As a scientist, I rarely think about "monsters" and "boogey men", but a fellow classmate of mine brought something to my attention the other day. He said that his son refuses to sleep in his bed because he is convinced something is living underneath his bed. Of course my friend thinks this notion is silly and tried to show his son nothing lives under there. I think its funny that a great number if not most children regardless of race or culture or background have similar fears of monsters or demons or some type of creature hiding out in dark places. At first I reasoned that maybe it had something to do with a child's psychological development, which would explain why most children experience these fears. I'm trying to be more open minded now so it made me think are there creatures that can't be seen in the light? Creatures that only children see because they are open to all experiences unlike adults who close off their minds. Children can hear at much higher frequencies than adults is that why they hear noises that their parent don't? I firmly believe that all myths and legends come from somewhere so what's up with small children and animals seeing, hearing, and reacting to things that older humans can not or (possibly choose not) to see or hear?
Monsters, Boogey men, and Dark Places
- Thread starter CutsieMarie89
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I think you got it right first time.
The growing mind is not immune to the evolutionary struggle. It must defeat its own monsters and overcome its own fears so that the whole being can grow and progress.
The growing mind is not immune to the evolutionary struggle. It must defeat its own monsters and overcome its own fears so that the whole being can grow and progress.
I just thought it was strange that kids from all over the world claim to see, hear, or sense the same type of things. Why monsters at all?
To the helpless infant, most things appear monstrously large and powerful, especially one's parents. It lives a precarious existence, entirely dependent upon beings which could completely destroy it at any moment.
How long does it take the consciousness to overcome this fear and assume some control over its destiny?
Infants don't seem to have any fears at all. Just like small kittens aren't afraid of mean dogs like mine because they are too little. I haven't spent much time around very small babies, but there was this one little girl that I watched and she would just laugh and laugh at absolutely nothing. I figured she could see something that I couldn't and whatever it was doing it must have been very funny.
falling and loud noises are the only ones I am aware of. The others are taught.
I thought about tv and monster movies perhaps causing children's imaginations to run wild, but my great grandmother said that she was afraid of something living behind her dresser and didn't see a moving film or listen to the radio until she was 17. I always had this feeling that someone was watching me from my closet no matter what my parents said or told me about. Even when the light was on I still got that feeling, it wasn't until I got older that I realized if I closed the closet the feeling went away.
I don't know much about genetic memory, but is it perhaps an evolutionary advantage for children to be afraid of dark crevices because they are more likely to be eaten by something living it regardless if anything is actually living there or not. That's pretty good I like that theory.
"Cousin Ogg" 