Fears

When I was a kid the most terrifying things were never created out of my own imagination, but were instead spawned out of the television set. I can remember being babysat by my older cousin when he decided to watch Alien. I sat behind the couch the entire time taking a slow peek now and again only to see something deeply troubling and terrifying and hiding hy face again. Alien spawned a fear of aliens that somewhat exists to this day, and my fear of aliens is the only fear that I can pinpoint the exact events that shaped the development of the phobia. I recall that before aliens I was afraid of volcanoes. I remember going camping and seeing mountains and getting sick to my stomach with fear that the mountains all around me would erupt into hot storms of rock and lava. I dealt with this fear of volcanoes by drawing pictures of volcanoes destroying entire villages, complete with rocketing fireballs and parachuting men (don't ask me why someone would parachute into an erupting volcano, it's just how I dealt with shit back then.)

After Alien got the ball rolling, I watched another film titled Fire In The Sky. The fact that it is supposedly a true story made me shit my pants to begin with, but then about ten minutes into the movie you find out it takes place in Snowflake, Arizona. I was living in Phoenix at the time so I practically had an aneurism before I watched the entire film. That movie sealed the deal and I've been afraid of aliens ever since.

I also remember hiding behind the couch every time the music video for Huey Lewis and the News' "Hip To Be Square" came on. My babysitter loved Huey Lewis, but for some reason the music video trouble me to the core. I remember absolutely nothing about the video, and I've tried to find a link to it to try and remember what about it gave me such terrible nightmares, but I haven't come up with anything. Perhaps someone out there remembers the music video and you can help me discover a long-lost fear.