A soft thud against my glass window would often be the cause of my most intense and horrifying nightmares. I feared abduction. I feared a man would enter through my window, during the night, when I was at my most vulnerable state and take me away- never to be seen again. My ten year old self couldn’t comprehend why I would be riddled with these thoughts late at night. I didn’t believe in the typical large, intimidating monsters, so what kept me up at night?
I wouldn’t understand until I became older. My fear stemmed from watching too much television, or rather listening too much to the never ending news reporting. Growing up, I remember the news station always being on. Even if no one was sitting on the couch watching TV, spanish conversations on domestic abuse, car accidents, and recents deaths could be heard in the background of our everyday life. My parents prided themselves in always being up to date with the latest news. However, upon doing so, unbeknownst to them, I began absorbing it’s negativity. It would later manifest itself in my dreams as nightmares of abduction.
At night, I remained curled up in bed, with my blankets pulled up to cover most of my face. I laid terrified and wishing for the light of the sun to come piercing through the darkness. I feared the monsters lurking in the shadows of the streets. I feared man.
At ten years old, I was beginning to understand the horrors of mankind. My young mind began to perceive right from wrong. Yet, I couldn’t fully comprehend how people could treat other people in such disturbing ways. How there could be people devoid of emotions and feelings. Those were the monsters that haunted my dreams.
One news story that instilled fear within me was the story of Elisabeth Fritzl. I was fairly young, around eights years old, when I first heard of her tragic young adulthood. Elisabeth Fritzl was born in April 1966. She was reported missing in 1984, at the age of 18. In April 2008, Elisabeth contacted police officials stating that she had been held captive by her father, Josef Fritzl, for 24 years. During her 24 year captivity, Elisabeth was repeatedly raped and tortured in the makeshift celler her father kept her. She bore seven children, all of whom were fathered by her abominable father. Despite being held in the basement of her own home, her mother failed to see what was lying underneath her. Josef would descend downstairs late at night, with the excuse of working on blueprints for the machines he created. According to Elisabeth, he would pay nightly visits, making her watch pornographic films and raping her afterwards. She had been eighteen years old when she disappeared, but he’d began abusing her since the age of eleven.
The story of Elisabeth Fritzl is a story of deceit, betrayal, and true horror. Her father is the embodiment of a monster. When I first heard the story of Elisabeth Fritzl, I only understood that he had been kidnapped by her father and locked in his basement. I was oblivious to the horrors that occurred within the confinements of the basement. I now realize that I only knew the surface of the story. I was far too young to understand the extent of her suffering. It wasn’t until I was fifteen that I stumbled upon a video of “10 Terrible Stories of Abduction” by YouTuber Rob Dyke, that I came to learn the true definition of monsters.
Josef Fritzl was a monster. He took advantage of his own flesh and blood, his daughter Elizabeth. He abused her. He raped her. He hid her. He was a despicable man, full of malice, corruption, and simply heinous actions. Thus, when news broke out of the things he’d done to his daughter, he was immediately incarcerated. However, who is to say that there aren’t any more people out in the world just like Josef Fritzl? He was a monster disguised as a worried father when his daughter went “missing.” He was cruel and never showed remorse.
Monsters are people. They are people who don’t value the lives of others. They are those who rob children of their innocence, knowing fully well that they are defenseless creatures. Monsters are those who have no feelings. They take what they want without thinking of the consequences their wicked actions. These people disguise themselves, always putting up a facade. If there is one thing, I’ve learned from watching the news, it’s that we must be careful of who we trust. We never know with who it is we are shaking hands. We never know what darkness lies within an individual. In the case of Elisabeth Fritzl, the monster lied within her family. The monster was her own very father.
