Friday, September 21, 2018

Thanks, Mom !!!


Want to know why I am afraid of vampires? Do I have a story for you.

We were moving into a new house. We moved a lot. This time Daddy was working for a farmer. Part of the pay package was that we got to live in one of the extra farmhouses the farmer owned. That was a common practice at that time.

At that time there were only five of us kids. I am the oldest, about ten years old at the time, and the youngest one was about three. Needless to say we had a lot of stuff to move.

Daddy was pulling a trailer behind his car with as much as he could fit in at the time. He and my uncles would bring a load, empty it, and go for the next load. Mom and those of us old enough to help were busy putting things away.

It was a fairly hot summer day. In the 1950's people did not have air conditioners. The house had good ventilation though. A nice breeze blew through and helped keep us as cool as possible.

Mom decided finally that we had been working hard enough. It was time for a break. There was no furniture there yet so we had nothing to sit on. The floor was dirty from all the traipsing in and out. We flattened a couple of big cardboard boxes and sat on them to have a snack and something cool to drink.

Mom was entertaining us by singing a few songs. Then we asked for a story. We didn't want one of the same old stories she always told. We wanted something new.

She could not think of any. We begged. Finally she started to tell a story and quickly realized we should not hear it. She said it was not a good story for us. We begged and she finally gave in.

Her story was about Dracula, the vampire. We had never heard of vampires before. It was an exciting story. When it was over my little brother was fast asleep and the rest of us had to go back to work.

We worked hard all day. At the end of the day we had not even had time to put the beds together so we slept on the floor. Our rooms were upstairs. The boys were directly across the hall from us girls. The top of the stairs was right outside our doors.

It was a sweltering night. We had all the windows open to catch any breeze that might pass by but there were not many of those.

The main problem was that it was dark outside. Vampires come out after dark. They prey on the blood of poor unsuspecting victims. We were all afraid to go to sleep.

My mother assured us that a vampire could not come into the house unless someone invited it in. We were taking no chances. She told us to leave the lights on which we did.

Having the lights on accomplished two things. Number one; it was dark outside and we could only imagine what was lurking out there just waiting to attack. Number two; moths were attracted to the light. They flew up and banged against the windows. We all knew it was vampires trying to get at us.

Mom tried to calm us. It didn't work. She tried being firm. It didn't work. She finally ended up sitting at the top of the stairs between our bedrooms until we finally fell asleep.

I have been afraid of vampires ever since. See what you did, Mom? 

16 comments:

  1. I am sure your mom, after a night of little sleep, wished she had never told you and your siblings that story either.

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    1. It did not take her that long. The poor thing sat at the top of the stairs for so long waiting for us to go to sleep.

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  2. Oh dear, she must have had so many regrets. Enjoy your weekend. Diane

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    1. Once we were a little older it became yet another funny family story.

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  3. Wonderful story! You tell it so well. But now I see why she didn't come to your rescue when you screamed. She probably felt either a) she had already done more than enough to make up for her blunder or b) she felt guilty that even as a full-gown woman, you were still traumatised :0)

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    1. She told me she looked out the window and saw me going into my house. She knew I was okay so she went to bed. The story is better without that tidbit.

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    2. Yes! In stories, quality is more important than quantity.

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  4. Thanks, Mom. The fact that you remember it so very well and hang onto the hint of fear means that it had a real impact on you.
    I didn't know about vampires until I was a grown up. I'm okay with it.

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    1. My problem is that I remember too much. None of my siblings even remember that story. They do remember being afraid to go to sleep that night.

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  5. Let's see, our Mom told us a story about "The Big Toe". It scared us to death! Must be the same way they were parented, to scare children into being good. Of course, I didn't have to be scared to be good, you know I was the perfect child. LOL!

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    1. Someday I will have to tell you about how my mother was scared into having me. It is a good one.

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  6. The story is especially scary for a young child.

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  7. Did your mother ever tell similar scary stories ever again, Emma, especially if it meant she had to sit guard all night so vampires would stay away?

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  8. Haha that was fun to read dear Emma
    i found myself there with you while laying on floor and listening drecola's story :)

    i was most curious granddaughter who always asked for more and more stories to my maternal grand parents ,they were truly horrifying but i enjoyed them alot though later in late nights i used to be scared of various dreadful creatures lol

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    1. You understand. We badgered her into telling us and then made her pay by keeping her from her bed.

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