A monster burst
In through my door.
He let out an
Ungodly roar.

I cringed beneath
My quilt and sheet
And hoped he wouldn’t
Eat my feet.

He threw my toys
Out on the floor
And piled them up
Against the door.

Then he slithered
Toward my bed
And pulled the covers
Off my head.

He waved a box
Before my face.
My heart and stomach
Had a race.

My every thought
Catastrophy,
He said, “Let’s play
Monopoly.”

Little boys like to talk about monsters. Once I even heard two little boys arguing about whose monster was the most ferocious. The best way to combat monster phobia is to humanize the monsters.

In Nighttime Visitor I started off with a monster of the type little children fear, but ended with him having just come to play. Still, if a child has an inordinate fear of monsters, it might be best to save monster stories for daytime reading.