Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Vampire baby

I’m not sure why, but I find it very easy to be creeped out by small children. I think I’ve seen way too many movies and TV shows in which children talk to ghosts, are possessed by the devil or do otherwise scary things. I really don’t know how I’ll handle it the first time I hear Kaylee talking to an imaginary friend.

That said, I’ve never actually been scared of a real child. Even though my niece Hope once told her mom about a woman in her bedroom mirror with red eyes, I don’t consider Hope especially scary. But I wouldn’t go into her room at night.

I think it’s so easy for Hollywood to get to me because kids are supposed to be the height of innocence. So the idea of one of them suddenly turning evil is not only terrifying, but completely unexpected. It doesn’t help that they usually reserve the worst torment for their mothers.

The other night, Rob and I watched an episode of a TV show called Supernatural, in which a town’s children were kidnapped by changlings. The kids were kept in cages while the changlings took their forms and their places in the household. They’d follow their moms around and say things like “Come play with me, Mommy” in this monotone that made me shiver. Then, when the moms were sleeping at night, they’d feed on her by sucking on this wound on her neck.

All right, I know my summary made the show sound stupid and unbelievable, but it was really creepy. Really. Stop laughing at me.

Anyway, later that night, I was feeding Kaylee and thinking about how nice it is that she hasn’t been possessed by an evil spirit or kidnapped by a supernatural creature, and that she didn’t seem terribly interested in devouring my soul. And I put her head on my shoulder to pat her back, while she snoozed away.

And then, very slowly, she turned her head toward me and licked my neck.

I think she’s checking for weak spots. You know, for when she gets teeth.

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