I don't want to be scared anymore

There are some things about life that definitely change as we get older - and I've just discovered one that's really rather taken me by surprise.

One of my daughters had watched the movie Paranormal Activity. We had the DVD for an extra day, and she said 'Oh, you must watch it! It's really scary.'

Now there was a time when this would have been just up my street. I've never liked gory films, but horror films like this, that scare but don't involve people being ripped to pieces, I've always loved. So I was all set for a pleasureably scary evening.

But then I thought, 'Hang on, do I really want this?' And when it comes down to it, if it is genuinely scary, what would I be getting out of it? The thought of being left a terrified wreck by this movie, or wanting to keep the lights on all night (as I admit I did after the Exorcist many years ago) wasn't appealing.

So there we have it. I don't want to be scared any more. Dr Who seems to be about my limit. That's plenty, thank you. Second childhood, here we come.