SARAH SMITH
Shadows of the Human Experience
The monsters introduced in horror stories at a feeble, young age, told and retold over the years no longer scare me. These creatures are mere symbols for the true monsters lurking among us, in everyday life.
The energy vampire feeding off of the emotional energy of others, draining them by one-sided, incessant rants, fueled by immaturity and the lack of consideration for others and the toll their actions take on them.
Narcissism at its finest, the energy vampire preys on others out of pain. Yet, instead of eliminating their own pain, they drain the life forces of those who cannot stand up for themselves, those who cannot say, “no.”
The evil witch cursing others for personal gain, using their magical gifts to manipulate, to control, to yield power over others in order to further their own agenda. Motivated by what they want, rather than what would be best for the collective good of all.
The zombie, a mere shell of a human being, undead, walking among this earth lifeless, numb. Going through the motions without passion, happiness, or joy.
No longer able to experience painful emotions, yet, no longer able to experience what makes being human worth it, either. Never able to find true peace as they are not truly living and they are not truly dead.
The ghosts of chapters long past, appearing to the bearer of such memories through flashbacks caused by the reminders of daily life, the instances that feel so grand they must be more than mere coincidence; they must be a sign. All remnants of another lifetime ago.
Ghosts are nothing more than pieces of the past coming back to haunt the present, preventing the haunted from moving forward into a future away from such dark chapters, a future where the shadows are left behind.
The siren who lures cursed “loves” to their heart’s end, with the allure of charm and manipulation, using what they know about their target to curate the perfect sentiment, compelling them to believe that this is real love when in reality, it is a fallacy. Nothing more than mere infatuation.
True love does not manipulate or control for power. The siren uses the illusion of love to capture the hearts of which it desires, only to break them once the illusion is shattered.
The demons within that feed off of our insecurities, the pain of a traumatic past survived and the coping skills used to survive it.
The darkness of an empty void being possessed by the incessant lies that we are never to be loved as we have been deemed unworthy and inadequate, filling the heart with hate, or even worse, apathy.
Insidious aspects of humanity, shadows of the human experience, the darkness of the human psyche, the pain of being human. Such shadows creating monsters out of humans.
Surmised of trauma, pain, heartbreak, gone unaddressed, coming out in unhealthy, toxic behaviors. These frighten me more than any fictional monster ever could. They’re real.
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