Any one else afraid of people more than monsters?

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**Medium of Death**

hotsauceman1 wrote:
I had an irrational fear aliens would take over the planet.

Conversely, I have an irrational hope that aliens will take over the planet.

**Tibbsy**

timetowaste85 wrote:
People are freaking scary, I agree. Also, I fear velociraptor attacks. They happen frequently in my area.

Fething raptors man!

I always had a childhood fear of Velociraptors...

**Grimskul**

I was scared shitless from Slappy the Dummy from Goosebumps when I was younger and any other equivalent creepy ass doll.

**Frazzled**

Medium of Death wrote:
hotsauceman1 wrote:
I had an irrational fear aliens would take over the planet.

Conversely, I have an irrational hope that aliens will take over the planet.

Pragmatically, Unless the aliens are benevolent angels, any major interaction with an advanced alien race or us would result in either our extinction as a species or a society.

**Easy E**

I want to believe in monsters. it is much more exciting that way.

However, typically my fellow humans are monsterous enough.

**Gentleman_Jellyfish**

Frazzled wrote:
Medium of Death wrote:
hotsauceman1 wrote:
I had an irrational fear aliens would take over the planet.

Conversely, I have an irrational hope that aliens will take over the planet.

Pragmatically, Unless the aliens are benevolent angels, any major interaction with an advanced alien race or us would result in either our extinction as a species or a society.

Typical human projecting their insecurities. Haven't you seen the Twilight Zone episode To Serve Man?

**Frazzled**

Its a cookbook!

**Hive Fleet Cerberus**

Gymnogyps wrote:
My Dad had a library of Stephen King books, which I read as a kid. This book scared the crap out of me. The book described in detail the terror of the little boy re: monster in closet, which fed right into the encounter with the dog. I thought the cover was literally a depiction of the closet monster, that it was a horseshoe crab monster (the top two holes look like dead black eyes).

Only much later did I realize it was the dog's muzzle, which actually still works to interpret it as the closet monster.

Also the short story "Sometimes they Come Back" in the Night Shift anthology. Read that at about 8 years of age and didn't sleep for a while.

Dad read us Cycle of the Werewolf, while camping, when it first came out... so when I was 10. I thought it was funny until it was dark, and I realized we were in the wilderness, so all I had was a tent between me and claws and teeth.

When I grew up there wasn't too much of the whole "stranger danger" paranoia. No, we were scared of Satanists and the McMartin preschool ritual abuse, which my Grandma told me about in excruciating detail. Oh, and the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez. So yeah some real, some imagined.

The imaginary monsters scared me more than the real guys, but at the same time, the false hysteria over Satanic ritual abuse made even the purportedly real stuff sound exactly like the stuff in the stories I was reading. It didn't take long to get over the hysterics and learn to actually assess risk. As in, there are hundreds of millions of houses in SoCal, why would the Night Stalker just happen to climb in MY window and slash my throat? Made it seem stupid to be afraid when I thought of it like that.

Horror movies are awesome, but I get bored with slasher gorefests. I like the psychological stuff that makes me think.

Edit - correct spelling

I dunno, of all the things I'm paranoid about, Satanists are kinda left out. Like, the only time they ever appeared in my nightmares as once to save me, and once to cant ominously in latin in the background to my epic boss fight (Yes, my dreams occasionally have boss fights)

**FirePainter**

Wait people have dreams without boss fights? Wow waht boring dreams.

**Ouze**

Gymnogyps wrote:
My Dad had a library of Stephen King books, which I read as a kid. This book scared the crap out of me

For me a big one was Pet Sematary, it didn't help that I read it when I was like 12. Even reading it years later though, the way in which is slowly ratcheted up the sense of dread and foreboding was amazing, it still makes me jumpy for a day or two after reading, and when I do pick it up I usually read it in a single, can't-put-it-down session over a few hours.

I also am confused at best by "torture porn" type horror and not sure who it's supposed to appeal to or why.

**whembly**

Tibbsy wrote:
timetowaste85 wrote:
People are freaking scary, I agree. Also, I fear velociraptor attacks. They happen frequently in my area.

