Fearfully interesting

I should probably elaborate on my pseudo philosophical ramble.
For my entire life I have been scared of the dark, this is a common fear among children, not so much among young adults like myself, but I am, still. everyone has fears, and things that terrify them, take R for example, who was scared of fnaf. I don't know why, but I've always been interested in what people are scared of and why, it's not a obsession, but I can't deny that it interests me. When the indie horror game Slender released, I was immediately fascinated, not by the game, but by the monster, the Slender Man; I decided to look him up and found me very interesting stuff. Yes he's made up, but I did some history research and found some odd things, many cultures have legends of a tall, slender being that torments and kills it's victims. This is obviously not proof of the Slender Man's existence, but similar to how we invented the bow, why are all these legends so similar.

Some behaviour is evolutionary, no matter what the SJW's say. I believe that some fears are evolutionary too, that the fight or flight reflex that kept us alive thousands of years ago is still hardwired into us, also there are certain traits in things that unsettle people; sharp teeth, long claws for example, traits commonly found on predatory animals A.K.A threats. Alternatively, I think a fear of the dark is a fear of not knowing; you never know if a tiger is watching you, ready to attack in the darkness, these days though the tiger has been swapped for the spawn of imagination. Imagination is a powerful tool in making you afraid, hearing a noise somewhere in the house late at night, could be nothing, could be a pet or a family member.  Or it could be something sinister, maybe it's a burglar, or an axe murderer, maybe it's whatever fucked up beast you concocted in your twisted mind, manifested and come to take you. Or maybe it really is nothing. too late now, you're on the defensive, fight or flight has kicked in.

Through my research into the Slender Man I came across Creepypasta, a name given to internet horror stories posted and spread in various places on the web. A lot has changed since I discovered Creepypasta, now I gravitate to creative stories, well written or interesting stories, I consider Creepypasta just as much a form of expression as a simple horror show. I like Creepypasta that explore deeper fears; the fear of helplessness, the fear of the unknown, the fear of impending doom, the fear of the unexplainable, these are more than just a ghost or a monster, these are things that get in your head, these are things that scare you. Real world example, people were scared of Jack the ripper, because he was a murderer? yes, because he mutilated his victims? yes, but also because he was faceless, nameless, because, metaphorically, he was a ghost. The Paranoia and terror and helplessness is what makes people afraid. Horror games adopt this, Amnesia, Slender, fnaf, all indie horror games with playable characters that can't fight their attacker; the paranoia of not knowing where the monster is, the terror and helplessness of seeing Bonnie in the door way or Slendy poking out from behind a tree; things that make you want to run and hide, these are things that are scary.

this is a bit of a ramble, I know, but hopefully it was  interesting and thought provoking, probably not, this probably sounds like the words of a lunatic, if so, I apologise. or maybe you agree or disagree with me, tell me if that's the case.