The Mind-Trap

[Letti]

I am sure you remember the part where Jake is trying to get rid of the monsters who are following him from the Dixie-Pig.
And there is this Mind Trap. And he sees dinosaurs...

My question is:
What would you see there?
What would the Mind Trap show you? What's that fear from your childhood that you hardly remember but could come back there?

[John Blaze]

Damn, when I first saw this question, I thought it'd be easy to answer. But it's turning out harder than I thought.

When I was little I had strange nightmares. I had vampire nightmares, but those weren't bad. But I had some strange nightmares that were extremely vivid.

One such nightmare was that i was the only christian person in the world. But it wasn't like everyone else was atheist, I was in some kind of Bizarro world where Satan was God and God was the devil. So in this world I was a devil worshipper, so to speak. I walked around this weird world being offered every temptation possible, I even remember there were demonized people who you'd take money to and they would multiply it just by touching it, and I was starved and homeless and people would tell me, "just take this money".

I wanted to, but I couldn't. It was a very strange nightmare.

However, I don't think this thread is about nightmares, it's more about traumatizing childhood experiences, isn't that what the mind trap was about? People were afraid because of stuff that had actually happened to them?

The scariest thing I remember ever happening to me was being lost in a Mall in Juarez. I was 4 or 5 at the time, and just wandered away from my parents while they were busy doing something.

But how would being lost translate to the mind trap? I don't know. That's like asking me in which shape would Pennywise appear to me. As Pennywise himself thought, adults have very complicated fears; not being able to support your family, mortgages, losing those you love.

But if I had to remember, I'd say vampires. Pennywise would be a vampire, and the mind trap would be vampires waiting in a dark hall I had to walk through.

Funny thing is, I went through a phase as a teenager where I became enamored with vampires, and wanted to be one...... Oh! to be Lestat, and go around the world slaying the evildoer and helping my friends and family. :lol:

I'm a weirdo.

[Letti]

What interesting nightmares, John... thank you for sharing.

As a child I was incredibly afraid of bugs. And spiders. I didn't dare to push my leg out of the blanket because I was afraid that little bugs and spiders would climb on my leg and I would feel their little legs on my leg... *shiver* I knew they wouldn't be able to hurt me still they scared the hell out of me.
I was sure that my room was full of bugs and they lived under my bed and they were waiting for me. It could be very hot in my room it could be the middle of summer I didn't dare to push my legs or arms out of the blaket.
Now I can tell that I don't run out of the room crying and screeming if I meet a bug or a spider I don't like them but I can fight with them if I must.

But I have a guess that if I stepped into the Mind Trap it would take these fears out of my deepest mind and it would show me incredibly big bugs and spiders who would try to eat my leg or something...
it's just a guess but this is the fear it could get out of my head to use it.

[John Blaze]

Now that you mention it, I used to have this thing about never letting my feet or hands stick out of the sides of the bed at night.

I imagined little carnivorous frogs with sharp teeth jumping up and biting them off if they stuck out. I slept in the fetal position.

I'm fucken weird.

[Brice]

I am sure you remember the part where Jake is trying to get rid of the monsters who are following him from the Dixie-Pig.
And there is this Mind Trap. And he sees dinosaurs...

My question is:
What would you see there?
What would the Mind Trap show you? What's that fear from your childhood that you hardly remember but could come back there?

The only childhood fear I had was my father and he's long gone and my fear is longer gone.


Now that you mention it, I used to have this thing about never letting my feet or hands stick out of the sides of the bed at night.

I imagined little carnivorous frogs with sharp teeth jumping up and biting them off if they stuck out. I slept in the fetal position.

I'm fucken weird.

Well, those little carnivorous frogs are real, but they only live in NM.

[John Blaze]

damnit! i knew it!

[jayson]

i remember being a little kid and hearing about wild boars at a zoo. the concept of a big hairy vicious pig gave me the creeps. i don't think i was like perpetually scared a boar would come eat me, but if the mind trap was looking to pick a memory of something that scared me at the time, that would be a good one.

