staircases and darkness. I always think that someone is going to reach out of the darkness and grab my feet. (The People Under the Stairs) I also have a tendency to run up the stairs because you know someone is chasing you. I have watched too many horror movies.

The dentist. I had a bad experience as a child and I have never recovered. I am all for sedation dentistry.

Jelly fish and barracudas. I like to go snorkeling and but I am always on the lookout for these guys.

Strangers at the Door. I don’t answer my door for anyone other than people I know. If I am expecting a package, I leave a note that allows them to leave it at the door without a signature. If service people have to come to the house, they have to call my husband and have him call me to let me know that someone is coming to the door.