Skeptic Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 When I was very little, like 2 or 3 years old, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really scared of something but not really sure what. I ran out into the living room where my mom was and I told her about it and she said that there was a demon in my room. That experience set off this huge thing in my mind where I was constantly scared of demons. If I saw a scary movie or read a book about ghosts or supernatural phenomena, I would think that demons would start coming after me because my mom would keep saying that if you do anything that isn't of god or is related to some other religion, then you open a doorway to demonic activity. Luckily, I met my fiance who is an atheist (disfellowshipped JW) who had this fear before and he told me that there was no such thing. I've been kind of over it, but I don't think I'm fully over it. What really made it even scarier for me was that my mom told me at an early age, like maybe 3 or 4 years old, that she had seen them and that she had even seen and spoken to Satan. At that age, I fully believed her mostly because I had no reason to think she was messing with me or psychotic, you know? I don't think I even knew about mental illness at that age. She also says that god talks to her and that he healed her of her epilepsy, so she's all kinds of screwed up. I just don't know what to think about this. I know that people's brains can often play tricks on them and that's probably what happened to me. I was freaked out so I was making myself think that I was "being watched" or however you want to put it, but what about my mom? She's got to be absolutely crazy, right? Has anyone else's parents freaked them out with stories like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PocketAces Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 When I was very little, like 2 or 3 years old, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling really scared of something but not really sure what. I ran out into the living room where my mom was and I told her about it and she said that there was a demon in my room. That experience set off this huge thing in my mind where I was constantly scared of demons. If I saw a scary movie or read a book about ghosts or supernatural phenomena, I would think that demons would start coming after me because my mom would keep saying that if you do anything that isn't of god or is related to some other religion, then you open a doorway to demonic activity. Luckily, I met my fiance who is an atheist (disfellowshipped JW) who had this fear before and he told me that there was no such thing. I've been kind of over it, but I don't think I'm fully over it. What really made it even scarier for me was that my mom told me at an early age, like maybe 3 or 4 years old, that she had seen them and that she had even seen and spoken to Satan. At that age, I fully believed her mostly because I had no reason to think she was messing with me or psychotic, you know? I don't think I even knew about mental illness at that age. She also says that god talks to her and that he healed her of her epilepsy, so she's all kinds of screwed up. I just don't know what to think about this. I know that people's brains can often play tricks on them and that's probably what happened to me. I was freaked out so I was making myself think that I was "being watched" or however you want to put it, but what about my mom? She's got to be absolutely crazy, right? Has anyone else's parents freaked them out with stories like this? not for me. when i was a little kid, i saw the most devilish creature i have ever still saw. it was looking at me, mouth open, with claws. i screamed for hours. i used to watch horror flicks when i was little, so i had some knowledge of "monsters". i yelled for my mom and dad. they came up to me, trying to calm me down. they told me what it was. the shadow of the branches of a tree. they hugged me, and said it would be alright and just told me to go back to sleep. i saw it again, and screamed and cried for them. it was the same tree. again they just reminded me it was the shadow of the tree in front of my bedroom window. they hugged me, and said everything would be alright. sure enough they were right. then when i was a young Christian, my friend and i watched this horror flick. i don't remember the name now. all i know is in the basement the gateway to hell was there, and a river of blood and all that cheesy horror flick bullshit. well that night, i was in the middle of my private bible studies at the time, (ironic timing) and my room started shaking. mirror started shaking, everything in the bedroom. i started praying like you wouldn't believe. using the "tools" that the pentecostal church taught us (i didn't have any oil tho and i never spoke in tounges). i went downstairs terrified trying to find mom. then i noticed the dryer was on, which was underneath my bedroom. so as a young teenager, i knew what it was. talk about relief. but that impression lasted for a week. i couldn't sleep upstairs for about a week..just in case "i was wrong". funny enough, i remember how prayer worked back then. mid-cycle. then i remember a time with my buddy, we went and looked at this tattoo parlor. it was downtown where we grew up at. we got a bad "vibe" there. together at the same time. like a demonic vibe. something of the devil right? mixed in with the scenery of the interior being not well done, and kind of scarce. we never went back. now it could have been, we just felt uncomfortable around the people, or the way the inside looked, and thus with our "spiritualized background" our minds created delusions that we thought were real when they weren't. point to all of this is, the best way to fight it, is to rationalize it. and i bet, you can rationalize every claim of your mother, and even in your own experiences to be a figament of your imagination, or some kind of "feeling" induced by background of upbringing, or even things that you've been influenced by, be it media, or entertainment in movies or whatever. it may be hard to fight off, but when you rationalize you see through it, and see for what it is. nothing demonic, nothing spiritual, just an illusion that you created in your subconscience. and to prove this, when i was a kid, getting involved in church i used to take guitar lessons. the guy was great. your typical metal head and a great teacher if i must say. i remember walking many a times passed a huge pentegram painted in black because the guys that worked there had a death metal band and they practiced there. did i ever feel scared? no. