just as scary as I remember it

So I got my book, and I read the story of "The Patchwork Monkey." It's by Beverly Butler and in the book Baleful Tales and Eerie Creatures. Once I read it, I very much remember reading it as a child. It's the damn scariest story I've ever read. Seriously. I once read The Shining all alone is a friend's apartment in the dark on a rainy winter's night, while I could hear cockroaches in the kitchen. (It's a night I'll never forget and to this day topiaries make me nervous.) The Patchwork Monkey has it all beat.

So why is it so terrifying. #1, it's aimed at children. Children should not read this story. #2, it plays on every fear I had as a child - old people, stuffed animals, teasing your siblings, and being left alone in the house. #3, the story is very well written and down right twisted.

I had my husband read it. I didn't tell him anything, just a "read this and tell me what you think." He made me put the book away someplace "the kids can't reach it." He gets my monkey phobia now.

Some people might ask, "So why are you scared of sock monkeys when this is a patchwork monkey tale?" The answer is that the patchwork monkey started off as a regular old sock monkey. But it didn't end that way.

I always have bragged that my parents never censored what I read, and I've tried to model that same trust and openness with my kids. This story makes me reconsider. Be careful what your kids read, it can stay with them forever.

I haven't had the nerve to read the other stories in the book. My son has already labeled the book "very creepy" based upon the cover. Will I let him read it? Right now he's six, so I think not. I think I read it around age 10, that might not be old enough either.

I might not be able to keep this book in my house that long. It's presence alone makes me anxious.