I’m hunched up in my bed, my heart is pounding, when suddenly there’s a creek in the hall. Hundreds of possibilities flew through my mind of what the noise could be, but one sticks out among the others. The terrifying possibility of a ghost.
Throughout my middle school years, the internet controlled my life, especially YouTube. When I was home alone, that was my chance to watch my videos. I sat down in front of the computer the second I heard the garage close as my mom left, all the way until the garage opened upon her arrival back home. My drug of choice was haunted 3 AM vlogs, which consisted of a YouTuber staying up until 3 AM, trying to capture any ghostly activity they could. These videos were suspenseful, they were designed to keep kids hooked and terrified.
My family had a lot of late nights, because of travel hockey, which meant I was home alone a lot. These haunted 3 AM videos left me terrified and filled with dread. I would lay in my bed fully convinced I was not alone in my house, and I was one second away from a brutal haunting. These nights were often sleepless until I heard the relieving sound of the garage opening upon my family’s arrival. My family is not known for their quietude, but as they yapped about body checks and slapshots, I was calmed to sleep.
Even though my belief in ghouls and ghosts controlled many of my late nights as a preteen, I have now come to see the silliness in my fears. I have since realized the torment was self-inflicted. I could have avoided some late nights if I hadn’t watched those 3 AM videos, but I find comfort in the fact that no matter what I always hear my garage open, and my noisy family walk in.
I love the personal experience and how you drag the readers in with specific details and imagery. What made you want to watch scary videos? Is it psychological as a young child? I wonder if you could expand to a big picture at the end and finish with a claim statement.