No thrill in being afraid

I generally avoid anything that evokes feelings of fear because it’s not my preference. I don’t particularly enjoy scary content, such as horror books or movies, and I even make an effort to avoid watching trailers for these types of films. These thoughts sometimes linger, especially at night when I need to turn off the lights. I delay turning off the lights because I can’t shake the worry that something might be hiding in the shadows. Despite knowing it’s highly improbable for anything eerie to be in my bedroom, it’s challenging for me to remain calm and logical when I’m scared.

Two things that bother me: ghosts and the dark. Probably because there are so many ghost stories and so many scary movies that center around ghosts that I can’t really find anything positive in the idea of them existing. During the day when I feel safe, I would be hard-pressed to say they are real, however, put me in a spooky situation and all bets are off. I’m so nervous about the darkness of night that I let my cat into the bedroom just to keep me company. I feel safer having my cat in the room while I sleep.

What I find interesting is that I enjoy urban fantasy, especially if it has witches, vampires, or werewolves. I find myself seeking out that type of content. Maybe because in the books I read, they’re not the bad guys and in fact, they’re the main protagonists. I know that traditionally those types of characters were the bad guys or the ones that would cause fear. I enjoy the type of situations that these characters often appear in and the action in which they take place. I also enjoy knowing that the stories that I’m reading are fiction. It’s more comfortable for me to dive into a fictional world rather than risk real-world consequences.

There are so many more realistic things to worry about including having a fire start in the middle of the night at the apartment building I live in or getting in a bad car accident. I try not to think about things like this happening to me. I try not to worry too much about things I have little control over but I’m not always successful in managing my thoughts.

How about you, are there things that scare you? How do you deal with your fear or fears? Do you enjoy or dislike being afraid?