Every night, about twelve o'clock, I slowly opened his door
and when the door was opened wide enough I put my hand in, and then my head
and I stood there quietly, a small light fell across that eye
Hark! Louder! Louder! Louder!
Villains I shrieked! Disemble no more, I admit the deed!
Tear up the planks, here! And here!
It is the beating of his hideous heart.
The end.
Dad?
Yea buddy?
Did your Daddy used to read these stories?
He did.
And you weren't scared?
Everybody gets scared. It's part of growing up. Even I used to sleep with my own teddy.
Come on, put your feet up.
Sometimes, I think I see things. In the dark.
Sometimes our minds can play tricks on us.
Did you see things when you were younger?
Of course.
Monsters?
There was this one...thing.
Nevermind.
Come on!
No!
I won't be scared.
You won't?
I used to call her, The Skeleton Woman.
She was really old, and had these long boney fingers
...It was a long time ago.
When did you stop being scared?
When I learned how to conquer my fears...alone.
Why don't you give me that?
Come on...
Good night.
Daddy! Someone's here! Help me!
Someone's here, she was in my bed! Help me!
What is it?
Where were you? There was someone in my bed!
Buddy. There's nobody here.
Check under the bed!
There's nothing under here. Unless teddy escaped.
It was The Skeleton Woman, I saw her!
She had big brown eyes and bony face.
Come on, back to bed.
But I saw her...
Okay.
You know,
I never did finish telling you the rest of the story. About the skeleton woman.
I couldn't sleep for days.
So I told my Dad. And he told me something. Something very important.
And after that, I was afraid of The Skeleton Woman anymore.
That The Skeleton Woman's not real?
He told me...
You have a choice.
You can live your life, cowering in fear.
Afraid of the monsters lurking in the dark.
Helpless.
Or you can live your life another way.
A way to live without fear.
The way that his Daddy taught him..
What he taught me, and what I'm teaching you now.
It's the way of nature.
In nature, the strong hunt the weak.
The weak fear the strong.
Most folks don't agree with this way of life.
Like Mommy, unfortunately.
But we don't hunt our own.
And yet, just like my Mommy before me...
There are still consequences for choosing to be weak.
You see son?
You can choose to be afraid of the monster.
Or you can become the monster.
Everything okay?
I thought I heard a noise.
I think you dropped something.
I don't need it anymore.
I'm proud of you son.