Fear of the dark

[tobes01]

Nah, Zombies aren't scary. It's Wombles I worry about, Omsk and Tomsk look well 'ard.

[JonathanD]

It's good stuff, I've been back since and was tormented by a heavy footed fox and later a crashing badger which sounded like a person, well the badger sounded like several persons.... on elephants. The initial fear subsided after I concentrated on the noise, just goes to show though, even foxes make an absolute racket in that place. I plan to go back next week to as it's a beautiful place and you get to see otters in the stream.

[IJ55]

I say now, I am in my mid thirties, and still I get scared of the dark when alone. Its a mental battle between fear and knowing, and knowing generally wins out the day.

However, I can say hand on my heart, with absolute total honesty, the scariest place on earth I have ever camped out for the night is a back garden.

Whos I won't say, but it is the one single solitary place I don't ever, ever step out into unless I am A) holding a torch, and B) The Rhodesian has gone out first and C) I have some whittling practise to do and need to get some wood for my bushie to slice up.

Yes folks, a garden has scared me more, much, much more than any woods or moorland could ever do.

[zorro]

It's never really totally dark outside. My dad took me rabbiting with dogs from an early age, we would set off as the sun was setting, working hedge bottoms and warrens, no lights, no talking either, letting our eyes adjust to the falling light levels.

The only thing to fear in the dark is fear itself.

[Goatboy]

They do say that our nightmares are programed in, females being lighter probably slept in the branches and so fear things attacking from below, hence under the bed nightmares. Males being heavier and so sleeping on the groud may be attacked from the side / level, and so fears of the closet / doors.
PS
It's said if you throw a hosepipe into a group of monkeys... even zoo ones they go mental, even if they've never seen a snake, it's programed in.

[taws6]

Werewolf / zombie / psyco's I'm not too fussed by, I'd have a go and kill it, I'd just treat it as a survival situation..
The type of things that scare me are things like, severed body parts next to / on me, or scary faces right next to me that I'm unaware of, or quiet voices wispering my name, or scratching on tents lol.....

I guess the ONLY film that can scare me now is the blair witch, and I guess it's the fact that you never get to see what it is that hunts them, so my imagination runs wild.........

The stories are great, errrmmm, keep em comming, and some advise on how to kill invisible creatures that want to scare me would be great too !!!

Great link with the animal sounds too

[JonathanD]

I say now, I am in my mid thirties, and still I get scared of the dark when alone. Its a mental battle between fear and knowing, and knowing generally wins out the day.

However, I can say hand on my heart, with absolute total honesty, the scariest place on earth I have ever camped out for the night is a back garden.

Whos I won't say, but it is the one single solitary place I don't ever, ever step out into unless I am A) holding a torch, and B) The Rhodesian has gone out first and C) I have some whittling practise to do and need to get some wood for my bushie to slice up.

Yes folks, a garden has scared me more, much, much more than any woods or moorland could ever do.

Please, this is a story that you must tell us.

[jimford]

I spent the night alone on the summit of Ben Macdui a few years ago. Macdui is supposed to be haunted by the 'Great Grey Man':

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_liath

I don't believe in the supernatural, but must admit I felt a bit 'edgy' and didn't sleep too well. I was also aware that when darkness fell I was stuck up there, and would have to tough out any encounter with the Grey Man!

Jim

[Nagual]

The dark does creep me out sometimes, but only behind me. I get the "it's coming up to get me and if I don't look it won't get me, and I know it's not real but what if I look and it's actually there" feeling. Other times I feel completely at peace and feel nothing but calm.

I wonder if it's us or, at risk of sounding slightly spiritual, the place I'm in. I often think that some places just aren't welcoming at all, the feel of the area is wrong, out of sorts. Other times the area feels like home, even if I've never been there.

[Ruvio]

i love walking around greek islands at night, crete in particular
my parents are from crete, and i feel really at peace just wandering round the foothills at night, and sleeping on a beach

[Javapuntnl]

I agree with the second post "fire and the realization that your probably the scariest thing in there" . Although when I'm solo camping in the woods I find myself curiously without fear... I get spooked plenty when its dark while just walking through town after midnight or even in my own basement.. but when I settle into camp I'm remarkably at ease... One tip I've heard is to realistically imagine what could be out there (realistically, so no zombies, or maybe...), but i guess that's just another case of knowledge over imagination.

[IJ55]

However, I can say hand on my heart, with absolute total honesty, the scariest place on earth I have ever camped out for the night is a back garden.

Whos I won't say, but it is the one single solitary place I don't ever, ever step out into unless I am A) holding a torch, and B) The Rhodesian has gone out first and C) I have some whittling practise to do and need to get some wood for my bushie to slice up.

Yes folks, a garden has scared me more, much, much more than any woods or moorland could ever do.

Please, this is a story that you must tell us.

OK, but I have to say now, it is not bed time reading.

I went to stay over at a mates house, as he had a new tent he wanted to test out, and decided best way was to bed it in whilst in the back garden. I agreed, and duely gathered up some kit for a weekend and trotted round his place.

