Fear

What are your fears?

Fear

 

Fear is the thing shambling in the dark, stopping when you stop.  Was it your imagination?

Fear is the eerie quiet under a partially obscured Autumn moon.

Fear is falling into a pit, vainly attempting to escape as dirt rains down upon you, covering you. The last minute seems like an eternity.  Your lungs burn for air; panic scrambles your mind.  You thrash about, hoping to knock yourself unconscious or impale your temple with a protruding stone, but the dirt now holds your head firm.

Fear is wondering if the last, agonizing sensation you felt in life follows you for an eternity in the afterlife.

Fear is a conviction that the thing you fear will one day end your life and thoughts begin to seep into your mind that it is better not to live then to face those fears.

Fear is the frothy-mouthed animal running toward you.

Fear is the mother who poisons her child, and you are too small to help your sibling and too weak to prevent it from happening to you next.

Fear is the noose that awaits to send you to the afterlife to atone for your wicked deeds.

Fear is the spider crawling across your face at one in the morning.  You swat it off and scramble for the bedside lamp to see where it landed only to have the light reveal thousands more, covering your walls, floor, ceiling, bed.

Fear is the heavy breathing emanating from the dark hallway of the empty house. You stare into the darkness and swear you see the walls expand and contract with each inhale and exhale you take.

Fear is staring into the mirror and seeing your reflection wink and offer a sinister grin.

Fear is the shadow coalescing into a thing of teeth and claws.

Fear is being helpless to stop the abduction of your child.

Fear is the brewing storm while you sit alone, in the old house, with no lights.  Each flicker of lightning shows the thing in the corner one step closer.

Fear is the coffin in which you awaken.  Your shouts sound dull due to six feet of dirt piled on top of you.

Fear is the beast from the closet standing over your bed, watching you sleep, holding the severed head of the monster from under your bed.

Did any of these resonate with you?

What is it you fear?  

Describe it in one word, or one sentence, or one paragraph.  Be as brief or as descriptive as you like. 

Author's Note

As some of you know, I write horror. I take what scares us and use it to tell a twisted tale. I am always looking for inspiration so, please, drop a comment about what fears you have. Be as brief or as descriptive as you like! Thank you for your help in advance.

Reviews

[wuliheron]

They say those who talk about it, don't know,
While those who have been to hell will tell you,
If you don't die within 30 seconds, you pass out!
Fear is the mind killer, the little death,
That eats us all from the inside-out,
When all the real threats are from without,
For hell abides within our fears.
Let your fear wash over you,
Cast your shadow upon the calm fog,
And search the for the light within.

You just inspired me. Stephen King is the King!

[Coyote Poetry]

Fear is when you have no control and you are going to lose. Very nice flow of thoughts. I like poetry that make the reader think. This poem did. Thank you Shawn for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Jean Lagace]

Well, you sure miss that one fear, that is the damn bug that pesters our life since march 15. lol Hope you're still alive. If you are and if as you write, you enjoy reading new works almost as much as you enjoy writing them, look one of mine and tell me what you think.

[Neville]

without a shadow of a doubt... you have called upon an impressive range of resonators sir and crafted them into one frightfully unique posts.... make mine a bucket of adrenaline would ya..... Neville

[Agyani]

Although all these made me cringe and uneasy, none of these resonated with me on a personal level. I can't really say what REALLY frightens me in such a manner. But if I think about it, I think it's watching your doom, your end approaching, and knowing there's not much you can do. On that note, #6 and #14
But to be honest, I wish I never find out what it is that I REALLY fear

[Sami Khalil]

I like many of the definitions of fear for they are so true. A bullet type poetry that is good. Kudos.

[barleygirl]

I like how your suggestions prompt unexpected ideas from the reader's mind. In some cases, your "fearful scenarios" feel like they are taken from fairly standard imagery of this genre. But in about half of these cases, you dig deeper & reveal strong originality. About #4 . . . my dad (a monster who raped me repeatedly thru-out my childhood) got his just penance in the form of dying from Parkinson's for 15 years . . . his final weeks, his throat muscles were shutting down, threatening to choke him to death & finally refusing to do their job. I wasn't there, but my sister told me about it & it sounded like a worse punishment than any human could've imagined for the beast. Also #7 hits close to home, since my dad raped my tender sisters (we were all 6 & 7 at the time) & they squeezed my hand from the bed beside mine, being raped & even tho I felt for them, I was also wondering if I would be on his train of abuse for that night. I'm not having any kind of reaction to this stuff nowadays (I'm 62 & healed). But it's pretty intense stuff, so I figured I'd offer it up to possibly give your imagination some twists. I'm at that point in life where I can see the beauty in the details of my childhood, as far as being good material for stories. My dad was into bestiality, too! What a case! Thanks for sharing your ideas & considering mine (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Shawn Odette]

Thank you for the insight into your personal experience. I am glad you survived your all-too-real-life monster, but am truly sorry for what you went through and for all those in the world, men, women and children alike, that endure such. Being the father of four daughters, that is one of my biggest fears.
Again, thank you for sharing with me and thank you for your support, you are always kind when reviewing my stories.

[Onlyme]

Fear to me is being all alone injured and hurt and no one to help me. Like the man a few years ago who went rock climbing slipped and got trapped between two rocks his arm. And he had to actually cut his arm off. And then get out of the place to find help.

[Shawn Odette]

That is a good one, Dawn! Could you imagine being stuck for days where nobody knows where you are, slowly starving and dehydrating, convinced you are going to die.

[Onlyme]

imagine you are on holiday, and you decided to go visit, on your own around the place. And enter a popular visters attraction wherever it maybe in any country across and come across a section no one noticed before and you enter and have a look around and get yourself lost. Trapped stuck, cant get out, panic fear fills you. You scream no one hears you. Then dark comes. trapped Just an idea.

[Shawn Odette]

People all around but nobody can hear or see you. I like this line of thought!

[Onlyme]

The desperation and fear builds and you slow go insane with your own thoughts and fears.

[Shawn Odette]

What if you didn't get stuck or find yourself in this predicament by accidental means? What if someone placed you there. What if you are being murdered in the slowest, most excruciating way right in plain sight of people who don't even realize what it is they are seeing?

[Onlyme]

wow, that a underestimated shocker to say the least, slightly uncomprehendable to begin with then overwhelming numb horror, shock, disgust, fear, anger, rage, hurt, and so one emotions flooding your senses and presents like an overload of emotional abuse cancome toterms with it all and that its happening to you, like now, and why?