The Bad Man was a tricky one because nobody could predict the movements of the Bad Man (bad men are everywhere, am I right? #NotAllMen) and it was common to be told that the Bad Man would get you for any number of minor disobediences. Putting sticks in our wellies to mimic the sound of breaking bones should we be attacked was common practice. Growing up in the countryside we believed ferocious badgers were a constant threat. The Bad Man was a tricky one because nobody could predict the movements of the Bad Man (bad men are everywhere, am I right? #NotAllMen) and it was common to be told that the Bad Man would get you for any number of minor disobediences Reassurances from my parents and repeated viewings of Jurassic Park eventually quelled my fears. Whenever I visited my Granny (who was Donegal-adjacent), I was unconvinced the British soldiers who patrolled the streets and back gardens would be any use against their prehistoric force. I imagined this hellscape in Donegal where giant beasts sailed down rivers of molten rock specifically to target me. In fact, he said that was where the dinosaurs lived too. The volcanos and lava fear was created via an evil tale from an older brother who told me he was pretty certain they existed “up where Daniel O’Donnell was from”. It had many competitors: volcanos and more specifically lava, badgers and indeed any hole in the ground a badger might possibly reside in, dinosaurs, the Bad Man.

Of all the things I was terrified of as a child, quicksand was the consistent front runner.

Does quicksand exist