Short Horror Stories

Our filters

We do not experience reality.

We experience "The Phaneron."
As coined by Charles Sanders Pierce, the phaneron is essentially reality as filtered by our senses.

The use of the term, "filtered," is interesting because filters are meant for keeping things out.
So if our senses are filtering things out of our perception of reality, just what aren't we seeing?

You look skeptical; I don't blame you. Allow me, then, to direct your attention to that small boy talking to his imaginary friend.
To his parents, he simply has a healthy and active imagination.
To that boy, his imaginary friend serves as guardian against the monsters under his bed and in his closet.

Now, look toward that old woman resting in her rocking chair.
She has been holding a heartfelt conversation with her deceased husband.
Her doctors say she has dementia, but her husband is every bit as real to her as you and I.

You must be wondering what my point is by now. A young child's senses, their "filters," aren't yet fully developed, while an elderly person's senses will eventually wear out and fail them.

These two groups of people, the young and the elderly, experience reality unfiltered.

So, the next time your hair stands on end, and you can't shake the sense of dread that you are not alone even though your senses tell you that you are, remember: not all filters are perfect.