Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Clowns after Midnight

My best friend has a six-month-old that I adore. Because of this adoration, I put some apps on my Kindle to amuse her. She can't do a lot with them yet, but in time, I bet she will. You know how they say no good deed goes unpunished? The good deed of the apps got to me recently.

I was in the dark and alone, fairly awake, and busy just going about my life. Suddenly, out of nowhere, I hear children laugh. I'll be honest here. I jumped. It was one of the most horror movie-like moments of my life. At first, I thought it was just my imagination. I forced myself to calm down and took a deep breath . . . just as the children's laughter happened again. This time, I yelped.

Before I could go into full out heart attack or wonder when the mutant children with giant teeth were going to eat me, I remembered one of the apps on my Kindle started with that laughter. I'd left the damned thing on and didn't realize I'd pressed it with enough force to cause the game to start.

I never thought of that laughter as creepy, but out of its usual context, it was terrifying. It just goes to show that even the most innocent things can twist around into something frightening. The darkness, being alone, and the unexpectedness all turned that innocent little app into something that will haunt my dreams.

I'm serious about that. I'm mentally scarred now. I will never be able to hear that intro laugh without jumping just a little.

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