As a kid the world seems like a big, bright place: full of dreams and life and cool things ahead of you. And as a kid it always feels like you're waiting around for life as an adult to really begin.
Out there in the unknowns of the world, though, lie some fears that as a kid you can't rationalize and you can't wrap your mind around. For the most part, kids are at the mercy of their fears because they have very concrete reasons for scaring that child. And as kids grow older, they may outgrow these fears, but that little seed of trepidation will always remain.
"What was your biggest fear as a child?"
Here were some of those answers.
Somehow None Of Us Got Raptured
"I was 12 around the time that the Maya calendar and the end of the world was a thing."
"At that age, I was so easily influenced plus I was just getting conscious about life and death and all that, that all the hype around 2012 actually scared the hell out of me."-JFreeze20
The Sleep Angles
"It's a toss-up."
"That the toilet wouldn't stop flushing, the bathroom would fill with water and I'd drown."
"That tigers would escape from the zoo and get into my bedroom, and the last thing I'd see is its mouth closing on my head. I still sleep facing the wall, even now, so I don't have to see it."-Extreme-Database-695
Rage
"I have PTSD from my mom's unexpected anger. I learned at a young age that you can't deal with someone is enraged. My mom could go from happy to raving lunatic in less than a minute."
"I then went into an abusive marriage around the time that the term 'battered women' came about. I was stoic while the abuse was going on, but all it takes is for someone to lose their temper in front of me to get me to cower into a corner or find some way to make myself as small as possible."
"I'm 61 years old, and I still feel like a little kid when it comes to anger. Before you suggest therapy, I've been there and done it for many years of my life. I guess some things just don't go away."-LaylaDusty
These things also have the potential to majorly impact your life as a kid.
Pests And Their Legs
"After my grandfather died, my mother and I flew down to help clean out his house."
"He was a hoarder who lived in Texas, so the building was rather crawling with 'wildlife.' But it wasn't the mummified mouse behind the furniture or the snake skin in the living room that really freaked me out. It was the freaking cockroaches!"
"As my mother explained it, grandad put roach-poison out around the edges of the property, which the roaches ate before coming into the house."
"Problem was, the poison made the roaches crazy before it killed them, so instead of running and hiding from light and people, they'd fly right at me!"
"In the week or two that I spent helping clean that house, so many roaches tried to use my nose as a landing strip that I developed something of a phobia about them."-OpheliaRainGalaxy
When Your Imagination Is Dark
"Drowned bodies."
"Lived by a lake and for some reason I expected a murky, bloated dead body to just bob up. Had nightmares about it and no idea where it came from. Must have stopped by when my parents watched a murder mystery or something."
"Also bears. That one makes more sense as my dad showed me documentaries about people getting mauled."-ipakookapi
Watched 'The Ring' Too Much
"Man I pushed a tv out of my room because I thought something was going to jump out of it and kill me! Also all the toys with eyes had to be put away as well as pictures on the wall."
"I was also terrified I would die if a spider bite. And I had OCD to the point I would have to do a certain ritual or my family would die. I was pretty messed up I'm now a teenager and traded ocd for anxiety and an eating disorder."-Loganaguineapig
Where Does It Flush To?
"Flushing the toilet. When i was young we watched a kid series called 'ik mik loreland' in school. It was meant to teach children how to write, but all it did was bring me nightmares."
"There was one scene where the main villain who was f*cking terrifying for Kids aged 6 btw, Come out of a the sewage system or something. This led to every time i wanted to flush the toilet i sprinted out of the bathroom."-taqotta
Do you remember the things you were inconsolably terrified of, as a child?
Clod Hoppers
"There was an episode of Full House where everyone was making fun of Michelle because her feet got big. She has a dream where her feet grew to the size of the house, woke up from that dream, then discovered her feet were still oversized, then woke up from that dream."
"Let me tell you 5 year old me was MORTIFIED. I would not be able to fall asleep for the life of me. I would get up to tell my mom I could not sleep, but I had a full length mirror in my room, and would refuse to look in it."
"I did not look at my feet for months. It was a serious issue. Luckily my feet are normal sized, but when I rewatch the episode I still remember the fear instilled in me."-Thecave2121
Chains And Whips Excite Me
"Was quite religious for some years, and greatly feared somehow condemning my soul to Hell."
"Was also a huge horror fan, which troubled me because I worried various horror novels/films were sinful, but really couldn't help myself reading/watching them."
"Matters peaked when I got the old VHS of Hellraiser, with the tagline 'It will tear your soul apart.' Was genuinely afraid this might happen if I watched it, but I really wanted to watch it so I did."
"Not religious any more, think my soul was probably ok, and it was the beginning of my interest in BDSM."-Blue_Tomb
Aquarius
"When I was six I went to the County Fair and a band was doing a cover of the old song 'The Age of Aquarius.'"
"They performed behind this screen that caused an aura to form around the band as they moved, and somehow I mistook the lyrics to the song as 'The Angel of Aquarius' and thought it was about some avenging malevolent being that was going to wipe out life on Earth to bring in a new age of man."
"There was a time when my kindergarten teacher told the class that an asteroid was going to hit the Earth, and I was depressed for days because I thought it was a planet killer."
"So I guess I had a little pattern of thinking the Earth would be destroyed. Sadly now I see how foolish my childish imaginings were now as an adult, but ironically am seeing the Earth actually getting destroyed in the present"-dudeARama2
Do you remember the things that used to keep you up at night when you were a kid? The scary stories you and your friends used to tell each other at sleepovers? Urban legends too scary to try?
As an adult, you probably feel a little silly. But those fears were there for a reason. And chances are, a little piece of them still linger within you.