I used to be scared of monsters when I was little, so I’d always have my parents check under my bed and close my closet before I went to bed. It got so bad that I couldn’t get through an entire night’s sleep, and I would end up in my parent’s room every night. I tended to kick in my sleep, so my dad started sleeping in the guest room. It had to stop, so my mom had me write a long letter to the monsters in my room who were scaring me, telling them I wasn’t scared of them and they didn’t hold any power over me. Then she had me flush it down the toilet— they lived underground, she said, so that’s how they would be able to read it. They’d find it in the sewers. It actually worked. I stopped being so scared and was able to sleep in my bed again. Harmony was restored in my home.

This is special to J= because it is something he plans on passing down to his kids if they are ever scared of anything lurking around in their room. It was a sweet way his mom made him feel like he had power over the things that scared him, as well as a way to allow herself to have a full night’s sleep again.

This is a cute way to give a child power over their demons—by being able to send an angry letter to where they dwell in the sewers. I’ve heard of writing letters to your enemies and then flushing them down the toilet, rather than sending it, but never to the monsters crawling around under one’s bed.