What fears have you overcome and how?
The content reflects on the author’s childhood memories of ghost stories shared by family members, particularly their grandmother and uncle, which instilled a deep sense of fear and awe. These eerie tales, mixed with a poorly maintained home, led him to imagine ghosts and develop phobias. Yet, as he matured and studied science, he began to apply logic to these fears, influenced by his grandfather’s scientific reasoning. The narratives transformed from terrifying lore to mere figments of imagination. Ultimately, the author emphasises the importance of distinguishing faith from fleeting beliefs, advocating for rational thinking over blind superstition.
Table of contents
Key Takeaways
- The author reflects on childhood ghost stories shared by family, creating a deep sense of fear and awe.
- He initially develops phobias, like phasmophobia, influenced by frightening tales and a creepy home environment.
- As he matures, he applies logic and scientific reasoning, transforming ghost stories from terrifying to imaginary concepts.
- He emphasizes distinguishing between faith and fleeting beliefs, advocating for rational thinking over superstition.
- The author warns against blind trust in supernatural tales, encouraging critical thinking in an era dominated by science and technology.
Childhood
He remembers his childhood days when, while in mutual conversation with his mother and other womenfolk, his grandmother would narrate stories of suspicious happenings and eerie stories about ghosts. She used to tell “eyewitness” accounts of dead relatives who would usually come to a fixed, secluded and haunted place and demand food. Dramatising her narrative, she used to tell how one of the family members would visit the site in pitch darkness to give him food. The person, nonetheless, remained unseen.
Ghost stories
Ghost stories and encounters with ghosts were the usual topics of conversation. People, with a pinch of imagination, would narrate them lip-smackingly. It used to be a daily dose of thrill, suspense and excitement. The style of storytelling mixed with an imaginary protagonist, who used to be the narrator himself, caused horripilation in children like him. They used to listen to them with rapt attention and awe.
Fear of ghosts
The stories affected him and left an effect on his tender mind. He had begun to hallucinate, seeing ghosts as moving skeletons or disfigured human shapes that he interpreted as omens. Stories of witches, spectres, and ominous spirits were common in his mind. He developed phasmophobia, a deep sense of terror. His old, poorly illuminated house, filled with cobwebs and dust, appeared haunted, where the winds produced a frightening whistling sound. As a result, he avoided those dark nooks, often refusing to enter them even when accompanied by older family members. (International Journal of Indian Psychology)
Imaginary stories
His young uncle used to narrate stories of his encounters with ghosts and how he escaped the clutches of phantoms who met him in some secluded and less frequented places. These places were full of clumps, ditches and haphazardly growing vegetation. Using his imagination, he would add an old, shabby grave of unknown identity and a flowing stream to lend authenticity. Under the backdrop of such settings, the story would take different twists and turns before the culmination of the ominous spirit vanishes in thin air.
Thrill and awe
Suspense, thrill and awe are the feelings that raise curiosity in human minds. These are essential elements for murky stories to grow and flourish. The ambience plays a vital role in the proliferation of uncanny stories and narrations, which are baseless and have no ground.
Tender mind affected
His tender mind adversely affected by these stories. It was due to unfounded faith in spirits, an outcome of blindfolded belief in unscientific and illogical thought processes. It is a common occurrence. The impressionable stage of the mind is prone to such attacks and, if not tackled properly, leads to phobias that haunt forever. His fear of the unknown stemmed from eerie stories that terrified him.
Blindfolded
He was a believer who believed in God and never asked questions or reasoned it. Simultaneously, a gullible person who reminisces about the day when he first visited a religious place. While wandering in the narrow alleys of a place believed to be the birthplace of an incarnated God, he tried to connect incidents he had been listening to and reading about for a long time. The seven-year-old boy groped the places with his eyes of imagination about the incidents he had read about. A weak mentality is ideal ground for imaginary stories to grow. He was not an exception.