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hawklord61 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Why shouldn't you believe your mother? you were too young then to know any better. unfortunately as you were growing up the fears have been magnified simply because your Mother knew that if you were scared you would do as you were told. To be Honest, it was a malicious and lazy way to bring up an impressionable child. You might take Comfort in knowing that a Demonic supernatural force does roam the Earth ... and it lives in England. I Married it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathlene Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Why shouldn't you believe your mother? you were too young then to know any better. unfortunately as you were growing up the fears have been magnified simply because your Mother knew that if you were scared you would do as you were told. To be Honest, it was a malicious and lazy way to bring up an impressionable child. You might take Comfort in knowing that a Demonic supernatural force does roam the Earth ... and it lives in England. I Married it! Thankyou Hawklord61....that made my night. Gave me a good ol chuckle. So your not a walking advertisement for the wonderful benefits of marriage I take it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RubyHypatia Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Brainwashing takes a long time to get over, if you can fully get over it at all. IMHO, you should take care of your mental state. I wouldn't go see horror movies like the upcoming one called, The Unborn. I saw a preview of it and it looks like a rip off of The Exorcist, only scarier. A woman gets haunted by her twin brother who died before being born. That's got to be a new one. The stories we humans come up with. Anyway, I suggest reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. Great book! Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hawklord61 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Thankyou Hawklord61....that made my night. Gave me a good ol chuckle. So your not a walking advertisement for the wonderful benefits of marriage I take it? G'Day Lol ... glad you had a laugh. I was just browsing through the posts and yours caught my eye. I sympathised with you straight away 'cos when i was a kid, my Mam & Dad told me that on Christmas night, a big fat fellah with a huge beard was gonna break into our house by crawling down the chimney, carrying a huge sack and have a mooch about downstairs eating all our mince pies while drinking all the sherry!. And while all this is going on... hes got 6 Deer knocking all the slates off our roof who just happened to be called, Prancer - Dancer - bashfull - Dopey - Sneezy - Doc & Grumpy. I tell ya, Crimbo morning i was clinging to my Bed posts like one 'o' those Garfields ya see stuck on car windows. They couldn't break me out of the Foetal position until mid afternoon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hereticzero Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Demonic entities have never scared me. I have been scared of the demons that really do take shape like Ted Bundy, BTK, or Jeff Dahmer, John Wayne Gacey. Yes, there really are monsters out there and often we do not know we are in the presence of one until it is too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeptic Posted January 18, 2009 Author Share Posted January 18, 2009 Very true. There are things that are a lot worse out there that are actually real and can actually kill you. I think when I wrote this, I was just trying to deal with my feelings about questioning whether god exists or not. I was expecting the "demons" that my mom would constantly talk about to jump out at me and take me to hell for just questioning god's existence (not really for real, but I had never questioned this before and I had no idea what would happen). I agree that I have to get over the brainwashing that I've experienced for most of my life. I committed the unforgivable sin today and instead of feeling eternally damned, I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of me. I feel like I can finally be free to be myself and not have to worry about this stuff anymore. I'm not sure if I ever thought that demons were real except when I was too little to know any better. I think my mind was just convincing itself that they were real. After I learned that the human brain can make things that aren't real seem like they are, I'm not worried about them anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I've got a can of monster spray (smells a lot like Glade) that I'm willing to let go cheap. One spray and I personally guarantee you will not be eaten between dark and daylight. Absolutely free, but a love offering is expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest xyz3 Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I would suggest watching horror/action films or TV shows. The kind of things that just use demons as the villains of their universe for the heroes to fight, rather than things to scare you. Things like Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Van Helsing. It's cheesy, I know, but I've found that seeing the dreaded demons portrayed as guys in latex masks and possessions used as a mere enemy of the week instead of the Worst Thing In The Universe to help me get over the fear. After you've been out of Xianity for a few years, I'd recommend going back and watching the scariest horror movies you can think of. I never watched the Exorcist as a Christian. I was genuinely afraid of a movie. But I watched it as an ex-Xian and was surprised at how not-scared I was... and also how unbelievably goofy that movie actually is ;-) I kind of found it a cathartic experience. I think in time you'll look back and wonder why you were ever so scared. But I know from personal experience that it's really scary right now. Xianity can really put some scary notions in your head... hang in there. The fear will pass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahjong Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 The thought of being watched all the time is scary, anyway. I don't care if it is a god, or angels or devils. Santa, seeing you when you're sleeping and knowing when you're awake. AAAAK! Recording angels writing your deeds and putting your name in the book of life. Opening the door to demons by whatever means we may do that. I learned, within 6 months of each other, when I was 9 years old, that there is no Santa, no Tooth Fairy, no Easter Bunny and that men put their penis into a woman's vagina to make babies. GOFFABID!!!!! When we do the penis and vagina thing are all the entities watching???!