I Love Scary Stories
Hormones (creepy Story)... I wrote this as a submission for creepypasta. It may sound like a scientific spiel, but if you want to skip the science, go to the third paragraph.
Hormones
We all know our five basic senses, right? We see, smell, hear, taste, and feel things. We also know that there are “secondary” senses, such as our sense of balance, of where our body parts are in the dark, and of another person’s presence. ESP, among those who say it exists, put it in that category, too.
We also know that there are items we can utilize to enhance or dull our senses, causing different effects. Coffee, drugs, and alcohol are among some of the items that can cause different effects to our senses. Most work on a principle of affecting hormone production. Different hormones can cause different senses. Some are stimulated, and are produced naturally in different amounts. Some are artificial. Either way, it can either heighten or dull your senses. This is why coffee makes you very alert, but a sleeping-aid such as Melatonin (hence the name) make you tired. The caffeine in coffee can stimulate adrenaline, which is one of the hormones that can enhance your senses. This is why your peripheral vision is much better, and why you can sense other things better.
However, sense-enhancement or reduction is not limited to external stimuli. Different emotions can stimulate different hormone production, which can target particular senses or all senses all together. Let’s take fear for example, a sense that everyone has felt at least once. Fear is a part of our innate, primitive instinct of fight-or-flight. At that time, it was important to recognize what could harm you, and what you could fight. Either way, hormones are released (including adrenaline’s twin, noradrenaline), preparing you to either run or fight. Your senses would be heightened, causing you to be able to evade the obstacle, or fight it, with greater accuracy. Nowadays, fear still prepares us for fight-or-flight. Our senses get heightened when we are scared.
Sometimes, fear can extend these senses to an extraordinary level. This is why when we’re scared, we sometimes see shadows out of the corners of our eyes (as our peripheral vision is enhanced), suddenly smell bad odors, hear the smallest of noises, acquire acrid tastes in our mouths (although this might be bile), and feel the smallest of things. As a matter of fact, scientists discovered that the point of body hair is to detect the tiniest changes in air pressure. Sometimes, you may feel dizzy and lose your balance when you’re scared. You may also feel more balanced at times. When you are more scared, you are more attuned to where your body parts are. After all, your instincts tell you to be more aware to make sure nothing grabs you from behind. And as for that moment when you feel as if someone is standing behind you, but you brush it off as a product of fear? Don’t. Turn. Around.
Hormones
We all know our five basic senses, right? We see, smell, hear, taste, and feel things. We also know that there are “secondary” senses, such as our sense of balance, of where our body parts are in the dark, and of another person’s presence. ESP, among those who say it exists, put it in that category, too.
We also know that there are items we can utilize to enhance or dull our senses, causing different effects. Coffee, drugs, and alcohol are among some of the items that can cause different effects to our senses. Most work on a principle of affecting hormone production. Different hormones can cause different senses. Some are stimulated, and are produced naturally in different amounts. Some are artificial. Either way, it can either heighten or dull your senses. This is why coffee makes you very alert, but a sleeping-aid such as Melatonin (hence the name) make you tired. The caffeine in coffee can stimulate adrenaline, which is one of the hormones that can enhance your senses. This is why your peripheral vision is much better, and why you can sense other things better.
However, sense-enhancement or reduction is not limited to external stimuli. Different emotions can stimulate different hormone production, which can target particular senses or all senses all together. Let’s take fear for example, a sense that everyone has felt at least once. Fear is a part of our innate, primitive instinct of fight-or-flight. At that time, it was important to recognize what could harm you, and what you could fight. Either way, hormones are released (including adrenaline’s twin, noradrenaline), preparing you to either run or fight. Your senses would be heightened, causing you to be able to evade the obstacle, or fight it, with greater accuracy. Nowadays, fear still prepares us for fight-or-flight. Our senses get heightened when we are scared.
Sometimes, fear can extend these senses to an extraordinary level. This is why when we’re scared, we sometimes see shadows out of the corners of our eyes (as our peripheral vision is enhanced), suddenly smell bad odors, hear the smallest of noises, acquire acrid tastes in our mouths (although this might be bile), and feel the smallest of things. As a matter of fact, scientists discovered that the point of body hair is to detect the tiniest changes in air pressure. Sometimes, you may feel dizzy and lose your balance when you’re scared. You may also feel more balanced at times. When you are more scared, you are more attuned to where your body parts are. After all, your instincts tell you to be more aware to make sure nothing grabs you from behind. And as for that moment when you feel as if someone is standing behind you, but you brush it off as a product of fear? Don’t. Turn. Around.