[Letti]

Now that you mention it, I used to have this thing about never letting my feet or hands stick out of the sides of the bed at night.

Oh, it's so good to know I wasn't the only one with this stupid habit or fear.


I'm fucken weird.

If you are my friend so am I. :)

[Storyslinger]

Myself. I can deal with most fears, but there are things that truely scare me about myself.

[Letti]

Myself.

:scared:

[Storyslinger]

I've always found yourself to be your biggest enemy in this world, and it is your own experiances and past that you most over come to move forward.

[Letti]

I've always found yourself to be your biggest enemy in this world, and it is your own experiances and past that you most over come to move forward.

You are such a good guy, Brian. You should never be afraid of yourself. :couple:

[Storyslinger]

I've always found yourself to be your biggest enemy in this world, and it is your own experiances and past that you most over come to move forward.

You are such a good guy, Brian. You should never be afraid of yourself. :couple:

Thanks dear.
:huglove:

[lobstrositysoup]

Without a doubt, Zombies, or similarly awful mutants. I have a legitimate fear of the things, which I suppose that I don't help by playing, reading, and watching every zombie fiction I can find...

[John Blaze]

I LOVE everything Resident Evil.....

nice avatar :D

[Jean]

I know very well what it would be, but I can't even talk about it. I would just go crazy that very moment, or die. I wouldn't even have a chance to think of a clever trick.

[John Blaze]

Can't even talk about it? it's that bad?

I think it'd have to be something very elemental, a childish fear that we thought we outgrew until we saw it.

[Jean]

yes (to the question) http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k291/mishemplushem/Facilitation/bear_sad.gif

[HanzouNorak]

you know the old horror remake - The Blob? probaly what i would see, i dont know, something about being disolved in a moblie stomach just seems scary, dont you think?

[Woofer]

Excellent thread! :thumbsup:

Hrm, well if it pulls your fear from childhood, then mine would be one of three great fears:

The huge, tentacled thing under the bed. The one that made me run down the hall and jump for the bed, slapping at the light switch just before I leapt. I'm positive that would materialize as Cthulhu (http://www.phobos-deimos.com/Cthulhu/cthulhu.jpg) (and the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu)).
Volcanoes / the earth opening up spontaneously. Crack in the World (http://imdb.com/title/tt0059065/), anyone (wiki again (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crack_in_the_world))?
Mushroom people (from eating mushrooms). I was afraid that I would eat the wrong mushrooms and turn into a mutant mushroom person like in Matango (http://imdb.com/title/tt0057295/) (once again, the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matango)). Hey, it was set on Earth. All you have to do is eat the wrong mushrooms. It could happen (when you are six, anyway).

[PedroPáramo]

Two things:
-The witch that eats kids when parents are out of home.
-The vampire that flies around the night watching which kids are sleeping and which not, to eat them.



Yeah, I have a problem with the "eat" thing,
maybe that's why I totally love food <3
;D


Oh, yeah, and now that I remeber
once, on a Power Rangers episode,
I saw a monster that took the people's faces
and they had a flat face, without nothing
And I swear I could see him appearing on every corner.

After that I never had scare of the normal monters here in mexico:
-Freddy Kruegen(I never saw it, I was such a scary child)
-La Llorona
or...(and you would love this one)
-It, "the killer clown"
every kid of my generation, here in mexico,
have fear of that clown ;D

[Letti]

Mushroom people (from eating mushrooms). I was afraid that I would eat the wrong mushrooms and turn into a mutant mushroom person like in Matango (http://imdb.com/title/tt0057295/) (once again, the wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matango)). Hey, it was set on Earth. All you have to do is eat the wrong mushrooms. It could happen (when you are six, anyway).[/LIST]

How much I like this one! :D

[Letti]

Oh, I almost forgot to mention the clowns...

[Brice]

What about clowns?

[Letti]

My Mind Trap could work with insane clowns as well.

