As a kid, I was scared of pretty much everything.

At night, I'd see faces moving in the wallpaper, I'd see branches slither like snakes, piles

of clothes turned to slump bodies, lamps look like heads, and the front of cars grinned

at me with sinister intent.

I could also hear them.

A creaking door would sound like a groan, the wind would scream the floorboards would breathe

heavy size.

To me, there were ghouls, ghosts and monsters around every corner.

Needless to say, I was a nervous kid.

Turns out, it wasn't just an active imagination.

I have a condition.

It basically boils down to chronic, overactive, parodolia.

You know, nothing weakens the faces and cars or shapes of people in trees.

That's parodolia.

It is a sort of defense mechanism that humans have evolved to notice camouflage creatures

like jaguars and snakes, and to discern the sounds of encroaching predators.

But to me, it is about 16 times more noticeable than what is normal for the average person.

I see things everywhere all the time.

Of course, there were treatments.

By age 12, I tried six different regimens over a total of four years, and the side effects

were brutal.

Some would make me irritable, while others would make me hyper-focused.

...