Creatures of the Night

Growing up, I never believed in monsters, at least, not in the kind that lived under my bed and in my closet. No, the monsters I was terrified of were the same ones my parents acknowledged: the bus-stop child predators, "bad people" on the news; the most chilling collection of scary stories made available. Horrific fantasies were entertained during bed-time; I was gripped by the prospect of a lunatic creeping in through my bedroom window & slaying my family. On a few instances, our town was plagued by Grendels, of sorts. Murderers, on the lam, who had chosen our quiet, suburban streets to retire to. Terrorized, my parents forbade me to even go see my friends who lived next door, unless I was accompanied by an adult. No, I never believed in monsters, in the classical sense. The monsters I believed in were absolutely real. And I'm still afraid of them...