Little House of Horrors

Many people believe that one must travel to the wilderness to find feral creatures. However, after having been a babysitter for over five years, I can attest to the fact that wild animals exist in the homes of suburban America.

I can recount many horror stories of my worst encounters with children. One of these instances ocurred when I was a freshman in high school. A family that I barely knew, but who lived next-door to a family I often babysat for, asked if I would watch their kids for a night. I said I would, and showed up at the front door on Saturday night. As soon as the father opened the door, I knew something was wrong.

He wore cowboy boots with spurs, and had a dissheveled look about him. His greasy hair hung in strings over a tough face. A woman appeared next to him; his wife had the same hard glint in her eye, and all she said was, “The kids are asleep. They’re in that room – “ she pointed to a closed door “ – and you should not go inside, no matter what. No matter what, ok?”

The pair left me alone after giving me the phone number of the place they would be at. I tentatively explored my immediate surroundings. The living room contained a cage, in which a squirrel scurried around. The kitchen cabinets only held a few packages of microwave popcorn, yet I could not find a microwave anywhere in the room. Suddenly, a noise startled me. A mangy cat wormed its way into the space between the door to the kids’ bedroom and the wall, disappearing into the dark, forbidden room. I started to panic. After a few more frightened minutes, I decided to call my dad.

He arrived shortly, and told me to go home; he would stay in the house until the parents came home. I never got paid, I never heard from the parents again, and I never found out what was in that room. It may have been children, it may have only been cats. Who knows?

Incidents such as these make me question the safety of babysitting. I never know what type of people I am involving myself with. In an episode of “Malcolm in the Middle,” Malcolm takes a job watching the children of a wealthy family in his neighborhood. The children always go to sleep soon after he arrives, so he has free reign to watch cable, eat as much food as he wants, and explore the house; it is a dream situation. However, he discovers that the family has a hidden camera that has been taping his every move.

I remember what my mother always did befor she hired a new babysitter. She would take my brothers and I on an outing with the babysitter. We would go to a public place, such as a park, so that he or she could get to know us and we could get to know her/him in a neutral environment. I thought it was a good idea as a six-year-old, since I got to know the babysitter; now, as a babysitter, I endorse this method for different reasons. I never know what kind of situtation I’m walking into, so it would be great to have a preview.