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naughtyhamster Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 When we do the penis and vagina thing are all the entities watching???!!! I remember as a teenager I worried for a while about masturbating as some guy on a xtian radio talk show said that gawd can see you doing everything you do and he looks out for sin (and masturbation is one of them). I was so worried if I touched myself I would be blasted to bits by some deity waiting for me to do the wrong thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OpheliaGinger Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 I would suggest watching horror/action films or TV shows. The kind of things that just use demons as the villains of their universe for the heroes to fight, rather than things to scare you. Things like Buffy The Vampire Slayer or Van Helsing. It's cheesy, I know, but I've found that seeing the dreaded demons portrayed as guys in latex masks and possessions used as a mere enemy of the week instead of the Worst Thing In The Universe to help me get over the fear. After you've been out of Xianity for a few years, I'd recommend going back and watching the scariest horror movies you can think of. I never watched the Exorcist as a Christian. I was genuinely afraid of a movie. But I watched it as an ex-Xian and was surprised at how not-scared I was... and also how unbelievably goofy that movie actually is ;-) I kind of found it a cathartic experience. I think in time you'll look back and wonder why you were ever so scared. But I know from personal experience that it's really scary right now. Xianity can really put some scary notions in your head... hang in there. The fear will pass. It's probably my affinity for gore porn and all forms of horror movies that has desensitized me to evil. No matter how cheesy a movie is, if it has loads of blood and gore, I will watch it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deva Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 My own theory is that horror movies are a preparation or rehearsal for death. Maybe at one time in history the Church helped a person do that, but those days are long past. I was heavily involved in viewing them at one time in my life, and would still watch a good one although they are few and far in between. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
♦ Fuego ♦ Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I found that horror movies tended to increase my irrational fear of things that aren't there, so I stopped watching them. In fact, it was an advertisement for the Exorcist that drove me to read the Bible in the first place, so that is proof that they can do real harm... I just don't enjoy watching gore. I do find myself drawn to Stephen King's "Rose Red" and "It", though. Not sure why exactly, but they have such a weird flavor to them that I enjoy them. I haven't read the books, just seen the movies. I guess it is because he doesn't tend towards overt gore so much as the oddity and the sourness of evil. His stories give me the same kind of feeling as watching the Twilight Zone, where it was often normality twisted to an unexpected angle. Of course, "Army of Darkness" was just plain fun: Ash (to the Hag): "Lady, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the store." Deadite Hag: "I'll swallow your soul!" Ash: "Come get some." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rabidtreeweasel Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I remember watching Devils Advocate for the first time. I was in college, but still living at my parents house, and still involved in their church. As a child, my church would occasionally do a laying on of hands to cast demons out of people, so it was something very real in my experience. So, when we watched devils advocate, I completely flipped during the scene in the dressing room, where the woman's back ripples because of the demonic spirit in her. I had a full on panic attack, and had to turn off the movie and go for a walk. I had a very similar reaction to Jacob's Ladder. I think, as others have said, these things just take some time to get over. Hopefully I'll be able to watch scary movies someday, without having such a horrific reaction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntwings Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Brainwashing takes a long time to get over, if you can fully get over it at all. IMHO, you should take care of your mental state. I wouldn't go see horror movies like the upcoming one called, The Unborn. I saw a preview of it and it looks like a rip off of The Exorcist, only scarier. A woman gets haunted by her twin brother who died before being born. That's got to be a new one. The stories we humans come up with. Anyway, I suggest reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. Great book! Hope this helps. Ugh, I saw the Unborn recently. Considering that the last scary movie I saw was Jumangi when I was six (hey, he got sucked into the game! how is that not terrifying?!?) it probably wasn't the best movie to see. I deconverted about 3 years ago, but that movie got to me so much that when I got back in the car I listened to Switchfoot. After about 30 seconds of not feeling any better, I switched to the local Christian radio station and kept it there for the whole 20 minutes drive home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shantonu Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Brainwashing takes a long time to get over, if you can fully get over it at all. IMHO, you should take care of your mental state. I wouldn't go see horror movies like the upcoming one called, The Unborn. I saw a preview of it and it looks like a rip off of The Exorcist, only scarier. A woman gets haunted by her twin brother who died before being born. That's got to be a new one. The stories we humans come up with. Anyway, I suggest reading Carl Sagan's The Demon-Haunted World. Great book! Hope this helps. Ugh, I saw the Unborn recently. Considering that the last scary movie I saw was Jumangi when I was six (hey, he got sucked into the game! how is that not terrifying?!?) it probably wasn't the best movie to see. I deconverted about 3 years ago, but that movie got to me so much that when I got back in the car I listened to Switchfoot. After about 30 seconds of not feeling any better, I switched to the local Christian radio station and kept it there for the whole 20 minutes drive home. I still get freaked out by the Exorcist. But I'm sure that there simply are no demons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosy_mary Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I never really feared demons, but when I was a kid my mother used to tell me stories about supposed demonic and angelic encounters she'd had. Now that I'm deconverted, I don't know what to think about what actually happened (did she just imagine it? I don't think my mother is crazy...), but I don't really worry about hell or demons, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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