When I was young, I thought a monster lived in my closet and an alligator lived under my bed.

At night, I’d stand in the door, take a deep breath and run to the bed, making the last step in one giant leap.

All I could imagine was a hungry gator lurking underneath my bed, jaws open, ready to snag my foot if it hung out over the mattress. An arm would be just as tasty, I’d think, so all arms, legs and feet had to be tucked inside the sheet before I could go to sleep.

I outgrew that fear, but there’s no shortage of things to be afraid of these days, especially as an adult.

A new one for me is the fear of microplastic particles. These are small pieces of plastic we eat without knowing it.

These particles can be found in seafood, the air and in drinking water. If you heat your food in plastic in the microwave, they claim you can accidentally ingest microplastics. They say they’re not dangerous, but the seed of fear has already been planted.

This latest news announcement adds to the other claims of doom, destruction and catastrophes we hear about almost every day.

Some of these are real – Covid showed us we needed to pay attention to germs and wash our hands. Flu season sidelines most of us from time to time, and hurricanes and tornadoes are nothing to ignore.

My car beeps if I’m too close to the center line, the side line or any line. It beeps if someone is walking behind my car or another vehicle is behind me.

While I appreciate these warnings, some fears have been blown up to boost TV ratings and get people to click on their internet articles.

Shark attacks are one of these hyped-up fears.

Sharks have always been in the waters. After all, they date back to the prehistoric times. But if you listen to news stories, sharks are trolling the shores every minute of every day, their teeth ready to rip your legs from your body.

There’s a murderer on every street corner. Thieves are lined up at mall parking lots to follow you home so they can rob you in your driveway. Every rain storm could potentially become a named storm and destroy everything in its path.

Many of us have a fear of bugs, spiders and other crawly things.

Those aren’t just bees in your yard – they’re killer bees.

Those wooly caterpillars you see are a step away from the Monster from the Black Lagoon.

Any snake is a deadly one.

Okay, that one might be true.

There are the big real dangers out there – being in an automobile accident, a plane crash or even falling in your home when you went to reach for that bottle of ketchup on the top shelf of the pantry.

Yet I was able to move past all these dangers when I came across an article that reading fiction books is dangerous. Yes, reading – sitting in a chair with a Kindle or book in front of you is dangerous.

Books can trigger emotional problems, like a book about a cheating spouse can cause someone who’s been cheated on to head down a spiral.

I’ll admit that reading a Stephen King novel about a rabid dog, vampires or serial killers gives me the heebie jeebies, but in a good way.

Reading isn’t unsafe unless one considers opening the brain to new thoughts dangerous.

As in most things, a lot of these fears are groundless.

There’s no alligator under my bed. Not enough water and not enough room.

There’s no monster in my closet. She wouldn’t have enough room because of all the boxes and shoes I’ve got shoved in there.

Our dog is an excellent snake hunter, so I don’t have to worry about a snake sneaking up on me.

But just in case, I will keep my eyes peeled for anything slithering near my back door.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.