What Scares You, Dashiell Taylor?

We have a special guest on What Scares You today–my eight-year-old son, Dash. Dash and I just finished a stop-motion LEGO horror movie, and I thought it might be fun to ask him some questions about his fears. Read on for his thoughts about monsters, surgery, voodoo, and more…

What are you most scared of?

I really hate heights. It’s just too high and I can’t really lean over stuff and it’s scary. The highest place I’ve ever been is our hotel in New York. It was like 30 floors.

Do you believe in ghosts?

Yes. Sometimes I hear footsteps down in the basement. I heard a creak. Also, every time I go to bed, the attic sounds like that.

What is the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

When I fell down the stairs in our old townhouse. But then John [our neighbor] came over and gave me cookies.

What food are you afraid to eat?

Eggplant. And slugs. And crickets.

What’s the scariest dream you’ve had?

When two ambulances hit daddy flying off an eight-story bridge.

What’s the scariest movie or show you’ve seen?

Either that CHiPS episode where they did surgery, or the kid’s horror movie we started to watch and shut off.

What’s your favorite monster?

My yarn monster that I made.

Would you rather be stranded at sea or lost in the desert?

I would not like to be any of those. I guess stranded at sea because it’s not hot and freezing. You can still swim away to an island maybe. The desert is worse because of the heat and no water.

What’s your weirdest fear?

I’m scared of voodoo stuff because gross stuff happens like pulling out hearts [Editor’s note: Thanks, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom] and having a little doll and poking a needle through it.

Do you enjoy scaring other people?

No, because I think it’s a little mean and I’ve learned that lesson. I tried to scare Izzy once [our cat] and learned that wasn’t nice. It’s not nice to scare a human being or a cat.

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Dashiell Taylor is a rising 3rd grader who likes building LEGOS and drawing pictures. He lives in Virginia.