What you you be most afraid of:
A. Spiritual-- Ghosts, spirits.
B. Supernatural- (werewolves)
c. Natural-- Rabid bats
d. Other people.
e. Somthing else.
Besides, I could always bring a bag of dog biscuits to ward off the werewolves (or a couple of cute fluffy bunnies as needed) -- which would be my second most-feared thing, truthfully. An animal capable of tearing me to pieces (supernatural or otherwise).
"No," says the visitor. "It's dark out there and there might be bears."
"Aw," don't worry says I, digging in a cupboard. "I'll give you some buckwheat and if you see a bear just throw it at him. When he stops, you can run away."
True story. I handed the girl a palm full of seed and she was happy as can be.
What I would most like READING about being afraid of is probably an alien monster.
Not that it matters much to me. If there was some benefit to staying in such a place alone (like having a place to myself), then I would stay there.
Which things I would be most afraid of depends on which things I encountered in an unexpected or suprising manner. If I were there alone, then I suppose that various natural things would be the most common cause of any fright I'd experience. Or if it were a somewhat automated entertainment, I might be frightened by various triggered props.
Now if I actually saw something, Like a salivating monster, well that would sufficiently startle me since they aren't suppose to exist in the real world.
As to what would scare me the most, I choose 'other'. I'm not a very supersticious person and I generally have enough of an idea of realistic risk not to be frightened by people and animals. Basically, as long as I can label it, I won't be frightened.
What would scare me the most would be something that I couldn't identify at all. Even identifying it as a ghost or werewolf would be better than simply knowing that there was something there.
Food is good. We like food.
(grin)
Having no idea it was haunted was all it took, really.
As for what I am afraid of most... depends... would Josh Weldon be involved in any way whatsoever?
Because that guy can scare me.
-a
[This message has been edited by Alynia (edited February 21, 2005).]
Why?
Because I'm a Christian, and nothing supernatural can harm me.
At least that's what I reapeat to myself when I take the recycling bin to the curb on Tuesday nights...
[This message has been edited by ArCHeR (edited February 22, 2005).]
Here's how I see it--the only reason to fear something is if it can hurt or kill you. Being hurt, even badly, isn't much to be afraid of. Being hurt is a risk we assume with most daily actions--driving, chopping vegetables, walking across the street. So there isn't much reason to fear ghosts that want to hurt you.
Well, you might say, if a ghost can hurt you, can't it also kill you? And isn't being killed something we should fear?
Putting aside religion for the sake of argument, let's assume that dying is something worth being afraid of. And let's continue assuming, for the sake of argument, that ghosts exist and can kill you. Why would a ghost ever do such a thing?
The only advantage the ghost has over a person is that the ghost can affect the person, while the person can't affect the ghost. As soon as the ghost kills the person, the person presumably becomes a ghost. And, being a ghost, they can now presumably affect the ghost that killed them. A ghost seems to lose all of its advantages the moment it kills a person. I would think no rational ghost would ever kill anyone, because only by killing does it give its prey the ability to fight back.
So, if a ghost were to kill you, you could be assured that such a ghost was foolish and irrational. And, being foolish and irrational, it should be an easy mark to take advantage or vengeance of in the afterlife.
As to the ghost thing. Assuming ghosts exit and could kill you, what would be the point of worrying about it? The only thing that would happen is you would turn into a ghost. Worse would be for the ghost to only break your legs, and then leave you lying helpless in the dark, bug and rat infested cellar, bloody and cold. Waiting, waiting for the ghost to come back and break your arms...
Anyway, typically ghosts aren't supposed to be rational, so an argument that relies on the supposed rationality of one isn't very persuasive. But the more important factor is that most fears aren't rational either.
Fear is a response that takes over once your rational mind can no longer successfully cope with the situation, for whatever reason. It isn't the only possible response that can replace rationality, but it certainly is high on the list. That's why suprises tend to frighten us, our rational mind doesn't have time to think up a response to the situation so our irrational mind takes over and does something silly (and usually amusing to an observer) like shrieking girlishly and jumping away from something that is probably harmless.
For that very reason, ghosts and other strange phenomena will tend to cause fear, because most people don't have a rational response ready for such an apparition in this day and age.
I love the tangent on ghosts, though. Personally, I'm not afraid of ghosts though I've never encountered one that I know of. I don't think I'm afraid of them hurting me but since I've never encountered one I can't say what I'd think were I face to face with one. At this point in time, I'm more curious about them than afraid of them.
Death...now death I'm terrified of. I'm just holding out until the medical community finally comes up with a cure or a vampire finds me and lets me join his immortal clique.
If a ghost kills you, then there must be life after death.