When I was a kid, I was scared of my bathroom because I thought a monster lived behind the shower curtain. The movie “Tremors” made me believe that a giant mutant worm from outer space was going to come through the floor and eat me. I closed my door every night before I went to bed because I just knew something lurked in the hallway outside (it was the same thing that lived behind the shower curtain, incidentally).
As an adult, I am scared that I will never have a full-time job again. I am scared that Donald Trump and the GOP are destroying this country. I am terrified that I will never get rid of this damned bicycle tire around my waist.
Shirley Jackson, writer of short story classics like “The Lottery” and “Charles”, totally gets that kids and adults fear very different things. You can read my full review of her book The Lottery and Other Stories on my blog.
Shirley Jackson is like no other. I made my students read “The Lottery” and they were FURIOUS with me, and simultaneously horrified that this concept existed. And then, I showed them the reaping scene from The Hunger Games, and the rest of the class period was LIT. I was like, you guys, Shirley Jackson just points out what’s been hiding in the shadows this whole time. Great review!
I teach my students (16-17 yos) “The Witch” and usually after they are like “WHAT THE EFFF”
It’s great.