Did you ever have a recurring nightmare as a kid?

I was recently reminded of a recurring nightmare I used to have when I was very young. It involved a monster whose name was Even – not Evan, not Ethan, Even, for some reason – that would come toward the door (which was always open) of the room I shared with my sisters, but he never actually came in, because to stop him I knew I had to hide under my duvet. Then I would always wake up. Although I never saw him, the unseen presence scared me plenty.

Then, one random night, I dreamt that I finally saw him. He wasn’t what I imagined. I thought he’d be this big, swampy-looking mud-monster. But no, my brain instead conjured up Dr. X (pictured right), the nemesis of Action Man. So weird. I didn’t fight him, didn’t do anything, just saw him, woke up, and never had the nightmare again.

It only occurred to me recently that the meaning of the nightmare was clear: facing your fears, or seeing them for what they really are, is what will rid you of them. It’s entirely obvious to me as an adult, but as a child, I just knew fear. I don’t know if it represented something in my reality – I’ve always been a bit of an overly anxious worrier – but it has given me a good lesson as an adult. I wish I’d understood it in my teens. Maybe it would have saved me a hell of a lot of school anxiety.