Fething raptors man!

I always had a childhood fear of Velociraptors...

Dude...I had nightmares being in the crosshair of a fething T-Rex.

:shudders:

Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ouze wrote:
Gymnogyps wrote:
My Dad had a library of Stephen King books, which I read as a kid. This book scared the crap out of me

For me a big one was Pet Sematary, it didn't help that I read it when I was like 12. Even reading it years later though, the way in which is slowly ratcheted up the sense of dread and foreboding was amazing, it still makes me jumpy for a day or two after reading, and when I do pick it up I usually read it in a single, can't-put-it-down session over a few hours.

You ain't kidding... that's possibly the creepiest story/movie I've seen when it came out.

I also am confused at best by "torture porn" type horror and not sure who it's supposed to appeal to or why.

Like Saw and Hostel?

Yeah, those don't "scare" me like this one can:

And this was horrifying:

**xole**

Oh boy...

In the non-depressing category, I thought for a while(as in, a few weeks) that I had arsenic plastered into my hands and I compulsively spit and washed out my mouth whenever the two made contact for one reason or another. I always thought that there was someone watching me from the door of the bedroom. I swear I could see a man's silhouette whenever I looked. I was scared to look up at the night sky. I'd start thinking about how far away the stars were and collapse, and about all the evil nasty things that could be up there. Hated oceans and lakes. The concept of eternity bothered me as well, though that usually only creeped into my mind when I was alone. For a while I also had a fear that a monster was going to come out of the ground and drag me into the depths. Movies like It scared me of course. Was better with video games. Enjoyed Quake.

Never really afraid of people though. I mean, I was afraid of certain people when they were drunk and/or angry. But when they weren't I wasn't too bothered by them.

**ImotekhTheStormlord**

Hive Fleet Cerberus wrote:
timetowaste85 wrote:
People are freaking scary, I agree. Also, I fear velociraptor attacks. They happen frequently in my area.

Those happen all to often where I live. Some one really needs to take action against them. If we let these pre-historic reptiles terrorize us, whos to say the T-rexs wont start?

You think you know fear?

You think you know pain?

**MeanGreenStompa**

I've never really understood the whole 'people as the monster' movies, I've sat through a few and been boggled that the hero or heroine hasn't upped the anti and retaliated at several points.

Ahhh, he's got a knife!

1 Fine, I get a shovel and break his head.
2 Dude, there's five of us, lets arm up and destroy this weirdo.
3 I'm in a car, this thing is totally lethal, why am I driving away when I can ram this guy into a wall with it.

And the inevitable falling down/vulnerable bad guy bits, when the hero/heroine has the opportunity to close and finish the job but instead either carries on running away or stops to just go and inspect the 'body' instead of continuing to liquidate them.

**Ouze**

MeanGreenStompa wrote:
when the hero/heroine has the opportunity to close and finish the job but instead either carries on running away or stops to just go and inspect the 'body' instead of continuing to liquidate them.

That makes me groan 100% of the time.

**Hive Fleet Cerberus**

MeanGreenStompa wrote:
I've never really understood the whole 'people as the monster' movies, I've sat through a few and been boggled that the hero or heroine hasn't upped the anti and retaliated at several points.

Ahhh, he's got a knife!

1 Fine, I get a shovel and break his head.
2 Dude, there's five of us, lets arm up and destroy this weirdo.
3 I'm in a car, this thing is totally lethal, why am I driving away when I can ram this guy into a wall with it.

And the inevitable falling down/vulnerable bad guy bits, when the hero/heroine has the opportunity to close and finish the job but instead either carries on running away or stops to just go and inspect the 'body' instead of continuing to liquidate them.

Yeah, they suck 90% of the time. The other 10% is when the villain has some supernatural reason for being immortal. In any other case, they are a group, just all tackle him. Sure, some of them are gonna die, but at least he no longer has a gun/knife/shovel/whatever

**the shrouded lord**

Zombies... Feth zombies.

