18 Years Difference

I was fourteen years old and thought I was as cool as a freshman in high school could be. My parents were out of town and my grandparents were watching my sister and I. Tiffany Culp, a senior, picked me up in her car and we were on our way to watch my fellow freshman classmate, Chad Gleckler, play indoor soccer. About 3 minutes from my house we both realized that we didn't have clue where his game was, so we opted to go see a movie instead. Obviously as a freshman going to see a movie with a senior ,I felt pretty cool.

I'd never seen a true horror movie before, so I didn't know what to expect when we walked into the theater playing Halloween 4. It had me a little shaken, but I was never going to let Tiffany see me afraid so I played it off with a few jokes. But, that night I laid down in bed reminiscing about how cool I had just become. A few moments later I tried going to sleep and became astutely aware of how scared I was. Afraid to close my eyes because I was going to be killed by Michael from Halloween, I laid frightfully still for 3 hours.

Finally at around 2 in the morning I drifted off to sleep with my lock blade knife on the pillow next to me and my bible under my pillow. Don't ask - I have no explanation for why I did that, but it helped me sleep, so I guess in some way it made sense at the time.

Fast forward 18 years. I check into the Stanley Hotel. I'm excited because I found out you don't have to pay for The Shining on pay per view, instead they have a station that loops the movie continually. I catch the beginning at 10:00pm and watch.

Somewhere between the age of 14 and 32 I must have come to the realization that movies aren't that scary. I spent more time analyzing the movie, which I didn't particularly think was that great. I know all the true movie critics are going to disagree, but it's my opinion for what it's worth.

Anyway, five minutes after turning it off, I close my eyes and briefly wonder if Jack is going to chop my door down with an axe, then I fall asleep. This morning I woke up, looked out of my window and saw fresh snow on the ground already starting to melt in the morning sun and an elk grazing in the grassy field behind the hotel. I wondered to myself, what else was I once afraid of that if I experienced again, would I now realize the foolishness of my fear.