[jambutty]

“Under the bed” is the mysterious gateway to the other parts of the house. “Under the bed” is the portal to other places and the harbinger of untold terror, when the night is at it's darkest.

To a child, especially at night or in the dark, that terrifying place called “under the bed” is a place not to look, lest some unseen gaze shall cast its evil spell. At night we are all safe ON THE BED, but should you dare to put a leg over the side some unspeakable creature may grab hold and drag you under, never to be seen again.

The modern divan bed is a boon to mankind as there is but an inch or two of room “under the bed.” Not even some unspeakable creature of the night could live under a divan bed. Or could it??

Do you remember when as a child, rather than risk getting out of bed to go to the toilet we would lie there almost in agony until the first rays of daylight filtered through the drawn curtains. Even then the hasty dash from the bed to the bedroom door left us gasping for breath and revelling joyfully in the thought that “IT” had missed with it's scathing grasp.

But, we still had to get back.

Even as daylight became brighter, we still jumped onto the bed from afar and buried ourselves under the bedclothes, lest in one last despairing attempt “IT” made a grab for a flying ankle and caught hold.

It all looks innocent enough in the day time with the sun streaming in through the windows casting it's beams of brilliant light all around but not quite under the bed. “Under the bed” is a place where sunlight rarely falls, for surely the light would destroy whatever lurks under there.

A quick look “under the bed” with a torch reveals nothing but a bit of dust, a long lost sock or two and maybe the remnants of a packet of crisps that the unspeakable terror had not quite finished. Whatever lives “under the bed” has gone, whilst the sun shines, but once darkness falls........

To a teenager “under the bed” is the unlimited storage space for all those unwanted items, like school books, the totally out of fashion jersey that Aunt Mable gave for Xmas and dirty socks. “Under the bed” is the rubbish bin, which is never emptied by the weekly visit of the dust cart. “Under the bed” is the place where by some strange magical force the long lost item mysteriously re-appears, having been lost in some other part of the house. “Under the bed” holds no terrors for a teenager, until the darkness falls.

To a military person or a matron in a hospital, “under the bed” is not a place to fear. It is a place that must be kept free of dust and polished to a high degree so that any sunlight can bounce around and lighten the very last dark corner and sweep away whatever tries to scuttle around and make a home under the bed. There are no terrors under a hospital bed.

It is the domestic bed that offers the unheard and unseen a place to hide and terrorise.

A pet dog would rather sleep ON the bed rather than risk being spirited away by whatever lurks underneath. Even a cat, who knows no fear of darkened places and is akin to the spirit world, will not sleep under a bed once darkness falls. The dangers are far too great.

“Under the bed” is a place to avoid at all costs, as who knows what lurks there?

To an adult and in particular a parent, “Under the bed “is place to search when gathering the washing for the day. “Under the bed “is the place to vacuum and clean so that it is safe for the children. For surely no unspeakable creature will make a home in a clean and dust free place?

Yet even to an adult “under the bed” can still hold the terrors of memories of being a child alone, in the dark and in bed.