Basements and Bogeymen.........

I used to be terribly afraid of basements. I suppose this comes from too many B grade horror films when I was very impressionable. (Now I just don't watch them). And of course I am certain it comes from a basement we had when I was growing up. We lived in a ranch surrounded pretty much by prairie up until the summer of 3rd grade. Then we moved to this great two-story in suburbia. Very lovely, even the basement was great, in daylight.

At night though the moonlight would reflect in through the sliding glass doors, bounce off the patterned red rug and shine up the stairwell. Even if you could brave the glowing red stairs, the rest of the basement was pitch, absolutely pitch black. The slightest sound reverberated through the space and chilled right up your spine.

In the entire time we lived in that house, I can't remember a single time that I stayed in that basement at night. Plenty of daylight hours. The household library was down there and what was loosely our rec-room, so it was the natural place to go. But come dark, I was out of there. In fact, I can't remember a single friend who cared to hang out there either.

It was new construction, so I don't think it was haunted or any thing like that. Just Creepy. Creepy I think just from the decor. But it has stayed with me, this feeling that basements are for day use, ONLY.

So I wonder, what else I have brought along from childhood that I know is innocuous and should be discardable? (Other than an unreasonable fear of moths?)

And I wonder how many of us ask ourselves, what drives us in these small ways, and do we have any triggers like these that affect the way we deal with each other?

I'm still pondering that.