He has a real nice house mind, and a huge, easily 250 feet each way garden, that is bare of shrubs bar some around the rear fences. We duely set up the tent, merrily chatting away and it went up easy, so we had a brew (Tea) and a BBQ, and just shooting the breeze.

It got dark, and we watched the stars for a while, then a bit past midnight we decided to knock it on the head and get some kip.

Well, laid there, this noise started at the top of the tent, a scraping sound accompanied with a sniggering 'laugh'. I turned to my mate and gave him hell for trying to scare me, and he did like wise, and neither believing the other, so we left it at that.

I grabbed a mars, he grabbed his yorkie, and we both started munching, when from the tip again down, starting that aweful slow scraping and sniggering noise, and then the ground sheet started to be tugged on and again that sniggering laugh.

Well #### that was it - we flew out the tent and there was absolutely nothing there at all. You couldn't of caught us if you tried that night as we ran, two grown men, ran like the wind to the back door, and sat up all night long till dawn wide awake until the sun came up and we could retrieve the tent.

I still go round his way every now and again, but things have changed. His garden has alot of lights, and he keeps Rhodesian Ridgebacks - when he goes out to take out the washing, they go with him, when he goes out for a smoke, they go with him. When his little one goes into the garden in full day light, two go with her.

Oh and when I go out into his garden, which ever of the dogs is home gets let out first.

[sandbender]

i love walking around greek islands at night, crete in particular
my parents are from crete, and i feel really at peace just wandering round the foothills at night, and sleeping on a beach

Circumnavigating some of those islands can be quite a ruffty tuffty experience, however there is something quite magical about sitting on the shore at night watching the distant soundless lights of fishing boats moving to and fro...

[Nagual]

he keeps Rhodesian Ridgebacks -

Beautiful dogs, lovely indeed. I pity the entity that tries to mess with them..

[Nagual]

Remembered Dr Whos' reasoning for the fear of the dark.. Vashta_Nerada The Doctor does attribute the seemingly irrational fear of darkness common to many species as a perfectly rational fear of the Vashta Nerada

[HillBill]

As a kid i had the usual bit of paranoia about the dark.

I lost it because where i used to hang out was a bit of a walk from my house, but their was a shortcut through some woods and fields. I used to stand at the start of the path and try get my bottle up to through it. I did eventually and since then it has never been a problem. I overcame it as a kid so don't have that instinctual fear any more. Though i forget that other people do.

This came back to my attention through a friend. He isn't scared of anyone and is not a wimp. Yet, i took him lamping about 2 in the morning on an estate i was working at the time in North Yorkshire. He was bricking it, seriously. He kept asking "what if we see someone" lol. I told him straight

" If someone sees us they are going to see 2 big lads bally'd up wearing camo and carrying guns, who do you thinks going to brick it?

He was always ok after that. But i was really surprised by his initial reactions at being a couple of miles from a house in the dark, all his inner strenght and confidence just seemed to be carried off on the breeze.

[Chainsaw]

These live in my grab bag;



Seems to make the dark more tolerable if you're on your own and also cuts out the snoring if you're not!!

Cheers,

Alan

[CBJ]

the realization that your probably the scariest thing in there

MMM I had a very funny incident happen once,

It was very dark and i was walking along a track that had thick bushes on both sides. I was enjoying the night when I heard all this noise on the path ahead ,half a min later I identified the noise as a couple of drunks and relised it must have been chucking out time. Well I didnt want to get involved with them so I thought I would take the option of going into the bushes and waiting for them to pass. I went about 5 feet in and sat down and waited, to my utter astonishment one of them decided to veer of the path and headed straight to where I was concealed. Ok I thought they saw me, there drunk and they have decided to confront. Well I wasnt about to be pushed around by a couple of idiots so I started to stand and then heard the"zzzzziiippppp" . I relised that the person hadnt seen me even though he was staring straight at me . well he started to sing wonderwall accompanied by the sound of pee hitting the foliage. I couldnt move and ive never had to fight they urge to burst out laughing as much as that before.
Also the urge to shake the bushes and start making howling sounds was hard to repress aswell.

[tobes01]

These live in my grab bag;



Seems to make the dark more tolerable if you're on your own and also cuts out the snoring if you're not!!

Cheers,

Alan

Blimey, they're big - are they in case your water purification didn't work properly?

[Chainsaw]

Blimey, they're big - are they in case your water purification didn't work properly?

you need 2????

Cheers,

Alan

[Leonidas]

Am enjoying reading the experiences posted in this thread, some seem truly bewildering...

From my own observations.....what is the scariest thing on the planet...?
Answer....The imagination focused upon the unknown whilst in an environment devoid of input.

JonathonD's recollection of fingernails down the tent must have put the brain into overdrive (What a rush, awesome).....either big foot has learned to levitate (no footprints) or more likely a small branch fell onto the tent at just the right speed and angle then slowly slid down the tent with enough weight to simulate dragging finger nails as it did so...the imagination under a time of stress could have filled in the blanks in the absence of input.....as the tent was surrounded by twigs whatever fell could have easily blended with the surroundings.

