Fears And My Experiences

Greetings Reader,

Today I would like to share a terrifying experience that occurred during my youth which has often returned to the forefront of my mind for well over a decade now. Whenever I am feeling introspective or unsafe it seems that this experience is never far from the surface of my conscious thought, waiting for a moment to jump up and seize me with irrational fright. I have never been able to identify the root of this fear and it is only recently that I have taken the initiative to do some Googling about the object of my fear and learned that it is somewhat of a phenomenon. So without further ado here is a recount of my experience:

It was quite late at night in the home of my parents. I was still a boy of about 14 years and had for some reason managed to stay up late but it was finally time for bed at around midnight or just a little after. I had just reached the cusp of sleep, my eyes had drooped almost to closing before I had even turned out my bedside light. My room was bathed in dim, shaded light. As my eyelids made their rounds of closing and opening, less and less each time as my sleepiness overcame my adolescent desire to never sleep I was suddenly confronted with an unprecedented event. As my eyes came open again I realised with great shock that I was not alone in my room. There was a dark figure standing in front of my bedroom door. He was taller than a person should be, the top of his head being just taller than the frame of my door. He was far skinnier than a person should be, despite his height his torso tapered in toward the waist inhumanly and his arms and legs could only be described as spindly at their thinnest points. His features were indistinguishable, his whole body appearing to be impossibly dark despite the light that should have been illuminating him like the door and posters behind him. I lied there, paralysed with extreme terror at this sudden and unexpected intruder. My mind barely functioning until suddenly he rushed toward me. His arm stretched out as he crossed the room in a fraction of a second, far quicker than any man is capable of until the moment he reached me he disappeared. I sat up, so shocked that I couldn't possibly conceive of sleeping however I was also far too afraid to get up and seek the company and safety of another human.

I am glad to say that I have never had another experience as harrowing as that one, never again has my sleep been disturbed so directly by this figure although he has occasionally appeared in my darkest nightmares. Despite having experienced intermittent visits to the memory of this deep-seated fear I have never until a few months ago sought any further information about the experience. However upon searching for "dark figures" I stumbled upon a world-wide myth known as Slender Man. Drawings and depictions of this Slender Man immediately stuck me as very similar to the figure I have been so fearful of and it appears many people have had varying experiences relating to him.

I consider myself to be a very rational person and have never given any credit to the supernatural. But this has long been perhaps my deepest and darkest fear. I hope to dis-empower my fear by sharing it with others and hearing the rationalities of other people. If anyone else has anything to contribute or perhaps has had their own experience like this please feel free to comment or contact me.

Selling Out

Hello Reader,

Welcome back to my improved blog page. You may notice that I now have advertising because I'm a total sell out. This is very exciting for me as this has the potential to earn me a free scotch once every decade so be sure to visit regularly.

I've got a few new topics in the works now that the Christmas period is over but uni hasn't started, the perfect time for thinking deep thoughts about things that probably don't really matter and nothing can be done about anyway. I look forward to seeing you all back again.

Luke.

Right or Wrong

Good afternoon reader,

I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Mine was bittersweet after my uncle, Brian, passed away just before Christmas.

However the holiday period along with the passing meant I got to see many members of my family I haven't seen in a while. People who you get along with regardless of personal attitudes or beliefs just because they are family. I also got to catch up with quite a few friends and after seeing everyone found myself in quite an introspective mood.

My thoughts focused largely on people's need to be right and many of our outright refusal to acknowledge when we are wrong. I have certainly been guilty of this many times in my life and I'm sure those close to me see me as a stubborn know-it-all because of these situations. But why do we have this intense need to always appear to be right and what effects might it be having?

When I read novels and watch films from prior to the last 30-40ish years it doesn't appear to me that people had this particular trait; not like we have today at least. People seem more ready to acknowledge other's superiority over them and in many cases it was the norm to treat people as though they know things you don't until proven otherwise. A stark contrast to today where people often treat others like nothing until they prove their worth.

Following along a few theories I can see a few potential sources of this change in attitude. The first is popular culture. Films and novels like James Bond, Catch Me If You Can and other similar stories have enchanted us with the concept of a person going where they please and getting whatever they want simply by acting like they have the right. It's natural for people to emulate those they idolise and I imagine many people might have consciously or subconsciously tried this behavior out for themselves. I believe many people call this "fake it till you make it".

Another possible cause is a side-effect of our new found love of equality. If no one is below you then no one can be above you. This might subconsciously give one the idea that it doesn't matter how well informed, well researched or logical another person might be about any given matter. They are still your equal and their opinion still can't outweigh your own.

So what are the effects of this society of fakers we have become? I'm not quite sure what the effects are at an individual level. People still seem to be making friends, having meaningful relationships and living happy lives. On a larger scale though I suspect that this might be a contributing factor to the divisive nature of many societies today and is fueling increasingly aggressive conflicts as a result of that. When everyone thinks they know better than those with expertise, knowledge and wisdom it becomes much harder to unify people and implement good ideas. This blog is evidence of one guy presuming he has something meaningful to say about things like this very topic.