When I was a kid, I was scared of my bathroom because I thought a monster lived behind the shower curtain. The movie “Tremors” made me believe that a giant mutant worm from outer space was going to come through the floor and eat me. I closed my door every night before I went to bed because I just knew something lurked in the hallway outside (it was the same thing that lived behind the shower curtain, incidentally).
As an adult, I am scared that I will never have a full-time job again. I am scared that Donald Trump and the GOP are destroying this country. I am terrified that I will never get rid of this damned bicycle tire around my waist.
Shirley Jackson, writer of short story classics like “The Lottery” and “Charles”, totally gets that kids and adults fear very different things. You can read my full review of her book The Lottery and Other Stories on my blog.