Am not knocking your experience at all, I'd sincerely love to meet something genuinely weird in the woods....but it would probably just be my own reflection....

[phaserrifle]

annother fun story was on a scouts camping competition at the local scout campsite. we where playing manhunt, in the dark (best place to do it) and one of the groups decided that a "dark figure" was following them.
by the time they got to camp, they where bricking it. at first they thought it was me, but I was over the other side of the campsite, having spotted them walking towards me about 15 minuits earlier.
they quickly worked themselves up into a tizzy "its a peodo" "no its not, its a mad axe murderer".....ect.

my reckoning is that there's some poor guy from one of the other camps, who went for a stroll, and has no idea how much terror he caused

[IJ55]

Beautiful dogs, lovely indeed. I pity the entity that tries to mess with them..

you should see them with his kid. The back door opens and one or two will trot out and run to the middle of the lawn, the little one with tumble out the door into the play area and another couple will happily lay down and watch her all day.

They are so amazingly intelligent I am bewildered at times by it - However, and this is important - do not ever encroache on a RRB's territory unannounced. That bluntly is possibly a fatal mistake to make, especially when they are paired or more.

However, if you have one, you know what beautiful companionable animals they are.

[Goatboy]

The only thing to fear in the dark is fear itself.

Or to put it another way: -

Judge Fear, " ...Gazzzzzzze into the face of fear..."

Judge Dredd, "...Gaze into the fist of Dredd..."


GB

[Nagual]

They are so amazingly intelligent I am bewildered at times by it - However, and this is important - do not ever encroache on a RRB's territory unannounced. That bluntly is possibly a fatal mistake to make, especially when they are paired or more.

However, if you have one, you know what beautiful companionable animals they are.

I'd love one, if I could afford to get one, and it's upkeep (can't imagine they'd be cheap to keep) but that's another pipe dream. I read a story in FHM many years ago, a man was walking his in his grounds and came across some bloke out with two Dobermans'. The bloke started to get a bit stroppy and cheeky, saying his Dobermans would easily take it as they were guard dogs or fighters or something like that, the guy asked then pleaded for him to be sensible but the bloke let loose his dogs. The man had no choice but to let his Ridgeback loose too. The first doberman died within a few minutes and he later found out the other died the next day. Or at least that is what the story was.

I've saw a couple round here, sometimes there is a dog show / demo / comp of some sort at the Dean castle, a lass had two. Unmistakable dogs, very proud looking, large and powerfully athletic, very alert looking too- I can see what you mean by being intelligent. We made sure we stayed a respectful dustance away, as did everyone else, even those chatting with the lass. I was completely awe struck by them, as it was the first time I'd saw them in person.

[jimford]

There was a programme on TV recently about problems caused by inbreeding dogs for particular characteristics. Rhodesian ridgebacks were one of the breeds covered. The ridgeback feature is apparently caused by a form of spina biffida, and some dogs shown on the programme had serious problems with open lesions in their backs. The vets on the programme deplored the breeding of ridgebacks.

Jim

[JonathanD]

JonathonD's recollection of fingernails down the tent must have put the brain into overdrive (What a rush, awesome).....either big foot has learned to levitate (no footprints) or more likely a small branch fell onto the tent at just the right speed and angle then slowly slid down the tent with enough weight to simulate dragging finger nails as it did so...the imagination under a time of stress could have filled in the blanks in the absence of input.....as the tent was surrounded by twigs whatever fell could have easily blended with the surroundings.:

Definately not a branch falling, it happened several times at the same speed...very quick and I was camped in a muddy clearing next to a wide stream. Any branches falling near my tent would have been obvious. Not to mention pretty spectacular as the nearest tree was about 30 feet away. The fact that I couldn't work out a rational explanation was the worst thing

[Leonidas]

OK back to the drawing board.....

At the least you'll have a great opener for dinner parties

[JonathanD]

OK back to the drawing board.....

At the least you'll have a great opener for dinner parties

This has probably the first time I've talked about it. There are no words that can convey what the feeling was that night, and although a couple of freinds came back to the site the following day, the explanantions ran dry, and the only wy we could replicate the noise was by using our hands and nails. The tent was also an Hilleberg Akto, so is curved, and even holding a stick and runing it down the sides wouldn't work as well as the control the human arm alone has. Stuff we dropped onto it just bounced off and wouldn't slide down too. Freaky.

[IJ55]

There was a programme on TV recently about problems caused by inbreeding dogs for particular characteristics. Rhodesian ridgebacks were one of the breeds covered. The ridgeback feature is apparently caused by a form of spina biffida, and some dogs shown on the programme had serious problems with open lesions in their backs. The vets on the programme deplored the breeding of ridgebacks.

Jim

http://www.rhodesianridgebacks.org/puppyadvice.html

They are great dogs, strong stock, have beautiful 'pack' orientated natures and are super healthy. You just have to do like you do with all dogs and make sure you use a reputable breeder who is documented and lnows their onions.