Having a Fear of What is Under the Bed can originate from so many causes and circumstances. For example, you know when it’s late at night, you’re tired, and all you want to do is go to bed? So you find the strength to get up off of the couch, check that the front door is locked, completely ignore the unlocked back door, turn off any lights around the house, and even consider performing a dental hygienic action to avoid seeing the dentist. Eventually, you’ve made it all the way to your bedroom and you may even consider looking in the closet for an extremely silent and patient serial killer. Or a monster. Could be a monster too. However, she was not hiding in there (fun fact: women can be serial killers too. Super progressive, I know). Whew, close call. But you know where you didn’t check? Under the bed. And now you’re dead. Or she just wanted to inform you of why you should have a Fear of What is Under the Bed. Give her a chance to speak!
Teraphobia: Your Fear of What Is Under the Bed
Isn’t it fun when the scientific name for a Fear sounds scarier than the Fear itself? Tera could sound like the world or Earth, sure, but it also sounds like terror. And that’s much more fun to talk about or explain to kids. Fear of What is Under the Bed can be caused by a specific traumatic event or just an unwavering concern that this is where the scariest of scary monsters reside. In my case, I recall a particular scene while watching The Sixth Sense when I was younger that still haunts me. I don’t want to ruin the movie by giving away this scene but basically, the main kid is near a bed and a young girl grabs his ankles and then gives him a box. This movie is also why I no longer make blanket forts. For years after seeing that movie, I was scared of something chasing me up the basement stairs or someone grabbing my ankles while I walk by the bed. However, I’ve since accepted the fact it could be a ghost looking for my help to solve a murder and now I am more willing to accept my ankles being grabbed. Oh also, Bruce Willis is actually dead in that movie the entire time. Spoiler alert.
Some beds have cute little blanket parts that dangle off the sides and block being able to see what’s actually under the bed. I have no idea if there’s a name for that thing or if it’s just an elongated sheet but some of them are purposely decorative. This alone might otherwise prevent you from being able to spend 15 minutes holding a flashlight and a baseball bat to check under every corner of the bed. Including if someone (or something!) has pressed themselves up against the box spring to avoid detection from the ground level. Is that dangling sheet cover thing really worth not knowing there’s something hiding under there, Martha Stewart? I rest my case.
Putting Your Fear of What Is Under the Bed to Rest
Now I don’t claim to be a fancy psychologist or even a non-fancy psychologist, but I do know a thing or two about Fears in general. For example, I know that some Fears have impossibly complicated names and other Fears likely only impact a small percentage of people. However, a Fear is a Fear and all Fears can be overcome with a little thing called perseverance. In this case, perseverance refers to getting rid of all furniture in your house so nothing is able to hide under anything. Yes, this post is about Fear of What is Under the Bed but did you know people and/or monsters can hide beneath almost anything? Check under your bed if you feel compelled to do so, but you’ll just be disappointed every time. Realistically, if someone has broken into your house with the intention to menace you, they likely aren’t going to start by hiding under the bed for hours waiting for you. That’s just not a practical use of their time.
If you’ve made it this far into the post, you might as well go take a look at a podcast I am part of with our friends from the Arts Union Science Podcast! It’s a good listen and I am not biased in that opinion at all.