[Brice]

But....aren't all clowns insane? :unsure:

[Letti]

I have no idea. I have never talked to any of them and I am not planning to.

[Brice]

Not even Pennywise? :lol:

[Letti]

Not even Pennywise? :lol:
... maybe for a short tea ...

[Brice]

Yes, I can see Pennywise taking a break from tormenting and killing children to have tea with Letti. Of course I can. His must be thirsty work. :lol:


...and it is Letti. :wub: Makes perfect sense to me.

[jayson]

all this talk of crazy clowns just makes me think of the "going to the opera" episode of Seinfeld... "A crazy clown is chasing you? Oh, that's rich."

[mia/susannah]

What would the mind trap show me? You will probalby laugh at this but here goes. My grandpaw was a minister, god rest his soul, I loved that man, he was the only person in my life I have ever been close to. Anyway, he had a rubber mask and bodysuit of Satan, It was red, he had the tail that ended in a arrow. He had to pitchfork as well. That suit scared the bejesus out of me and that is probably what the mindtrap would show me. :panic:

[jayson]

M/S that is both hilarious and perfect! That is exactly what the trap would be looking for in your mind.

[Letti]

M/S that is both hilarious and perfect! That is exactly what the trap would be looking for in your mind.

I absolutely agree.

[Girlystevedave]

I've racked my brain on this one, and while there are plenty of things I wouldn't want to experience, only one really scares the crap out of me: being stranded in the middle of the ocean alone.:scared:

[Woofer]

Yes, I can see Pennywise taking a break from tormenting and killing children to have tea with Letti. Of course I can. His must be thirsty work. :lol:


...and it is Letti. :wub: Makes perfect sense to me.

DON'T! Remember the last time Pennywise made tea for someone?! :scared:

[John Blaze]

it was't him, it was that nice old lady....

[LadyHitchhiker]

Without a doubt, Zombies, or similarly awful mutants. I have a legitimate fear of the things, which I suppose that I don't help by playing, reading, and watching every zombie fiction I can find...

Me too!!! :excited:

[HanzouNorak]

being stranded in the middle of the ocean alone.:scared:
jesus i feel for ya.

[Matt]

The mind trap would show me my family betrayed or hurt somehow. Its what I am most afraid of and it would kill me.

[Dud-a-chum?]

Erm . . . I almost drowned when I was like four or five. So maybe, the mind trap section of the tunnel would fill up with water?

[/k/ommando]

I remember seeing this purple ooze monster on TV when I was a kid, everything it touched turned to ooze as well. It pretty much became my first brick shat. So maybe some sort of Blob-man thing? Or maybe a purple Shoggoth...

[Brainslinger]

So maybe some sort of Blob-man thing?

You'd love our Mr Blobby over in the UK then.

What would the mind-trap show me?

Probably giant bugs. As a kid, just thinking about them would make me cry out in fear sometimes. Bugs themselves didn't bother me much, but you know those nature documentaries that show them close up?

My freaky mind would come up with creative ways to freak myself out too... (grabbing a part of a centipede thinking it was it's head then the real head would come round and nibble my hand ... or pulling the legs off of a giant hairy spider... like why would I do that?)

I can look at close ups of bugs now, but I still feel uneasy.

Another thing that used to bug me as a kid was statues and models for some reason. Only the models in human form mind. (If that seems really strange or alien too you, watch a new Doctor Who episode called Blink! Unusual but brilliant episode, and I think you'll get the idea!)

There was a wooden mask of an Indian girl (or maybe native American would be more politically correct nowadays) that my Grandmother used to have, which freaked me out as a kid. It was actually quite beautiful, but there is something about the empty eyes which bothered me as a kid. Those statues of Kali with her tough hanging out with her multiple arms and severed human heads in the local museum (Horniman's museum in Forrest Hill south-east London) didn't help either.