**CthuluIsSpy**

Hive Fleet Cerberus wrote:
MeanGreenStompa wrote:
I've never really understood the whole 'people as the monster' movies, I've sat through a few and been boggled that the hero or heroine hasn't upped the anti and retaliated at several points.

Ahhh, he's got a knife!

1 Fine, I get a shovel and break his head.
2 Dude, there's five of us, lets arm up and destroy this weirdo.
3 I'm in a car, this thing is totally lethal, why am I driving away when I can ram this guy into a wall with it.

And the inevitable falling down/vulnerable bad guy bits, when the hero/heroine has the opportunity to close and finish the job but instead either carries on running away or stops to just go and inspect the 'body' instead of continuing to liquidate them.

Yeah, they suck 90% of the time. The other 10% is when the villain has some supernatural reason for being immortal. In any other case, they are a group, just all tackle him. Sure, some of them are gonna die, but at least he no longer has a gun/knife/shovel/whatever

Except that's not how people think. They have a sense a self-preservation, and as such wouldn't charge a crazy dude with a gun. Why do you think hold ups are so successful?

**kronk**

I also have an irrational fear of lighting.

But then, if you've never experienced a thunderstorm roll in from the gulf like they did in Houston, it's understandable if you're not afraid of lightning.

**Overlord Thraka**

Grimskul wrote:
I was scared ****less from Slappy the Dummy from Goosebumps when I was younger and any other equivalent creepy ass doll.

FRIG YES. The goosebumps books are really rather lame but the TV show had some truly scary images. I was also freaked out by the image on the Curse of camp Coldlake book

**Easy E**

The more time I spend in OT, the more scared of other people I become.

**Corpsesarefun**

Easy E wrote:
The more time I spend in OT, the more scared of other people I become.

That's entirely normal.

If we're just talking about our fears, I'm generally scared of deep water and absolutely petrified of the sea.

**Frazzled**

I wasn't afraid as a kid once I realized that I wasn't in my bed stuck in a room full of monsters. They were stuck in the room...with me.

**kronk**

Rorschack!

**Hive Fleet Cerberus**

Frazzled wrote:
I wasn't afraid as a kid once I realized that I wasn't in my bed stuck in a room full of monsters. They were stuck in the room...with me.

Wasn't there a twilight zone episode or something about this?

**daedalus**

Hive Fleet Cerberus wrote:
Frazzled wrote:
I wasn't afraid as a kid once I realized that I wasn't in my bed stuck in a room full of monsters. They were stuck in the room...with me.

Wasn't there a twilight zone episode or something about this?

There've been many instances of similar situations, The Vincent Price's The Last Man on Earth and I am Legend come to mind.

**Jihadin**

Sharks....you know your screwed when you see the pointy dorsal fin... if not..and trading water.....fresh or salt...the "fear" that there's a "fish" opting you out....

Jaws..
Nightmare on Elm Street

**SkavenLord**

Well... I do tend to have a habit of being absolutely terrified of new people. If I met someone new in person, I would likely never say a word because I'd be afraid that I'd be laughed at for it. Then there's the not-so-much-fear of being forgotten by the people you know, then the not-so-much-fear that your friends are just acting like they like you. ect.

**The Grumpy Eldar**

The ones from jappanese folklore and fairytales are quite terrifying. Most stuff from folklore around the world is quite terrifying. Things like the Demons Night Parade are quite bad if you have quite a imaginaation as a kid. Paranoid people are quite bad with both people and imaginary monsters.

**Gitzbitah**

I've always found the humans far more terrifying than the monsters. A monster just is, and will act according to its nature. The humans are generally turned into remorseless killers (or worse) by some dramatic trauma in their lives. That knowledge always left me wondering what it would take to turn me into something as bad or worse than those vile beings on the screen.

The Midnight Meat Train by Clive Barker captures that feeling very succinctly. Our 'hero' sees what the villain sees and picks up right where he left off after slaying him.

So I adore creature feature horror, especially sci-fi horror, but can't stand to watch the psychotic human style horror.