One time when I was in college, The Mothman Prophecies came on TV, and I was intrigued, so I started watching it. When it ended, I was under my covers, with just the top of my head peeking out, and then I jumped out of bed, checked and rechecked the doors and windows to make sure they were locked multiple times, ran back to my bed, and jumped back under the covers, where I read books until I fell asleep with the light still on. When I was in my twenties and living in a small town, I walked a few houses down to talk to a friend about something at her place once, and she was about to start watching a scary movie (I think it was The Haunting in Connecticut). She invited me to stay and watch and, after it was over, I was so uneasy that I basically sprinted back up the hill to my house, slammed and locked the door, got ready for bed as fast as I could, and ran to my bed. Around that same time, I was a Netflix disc user–the actual discs came in the actual mail, and I’d added The Exorcism of Emily Rose to my queue because someone I’d been dating wanted to watch it. I forgot to take it out of my queue when it became apparent that we weren’t going to date anymore, so it came in the mail one day, and I didn’t want to waste the mailed disc, so I watched it by myself. That night, I stayed huddled in bed, trying to read and keep myself awake until after 3:00am, just so I wouldn’t randomly wake up at 3:00am like Emily Rose did in the movie.
I don’t know why blankets seem like such a safe place to hide. I think it’s probably the same kind of comfort that babies get from swaddling–the weight of the blankets feel a little bit like a hug. And, in all of these instances, I was either alone watching the movie or alone right after, and my blankets were like a surrogate companion.
Tonight, The Bearded One and I watched The Mothman Prophecies. I wanted to see if it would still scare me like it did 15 years ago. The short answer is yes–parts of it did still scare me, but this time was different The Bearded One was next to me the whole time, and Marty (the dog) was nearby, too. So now, even though I read a little bit about how this movie was partly based on true reports, I’m relaxed on the couch, and have no desire to run to my bed and jump under the covers. There are some scary things happening in the world now, friends. I’m not trying to make light of these events, or compare them to “scary movies”, and I won’t go into specifics. I just want to encourage you to find comfort where you can. Find small distractions or jump in bed under the covers if you need to for a little while if you’re alone, but also seek out people you can count on, because no blankets in the world can make you feel as safe as a real hug.
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