 | 23 Sep 08 |
Last week, I took a little look at “crazy.” Today, I decided to look at “fear.” Hey, themes are good, right? Fear is a strong emotion, universal, and the motivators are different for everybody. What scares one person may not scare another. And sometimes we LIKE to be scared. My friend, whom we shall Tee, LOVES scary movies. She and her son will sit for hours in front of the television and cuddle close, jumping and screaming and waiting as the tension builds. She thrives on it.
Me, not so much. Movies, perhaps because they are visual, can sometimes be JUST TOO HARD for me to watch. I like DVDs, because I can turn it off and pace for a moment, or give my heart time to calm down before the next tense action.
I handle tension and fear while reading the same way. A really good, tense, scene finds my heart pounding, my fingers grasping the book tightly, and me looking over my shoulder JUST in case.
I guess I like my own kind of fear, because I’ve read a lot of Stephen King and Dean Koontz books. Just like my friend Tee has watched a lot of scary movies. I think she owns every one ever made.
Fear is big in the entertainment business. Fear sells. Just ask Master King or Master Koontz. We WANT to be scared to death. We like it.
The question is, why?
Adrenaline junkies? Is that why we like to be scared? The things that we read about, and watch on television and in movies, are often imitations of real life–except for all the blond bimbos who die having sex on the top bunk at summer camp. Come on, watch one of those movies and you will NEVER have sex at camp again. It’s like sending out an invitation, COME KILL ME. I’m a BIMBO and I’m having SEX at summer camp. Or frankly, have sex ANYWHERE when a maniacal killer is on the loose. Why do people have sex when someone is wandering around with a knife, wearing a hockey mask? Sex is not what I’d have on my mind!
But obviously, we like to be scared (and obviously we like sex), because these movies continue to be made and viewed, and books that involve fear (like Koontz’s or King’s, or Deborah LeBlanc’s, or Allison Brennan’s) are guilty pleasures for many.
To me, the scariest things are those things that are real, or could really happen. Tonight, there is a standoff in the little town of Farmington, which is where I based the book WIVES AND SISTERS. It’s a quiet community, without a lot of crime, but this standoff is a familiar one. It started with a domestic situation. And an armed man is holed up in his truck, refusing to surrender. It has been going on since 9 a.m., and it is shaking loose the fear in the small community.
Because it’s real, and it’s happening, and it COULD be a book or a movie. The man’s reasons, other than the fact he is having family issues, are unknown, or at least unknown to the general public. And because he is a part-time firefighter, he knows many of the men who are now trying to end the stand off peacefully. Remember, this is a small community.
I heard about this story, and heard my parents tell me about driving by the scene (they didn’t know it was going on), and it hit home. This could be someone I KNOW. Possibly someone I went to school with. Or someone I’d met in the community.
And that is even more scary than anything. Just what makes a person snap? That question kind of goes back to my “crazy” post, but I think it has relevance here, as well.
I am always wondering when a person is JUST going to snap. That is one of my very biggest fears. It was one of the biggest fears in my marriage, and that was justified. But I always wonder how far you can push a person before they snap and barricade themselves in a truck. How does it happen? Do you know you are headed in that direction before you find yourself there?
So now that I’ve shared one of my biggest fears, what scares you? (And no, Paris Hilton having babies is NOT a good answer. Wait, maybe it is. Try not to use that one.) Just so you know, I am also terrified of heights, claustrophobic, and I have an extreme fear of Walmart. Don’t ask.
What is your fear of choice?
© 2008 – 2009 Natalie R. Collins. All rights reserved.
Natalie R. Collins was born in Logan, Utah and attended the University of Utah. She worked for eleven years at The Salt Lake Tribune, Utah's largest daily newspaper, before leaving to devote more time to her family. During the ensuing years, she wrote five novels. She also worked for the 2001 and 2002 Sundance Film Festivals as an editor. Natalie is a member of the International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Romance Writers of America.
Subscribe to Posts 
I cannot watch scary movies. One of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies ended my love of them. Scary books I can handle, in fact, I enjoy them.
In real life my biggest fear is the health of my family. My oldest son, 13, had to go in for tests today. He has fatty tissue in his liver. We will find out our next steps on Friday. While we were there at Children’s Hospital we visited my nephew, 15, who is receiving chemo for non-hodgkins lymphoma.
Any prayers or positive thoughts would be very appreciated right now.
Thanks ladies.
by HollyD September 23rd, 2008 at 7:00 amSNAKES!! I am terrified I’m going to move the green trash can–the one with all the grass clippings etc. in it–and I’m going to hear a hiss and/or a rattle. My husband thinks this is hilarious. He keeps telling me to just leave the trash cans and he’ll take them out when he gets home. But, dang it, I’m home and I can do this.
But there MIGHT BE A SNAKE in the green trash can. I just know it.
I’m also creeped out walking by wood piles for the same reason.
I’m a little afraid of Wal Mart too
My biggest fear is somethng happening to my husband and kids. But I think that’s most people’s fear.
HollyD, sending positive thought your way.
by Jen September 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 amHolly, my prayers and thoughts go with your son and nephew.
Natalie, my fears are riding in a small plane, driving in rush hour traffic on the freeway, and unleased dogs in pairs. Oh, yeah, and public speaking!
by Carol Luce September 23rd, 2008 at 8:39 amI’m afraid of drowning. I love scary movies and books. I think because they aren’t real, you can put them aside if you want to. I watched a special on horror movies and they said, basically that fear in movies is a release mechanism. You get all tense and get a release by having the fear realized.
by Amanda September 23rd, 2008 at 9:59 amHugs Holly!!!!
