I lay perfectly still, exactly in the middle, unmoving. My hands and feet were tucked snugly into the blanket, my neck was safely covered by sheets.
There was absolutely no way they were going to get me, it was impossible, improbable or at the least quite unlikely.
The witch hiding under my bed, the whatever it was in my closet, the vampire that waited just outside my window, and most frightening of all the inhabitant of that poster on my wall.
She moves when the lights are out, when no one else is looking. When she thinks I can’t see her she watches me.
Damn that poster of Daisy Duke on my wall.
When I was a child I was terrified of the dark. In the light of day my room was a safe place to play, to laugh, to read and sing. Once the sun went down though, it was a house of horrors. I knew something was out to get me. Even with my bedroom light on the darkness still overtook the corners of my room. I would stand in the well lit hall and leap 3 feet to the safety of my bed. With the sheets tucked in tight on both sides I would wiggle down between the covers then pull the sheets up and tuck them around my neck.
Then I’d stare at that poster until somehow I drifted off to sleep.
As long as I kept my eyes on her she wouldn’t move. As long as I kept my eyes open all the things that live in the dark corners of my room, beneath my bed, in my tightly shut closet, none of those could come for me.
As long as I kept my eyes open the dark would be held at bay.
This post was written in response to David’s question on Weekend Wandering; As a child, were you afraid of the dark?
If you’d like to answer this on your blog please link back to David’s Weekend Wandering post and leave him a comment to let him know. While you’re letting people know… leave me a comment to let me know as well… I’d love to see what you have to say.
CamiKaos 
And now, if your cats are anything like mine, you have to watch out for cat attacks of the feet!No rest, dammit!
I blogged about childhood memories today as well. Love the new banner by the way.
Powerful post…conjures up some pretty vivid memories.
I used to do the same thing. And if I really HAD to get out of bed in the middle of the night I’d jump 10 feet so that a hand couldn’t reach out and grab me!
i never really got the heebie jeebies (did i spell that right? probably not…) until college. for some dumb*ss reason i got really really scared of the dark in college. it *could* have been the 3 hours of sleep thing. ..*maybe*…but who *isn’t* afraid of daisy duke…! she *is* scary…
Oh fabulous. I love the line, ‘Even with my bedroom light on the darkness still overtook the corners of my room.’ This brings back memories. Shiver.
I smiled while reading this. I remember staying really still so whatever was lurking to get me would think I wasn’t there. You captured that feeling well in your telling.My version is here: What Goes Thump in the Night?