Scary-Spookies

I don’t mind being scared from time to time, it keeps the adrenalin flowing. Sometimes I even seek it out. I don’t like bloody horror flicks, but I like to watch a movie with some creepy twists and turns. For example, when the aliens suck people off the face of the earth in The Forgotten, or when unexplained things happen in Dragonfly. The Others’ and Sixth Sense are among my favorites in that genre. Paranormal investigation shows are also of interest to me.

The funny thing is that I startle easy. Seeing someone pop up from somewhere I didn’t expect can produce a hilarious reaction – for them. It kind of annoys me. I prefer the slow methodical entry into a creepy feeling.  My daughter has taken pity on me and has not laid in wait for me as much as she used to, but just the other day I was walking from room to room in broad daylight and without even half trying she startled me.

A few nights ago it was very late and it was time to call the cat in for the night. I went to the garage and at the back door I hesitated a moment, because I had been watching a paranormal investigation program on television. I knew that I wouldn’t come face to face with a boogeyman when I opened that door, but it was a bit creepy nonetheless.

With the back door open to the moonless night, I began calling for the cat. He likes to roam around the back yard or beyond, and it can take a little while for him to get to the house. As I was standing there, calling and peering into the darkness, from another part of town I heard a horrible bellow. Fitting for the moment, it was just a very vocal cow with an unusual wailing tone. Animal noises are part of our little farming community, but knowing the source did nothing to ease my mind about the situation.

The cat took his own sweet time to travel the distance to where I stood, and finally we were all locked and secured for the night. My nervousness over the situation eased. Thinking about that experience of feeling scared to be out in the dark, and the “charge” that came with it, my mind went back in time and recalled similar memories of my youth.

I had a friend my age living on the same block. I don’t remember how it began, but one of our occasional pastimes was to create that feeling of fright, on purpose, by wandering around in the dark of night.  When one of us happened to be at the others’ home after dark and could find nothing better to do, the game was on! We called it Scary-Spookies.

The goal was to see how far we could walk into the darkness of the backyard before we lost control of our faculties and ran back to the house, screaming all the way. The contagious effect of fear seldom let one of us continue very far after the other had “bugged out”, and that was the best part anyway. The great times of youth!

Many times I have found myself feeling that same way when I have been outside in the dark, feeding the cows on a pitch black night, or for other reasons. At those times I have often remembered this game we used to play as kids. Who knows, the next time I might just bolt and run, for old time’s sake. Yelling would be mandatory, of course.