The Psychology of Fear

The Boogeyman

Professor Henry stated that he was sorry for her loss and hoped that somehow the class could help her. As they moved on to the next volunteer the classroom once again went silent. My name is Josh and I have a fear of the boogeyman. I know you are probably wondering why I would still be afraid of the boogeyman, but I think my story will help explain it. 

As a child I grew up having a best friend and neighbor by the name of Tommy. One evening I was at his house playing with him when his mom came into the room and said she should take me home. As she announced this I could see Tommy begin to get very nervous and sad looking. As I went to leave the room all Tommy would say is "I'm afraid of the boogeyman." I tried to turn around and ask him what he meant, but his mom interrupted by saying that she needed to hurry up and get me home before it got dark. As his mom drove me home that night I had a very ominous feeling about my friend Tommy.

That night as Tommy got ready for bed he could not get the words, "I will take you and all your friends" out of his head. He had not been able to tell anyone else about the boogeyman until Josh. For some strange reason he felt like Josh would , at least in time, believe him. As he laid his head upon his pillow he could hear his parents saying goodnight to one another. For an hour he lay there in silence knowing he was not safe and sure enough he began to hear the closet door slowly creak open. He had never actually seen the boogeyman only heard his words as he stood at the closet door. Tommy somehow knew that this time he would see the boogeyman and that the boogeyman would take him. 

The next day Josh's mom received a phone call from Tommy's mom asking if they had seen Tommy. All Josh could say is that he had not seen him since last night. He could not tell anyone about what Tommy said because he knew they would not believe him. There was even a big part of him that did not believe it. Everyone looked for Tommy for the next week or so, but there was no sign of Tommy.

That night as Josh went to bed he kept thinking about what Tommy said wondering if that had anything to do with his disappearance. Finally, he began to doze off when he heard the creaking of his closet door. As he got the nerve up to look at the door he could not see anything, but a whisper started to emanate from the dark. "I have taken Tommy and someday I will take you as well." Josh closed his eyes and plugged his ears not wanting to hear anymore of what the boogeyman was saying, but it did no good. He could still hear the words as if they were already in his mind. " You cannot escape me, no matter what you do I will come to you and when the time is right you will come with me." 

Josh had to take a moment to collect his thoughts and calm his nerves as he began to try to wrap up his story. Ever since that night I have had trouble sleeping. Everytime he comes to me I can hear the same menacing words emanating from the dark. Only now the words are becoming louder and louder as if he is trying to tell me my time will soon be up. I know now why Tommy told me when he did. He was trying to warn me knowing that when the boogeyman took him that I would be next. 

As Josh finished his story the classroom  suddenly became the darkest it had been all day and the students could hear the thunder in the distance. Professor Henry announced that class would resume the next day and that everyone needed to get home before the storm got even worse. As Professor Henry turned on the lights everyone left the room with the same horrible thought. Would Josh be back and if not would the boogeyman come for them?