I hate flying, it terrifies me. The knowing I’m going to crash part.
But my biggest fear is losing my husband or one of my children.
by Karin September 23rd, 2008 at 11:17 amI’m afraid of heights, but it’s not so bad that I can’t ride the escalator or climb a ladder. Public speaking frightens me. I love reading scary books and watching horror movies.
by Jane September 23rd, 2008 at 12:34 pmThe safety of my girls, drowning, and being burned in a fire. UGH!
by deborah September 23rd, 2008 at 1:28 pmRoller coasters and heights.
by Chris Redding September 23rd, 2008 at 4:14 pmI can ride in any size plane.
My husband’s a pilot.
cmr
Oh, HollyD, my heart goes out to you. I think the health of my children is my biggest fear. Above heights, and all of that. So I am sending good thoughts your way, both for your son and for your nephew.
Jen, OH YEAH. Snakes freak me out. Big time. And I don’t much like spiders, either. But losing the family…. Argh. Too much to handle. Funny about the green garbage can….
Okay, why unleashed dogs in pairs, Carol? Experience?
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 4:17 pmAmanda, I love the water, but I’m not a strong swimmer, so I get your fear. I mean, what if there is nothing to hang onto? Eeek, I’m afraid of more things than I realized. Maybe this blog post was not a good idea!
Karin, I know you hate flying. And I get it. But again, the biggest fear is losing family. And that is something I really relate to.
Jane, I’m like you. I can do certain things, as far as heights go, but things like driving on a narrow ride high up on a mountainside, with nothing but a sharp drop, terrifies me. I even have nightmares about it.
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 4:20 pmSo, Deb, you threw in both water AND fire? Is one fear worse than the other. I think fire terrifies me, or being burned and surviving, yet more people die of smoke inhalation than of burns.
Chris, so you hate heights, but don’t mind flying? Funny, neither do I (mind flying, that is). Roller coasters aren’t too bad for me.
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 4:21 pmOh, and FYI folks, sorry it takes me so long to comment. I don’t have Internet access until around five, which is when I get home….
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 4:22 pmFear of being out of control of what is going on around me.
by Teagan Oliver September 23rd, 2008 at 5:04 pmOh, Teagan, I get that! I feel the same way. When you feel like like is careening by and you can do NOTHING to stop it.
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 6:29 pmJust by way of update, the standoff situation I wrote about in this post ended around 9 p.m. last night, when the armed man shot and killed himself. Still waiting for more information. Very sad case. He had a ten-year-old son.
by Natalie September 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 pmDrowning is a fear of mine, have a hard time watching movies with people trapped under water, can’t get up, some monster chasing them. Makes me short of breath. I also cope by needing to feel in control of my environment. Carol
by carol shenold September 24th, 2008 at 6:48 amUnleased dogs in pairs can exhibit a pack mentality. They can become more aggressive than a dog on its own. Especially the pit bull.
by Carol Luce September 24th, 2008 at 7:51 amI got the results on my son’s test. He has to see a GI specialist, but the pediatrician feels we caught the problem early and she is confident that we can treat the condition.
Thanks again ladies for all the positive thoughts and prayers. I know they did the trick!
by HollyD September 24th, 2008 at 10:30 amHolly, thank God that your son is on the mend. I’ll keep praying for you and him!
My greatest fear is losing one of my kids. I can burst into tears at times if it hits me when I don’t expect it.
Spiders, snakes and bugs scare me, but I’ve gotten better since I’ve had sons who don’t seem to have a problem with them. I don’t like them, but if I’m not surprised, I don’t get scared.
When I was little, I couldn’t sleep with my foot over the edge of the bed because I thought something would grab my ankle and pull me under. I also couldn’t sleep unless my closet door was closed.
I used to love scary movies. Now? Not as much. Though good ones I still love. I very much enjoyed 1408 with John Cusack.
by Allison Brennan September 24th, 2008 at 9:50 pmSnakes, yeah everyone knows I am terrified by snakes. To what extent people don’t know…except my husband. No snakes on TV, I hide my face through half of Survivor when I watch. In magazine… now why would a person put the picture of a snake on… 1) the cover or any page inside a magazine? why? 2) in a TV ad? 3) Painted, posted, or muraled on the side of a building? 4) on a book cover…really you just lost a large portion of the population from reading your book. In movies you often have a clue…but 1) the scene from Lonesome Dove gave me nightmares for months. 2) Disney’s the Living Desert kept me from going to the school movies when I was in grade school… I was certain there were snakes in the cafeteria… you know they crawled out of the movie.
Losing my grandson. I am pretty much resigned that I will lose people I love in my life. My father passed in December, but I know that he is still with me. My faith helps me resolve and endure their loss. But losing my grandson sends me as close as I’ve ever been to panic attacks. I can’t deal with the thought.
by Cele September 25th, 2008 at 8:01 amHolly, SO good to hear your son is going to be okay! Very scary.
Allison, I used to run and JUMP into bed, not letting my feet get too close to the edge…. Found out the other night my youngest daughter does it, too!!
Cele, I don’t like snakes, either, although I can handle them on TV, even though they give me shivers. And I know what you mean about losing a beloved child. Can’t even cope with THINKING about it.
by Natalie September 25th, 2008 at 6:26 pm