Application of logic
With time, he started thinking differently and tried to apply logic to these stories, which terrified him for a long time. His grandfather used to talk in a rather different tone with a touch of scientific reasoning. During a conversation, his grandfather recounted an incident supporting his scientific approach. The senior patriarch told him that while in college, he encountered a Ficus tree that seemed ablaze momentarily for a fraction of a second. When observed closely, nothing was found. Thinking that it was a hallucination or something like it, the grand old man concluded it with a remark that before taking anything as true, it must be checked and tested on the black stone of reasoning and facts.
Reality or belief
With the progression of life, he started studying science and, as per his interest, bioscience. Many questions would crop up in his mind. The answer given by the reasoning and his course materials were not congruent with the belief and faith he adhered to till that time. It was a stage of strife within. He was always in a state of war with himself, watching a thing, arguing with himself and then testing it on logic and reasoning. It seemed that an unseen force was urging him to see the light and view things from a different perspective.
Changed perspective
The growth of the counterargument was spontaneous. He did not try for it. Luckily, he had studied the religious texts and holy books. Things were by heart to him. The only thing was that he did not apply reasoning; he was trying to see things and revisit them with a changed perspective.
Suspense thrills
He likes to watch suspense movies in which a murky situation gradually becomes clear, and an entirely new situation or person appears that startles him. People like to guess a situation based on an ostensible situation. It shocks them when an unexpected event comes in front of them. It is a mental situation, and everything that people perceive is no more than a figment of imagination.
Readings reviewed
He enjoyed reading novels like “Dracula” and other such stories, which led him to guess the situation and get a pleasant shock to see things differently. He liked novels by Agatha Christie and films by Alfred Hitchcock. It helped him come out of the cobweb woven around him. Gradually, a logical thought process with reasoning took precedence, and the murk and miasma diffused, giving a clear vision. He still loves reading suspense and thrillers. “She” and its sequel by H. Rider Haggard are among his favourite books. Besides serious reading, he likes to read these fascinating literary works, which used to take him to another world.
Breeding grounds
The secluded places, dilapidated buildings, and unattended historical sites, especially the then battle grounds, are fit and fertile places where imagination and exaggeration breed fast. The monuments of historical importance that were once shrouded in mystery and suspense, where people avoided visiting during day hours, have become happening places now.
Figment of imaginations
Mysterious horror stories about vampires, ghosts, and bad omens are purely figments of the imagination. The famous comic character “Phantom—The Ghost who Walks” has been woven into them to keep a flow and highlight the immortal nature of Phantom, who is the saviour of the simple and deadly to wrongdoers.
Beware of fraudsters
The current time is an Era of science and technology, prudent and rational thinking, logical and scientific approach. There is no scope for baseless imagination and terror mongering with ghost stories and paranormal activities. A section of people still takes refuge in misleading people by occult practice and witch hunting, exorcism, or conjuring activities. The deceptive and fraudulent practices are merely tricks to extract money and gain temporary prominence. People need to be cautious and try not to fall prey to hoodwinkers and fake godmen. The impostors try to reap the harvest of falsehood and gloom by creating a miasma of suspicion and falsehood.
Blindfolded belief
Enjoying anything and drawing pleasure in the mysteries of the unseen and unknown is different from believing them blindly. The mystery is a mystery until it is solved. It loses its sheen and attraction soon after reality comes to light. The best example is the moon, which was once viewed as sacred and divine, but is no longer regarded that way. People now know that the moon is a satellite with topography, craters, and high mountains. Explorers have brought sand and rocks from the moon. Similarly, faith and belief are not comparable. They are not on the same page. It has to be distinguished. While faith gives space to argue and healthy discussion, belief is fragile and doesn’t give space for healthy reasoning.
The choice is ours. Light of knowledge and awakening is preferable over the gloom of ignorance.
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Kamal Kishore Srivastava
A retired government officer turned writer and photographer, Kamal Kishore Srivastava is a regular blogger and essayist who explores life’s deeper meanings through immersive reflections on nature, impermanence, and happiness. On his blog Nature’s Narrative, he blends philosophical storytelling with practical insights. Writing 1,200–1,500 words or more regularly, Kamal is committed to refining his craft, expanding his audience, and building a sustainable space where thought and feeling intersect.
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