I do not write for the specific purpose of scaring the general public. I write because I am genuinely scared.

Since I was a little girl, I have been frightened of everything. There was a monster under my bed, a homicidal, possessed doll behind my headboard, and a murderer in my closet. In my basement, there was definitely a creature that came out when I turned out the lights. Even as an adult that fear has not truly subsided. Light bulbs flicker, the floor boards creak, and whispers can be heard when no one is around. Every one of those moments, no matter how logical the explanation, always causes a tiny flicker of absolute terror that radiates throughout my entire body. From the paranormal to the supernatural to the horrifyingly human, there are many things in our infinite universe that send shivers down even the most stoic of spines.

As our society evolves, what people fear evolves as well. There was a time when Lon Chaney’s face in the silent film The Phantom of the Opera made people vomit with fear, yet today some people look at it and chuckle. Some say there is a certain “desensitisation” that is occurring thanks to the film and media’s propensity for the exploitation of violence. With the output of countless B and C level horror flicks, what used to scare people is now what makes them laugh.

So are we becoming desensitised, or maybe perhaps less fearful in general?

I don’t believe so. Fear is a thing that spans everything—politics, religion, science—everything. It is motivator. It is a hinderer. It makes even the most rational of humans question their logic. I firmly believe that every single person has felt scared at one point in his or her lives. Furthermore, I believe that at any moment everyone is capable of experiencing fear, not matter how “fearless” one can claim to be. Our fears are just evolving into something different and more complex. It is no longer the superficial gore and appearances that chill our bones, but the psychological state of mind we are capable of being forced into. As our society evolves into a more introspective, hyper-intelligent, fast moving one, what scares us changes into a similar shape.

I write to get to the core of our generation’s new sense of fear—to get to the core of my own fears. Fear is something that will always exist, so gaining this knowledge for the purpose of simply attempting to conquer fear leads to a never-ending war with repetitive battles. Instead, I aim to use what I learn about human nature and our fears to help us better handle fear—almost like a training tool in the “flight or fight?” toolbox.

But the kicker is that in order to know how to deal with fear properly, you have to be properly scared. So just remember, if you scared reading what I wrote, just know that I was most likely equally as scared writing it.

 

~Elizabeth A, Petersdorf