Route 2A is an old rural route in Massachusetts. It's still on the map, if you want to look.

My family often went this way to my grandparents' house. I hated that route. It was always very dark and black on the way home. Perfect for the horror stories, my dad loved to tell.

One particular story has stayed with me. I still remember the horror that I felt.

In the story, our car broke down. Dad yelled out for us to cover our eyes and not look. He said there were thousands of red eyes staring at us from the trees. They were horrible creatures with saliva dripping from their mouths. They were coming closer to our car to get and eat us.

Do you know what my clever dad did next? He slammed on the breaks making us fly from our seats screaming in fear.

Horror and silence reigned for a moment and then my dad laughed.

See why I hate the dark?
Route 2A.