Something which would also make me uneasy way Freddy, my Mum's ventriloquist doll. That was one ugly critter. Ginger. Old looking face... and my mother used this creaky voice that just fitted. (She was a terrible ventriloquist though, her lips always move.) I used to have dreams about it coming alive and chasing me as a kid and trying to bite me. Once as a kid my mum poked it's head around the bedroom door shortly after I had just awoke and and went in that creaky voice "Alllloooooo!". Imagine my reaction. I used to actually play with him sometimes as a kid, but I wasn't entirely comfortable with him. It.

I think we might still have him somewhere, sleeping away the years in a trunk gathering dust in the garage maybe... just waiting for someone to open the lid and set him free...

I'm not sure the mind-trap would show me Freddie or the statues etc though as they don't bug me as an adult, although I think Freddy's grinning face would make me uneasy still. I think the giant bugs might mess with me still though. (Dark tower 7 spoilers- Mordred could have been a terrific monster, shame he was underused. The spider French kiss bit was just messed up though. Shame it involved the 'too early' death of another interesting monster though.)

I never found Jake's fantasy of the cartoon dinosaurs particularly effective though. I used to love dinosaurs as a kid.

[Letti]

It would be interesting to know how the Mind Trap can choose from your fears (I guess most of us have or had a plenty)... does it choose the biggest fear of your memory or is it important for it too feel that you are still afraid of that certain thing?

[Brainslinger]

It would be interesting to know how the Mind Trap can choose from your fears (I guess most of us have or had a plenty)... does it choose the biggest fear of your memory or is it important for it too feel that you are still afraid of that certain thing?

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. The whole cartoon dinosaur thing for example just didn't seem particularly scary did it? True, I'm not Jake, but I don't really see why it would be scary to him as that age either, especially when you consider the real monsters he has encountered by that point (for example, the House Monster, Gasher, and of course all those critters from the Dixie Pig from which he just came.) Then again they became something scary when he realized they could actually kill him I suppose.

I would think to really work it would need to take current fears, but if it takes childhood fears, then amplifies them somehow, playing on your subconscious mind so you're not reliving the dreams you had as a child, effectively turning you back into a child... that might work too.

[mia/susannah]

I think my biggest fear would be that the Mind Trap would show me my daughters death again. That would really tear me up. I would not want to relive that. Or it may show me one of my other children dying and that would kill me.

[Wuducynn]

playing on your subconscious mind so you're not reliving the dreams you had as a child, effectively turning you back into a child... that might work too.

Thats exactly the idea as far as I understood it. If you remember it did that exact thing to the leader of the ka-tet chasing Jake.

[Unfound One]

playing on your subconscious mind so you're not reliving the dreams you had as a child, effectively turning you back into a child... that might work too.

Thats exactly the idea as far as I understood it. If you remember it did that exact thing to the leader of the ka-tet chasing Jake.

If that's true then I would be surrounded by Santa Claus'.
Ahhhhh! :panic:

[John Blaze]

sit on my lap, girl, and tell me what you want!

:D

[Unfound One]

*runs away in hysterics*

[John Blaze]

:lol:

[Wuducynn]

sit on my lap, girl, and tell me what you want!

:D

Yeeeeeeeessss....yessssssssssssssssssssssssss

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/54/128852915_1091dcf4f4.jpg

[Unfound One]

Oh wow, that's terrifying.
Still.

[Matt]

sit on my lap, girl, and tell me what you want!

:D

Rumors are flying about this chubby Santa with his sack full of joy.

:lol:

Have you guys seen the "smiling Bob" Enzite commercial where he's Santa?

sorry--off topic.

maybe the mind trap would show that guy coming at me. :panic:

[John Blaze]

:lol:

[Brainslinger]

I noticed, that Santa even has the one single tooth! Like Los. Just needs those blue eyes to be red instead of blue (although blue eyes do look effectively creepy in that picture!)

[Letti]

Los has just one tooth?

[Wuducynn]

No, its just Roland sees a tusk-like tooth sticking out his mouth when looking at the picture of him.