Article June 1, 1992 Issue

The end of monstrous fear

Fear of sickness and sin can dissolve just as childhood fears do.

Jan Johnston

When my son was quite small, he went through a period of chronic fear. Night after night he refused to sleep in his room because he was afraid that Dracula would come to his window and get in. We tried in vain to explain that this make-believe creature, which he had obviously come to know from television, was merely the product of a writer's imagination, and that it could not really "get" anyone.

After several months with no progress, it occurred to me to ask my son if he had a solution to this fear. So I asked if there was anything that would make him feel safe from Dracula. I will never forget his answer because it was so bizarre: "Blue," he said. "I will be safe in blue."

Willing to try anything at this point, we repainted my son's room blue, including the ceiling. We also put down a blue carpet and hung blue drapes on the window. And true to his word, when the room was all washed in the color blue, he went peacefully to sleep, unconcerned about Dracula at the window. Thus, fear of an unreal monster disappeared.

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