Out of the Wilderness

Whenever I watched scary movies as a kid and I was frightened, there were two things I did consistently to help me feel less scared. This will sound totally random, I’m sure, but please do leave a comment with how you coped with the fear in movies like Friday the 13th, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or The Shining.

I thought about baseball. In my young mind, there was nothing more safe, more comforting to think about, than America’s pastime. It was a reminder that things in the real world (as opposed to the world created in the movies) were safe and good. Baseball, and sports in general, was a place where guys threw a ball, tried to hit, smiled, laughed, did amazing things athletically, and there was no threat of harm. That usually helped me feel so much better.

Then, sort of as a joke but it also helped me in a weird way, was to think of a scary movie this way. When the character was in a dangerous situation, perhaps all alone but being chased by someone or something, buddy up with the camera guy who was there filming the story. It was as if the character, who might appear to be alone, was actually never alone because there was someone there — the camera person. That comforted me in two ways… the fact that there was someone there, and reminded me that it was all make believe, since it was a movie being filmed by that camera person.

And just as I’m typing this I’m also reminded of soap operas on TV. It always seems like there is drama, chaos, and danger in these little towns where the stories take place. I often thought to myself, “Why don’t they just move to a different city?” All their problems solved!

How do you escape the fear created in movies and on TV? Are you able to keep it in check, remembering that it’s all make believe? Let me know in the comments below…

Thanks for stopping by!

-Out of the Wilderness