One Halloween when I was eleven- or twelve-years old, I went to a “haunted forest” with my friend Mike Deemer. Afterwards, we walked back to my house. I must have forgotten my key, so I rang the doorbell.

“That wasn’t so scary,” I said as we waited on the porch.

“Not scary at all,” said Mike.

“Kind of funny.”

“Really funny.”

“Hilarious.”

Then my mother opened the door and we both jumped and screamed.

Why do I bring this up now? Because I thought I was holding myself together pretty well while listening to the audiobook of IT, but this morning I opened the shower curtain to see my dog staring at me, and I almost jumped up on the curtain rod.

Photo from Unilad.