Snakes and heights and small spaces and dogs and small holes. Snakes that have eyes piercing through your soul and skyscrapers that kiss the sky and small spaces that take the life out of you and dogs that have sharp teeth and small holes that are full of the biggest mysteries. We find people that fear these typical things on a daily basis but we tend to fear what we see and what we know, but have you ever thought of the unknown?

What’s in the dark versus what’s in the light? Is the monster under your bed real, or is it “all in your head”? Is Santa really always watching? Is he even real? Many questions start to form when we think of the unknown but no questions are needed for the fears in the dark.

So the real question is, what is fear? Do we fear “fear”, or what we don’t know?

The unknown always lies in the dark. The unknown can be a person, secrets, mischief, danger, or simple darkness. I’ve wandered through the unknown, stared into the deep eyes of the unknown, and been introduced to the unknown in situations far too terrifying to explain, although there is one example.

I was six years old, home alone, on a rainy night. The thunder was raging, the lightning was striking, and the trees were dancing. The wind was whistling, the dogs were howling, and the lights were twitching. Cuddled up in a blanket, scared, yet happy for the freedom I was given, I waited. And waited. And waited.

No comforting figure was to be seen. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Despite being told to never dare open the door when alone, I felt the need to peek. Just to know who it was. Perhaps it was a loved one? Perhaps it was a friend? So being my six year old self, I peeked. I saw no one but a shadow on the door. The shadow was unfamiliar and unrecognizable. Suddenly, tears started to well up in my eyes. Fear started to creep in and every object, every corner of what was once home became foreign.

I was lost in my own dwelling.

I did not know to use a telephone or call for help. I waited. And waited. The mysterious figure kept ringing. Eventually the garage opened. I was relieved because my parents had come home. I ran down the stairs to see my parents speaking with my wet, cold neighbor. At last I realized. My good neighbor had come to check on me. The moral of my old tale was to explain that it was not the demons of the inside I feared, it was the unknown figure in the darkness, hidden by the unknown. I could only see as far as my driveway through my window, but heaven knows what lies behind the trees and forests and what lies behind man. There is nothing to fear but the unknown.