Don't Think About It

In Short

This chilling short story masterfully explores the divide between the imaginative, terrifying clarity of childhood and the dismissive negligence of the adult world. When three-year-old Tommy encounters an "Ugly Thing" in his closet, his parents and aunt dismiss his warnings as simple fear or childish invention. Left to his own devices, Tommy must navigate a primal threat that the adults are too blinded by their own routines to perceive. It is a haunting, tight piece of psychological suspense that has endured for its unsettling portrayal of domestic vulnerability.

The Story

Tommy lives in a modest frame house with his parents, his Aunt Martha, and his stuffed animal "family"—Mr. Bear, Old Rabbit, and Kokey Koala. Life is simple and dominated by the routines of the adults until Tommy discovers a hole in the back of his closet. From this dark crevice, an entity he calls the "Ugly Thing" begins to project feelings of intense, red-hued hunger. While the adults are occupied with television and household chores, Tommy recognizes that the entity is predatory, feeling it reach out to touch Mr. Bear.

When Tommy tries to alert his family, he is met with patronizing indifference. His father investigates the closet but, seeing only a mouse hole, dismisses the danger entirely, setting a trap that the entity easily bypasses. Aunt Martha, the most stubborn of the adults, further complicates matters by insisting on sleeping with her bedroom door open, leaving her vulnerable. As a violent storm knocks out the power, the darkness gives the entity the strength it needs to force its way out of the closet.

Tommy, acutely aware of the danger, senses the entity moving through the house toward the open door of Aunt Martha’s room. He understands that his parents are useless in this crisis; they are "closed-minded" and refuse to see the truth. Taking his father’s cigarette lighter, which he had previously secured, Tommy acts. He leaves his bed, slips to the door, and uses the lighter to ignite a fire. The blaze quickly spreads, forcing the entity to retreat into the closet, but not before it claims Aunt Martha.

Tommy, his parents, and the surviving remnants of his toy family escape through a window as the house burns down. The following day, as firefighters inspect the ruins, they find no trace of Aunt Martha, noting that her remains were "completely consumed." The adults explain away her disappearance as a sudden trip, a lie that Tommy accepts with little interest. The family moves to a new house, one where the closets are well-lit and free of holes. Tommy, true to his father’s earlier instruction to "not think about it," puts the entire ordeal out of his mind. The entity is gone, and he has successfully protected himself and his family, leaving behind the charred ruins of his old life without a single regret.

How It Unfolds

The discovery Tommy finds a mysterious, dark hole in his bedroom closet while playing with his stuffed animals. He realizes with chilling certainty that a sentient, hungry creature resides on the other side of the wall.

The adult refusal Tommy attempts to warn his mother, father, and aunt about the danger, but they are too distracted by their own domestic preoccupations to listen. They characterize his genuine terror as mere childish nonsense or a fear of mice.

The storm and the escape As a powerful storm kills the power, the entity breaks free from its confines. Tommy, realizing that his parents cannot save them, chooses to sacrifice the house to save his family, using a lighter to set the room ablaze.

The aftermath The family escapes the burning house, though Aunt Martha perishes in the fire. The story concludes with the family settling into a new home, where Tommy successfully suppresses the memory of the event, moving forward as if nothing ever happened.

The People

Tommy is a precocious, observant three-year-old who possesses a sharper grasp of reality than the adults surrounding him. He is the guardian of his toy "family," and he ultimately evolves from a frightened child into a cold, pragmatic survivor who knows how to do what is necessary to ensure his safety.

Daddy represents the well-meaning but ultimately negligent adult. He wants to be helpful and protective, but his desire for order leads him to dismiss anything that doesn't fit into his narrow, rational understanding of the world, making him a dangerous liability.

Aunt Martha is the antagonist of the household, a rigid and sour woman who refuses to listen to Tommy’s warnings. Her insistence on keeping her bedroom door open serves as the fatal error that invites the entity to strike.

Momma is distant and preoccupied, focusing on her own internal world and her impending pregnancy. Her inability to engage with Tommy’s reality creates the vacuum of protection that forces him to act alone.

In Its Own Voice

"There is nothing there to hurt you, if you just don't think about it."

This is the dismissive, dangerous advice Tommy’s father gives him, which ironically becomes the mantra Tommy uses to cope after the tragedy.

"The Ugly Thing was out, clear out of the hole now, and moving."

This chilling sentence marks the turning point in the story when the threat finally breaches the barrier of the closet.

What It's Really About

At its core, the story is a critique of the intellectual laziness of adults who prioritize their comfort over the well-being and valid concerns of children. It explores the terrifying reality of being a child who sees something "true" that no adult believes, creating a power dynamic where the child must eventually take responsibility for his own survival. The "Ugly Thing" acts as a metaphor for the hidden dangers—be they emotional, psychological, or literal—that children face in a domestic space where parents are too busy or too self-absorbed to notice. It asks whether ignorance is a form of innocence or a form of profound, life-threatening negligence.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate psychological horror and "creepy kid" narratives will find this story exceptionally effective. Its power lies in its economy; it is a short, sharp shock that avoids over-explaining the entity, leaving the reader as unsettled as the narrator. The prose is clean and direct, mirroring the child’s perspective while maintaining a dark, ominous atmosphere.

Those who enjoy stories that subvert the "innocent child" trope will find Tommy’s cold, calculated reaction to the fire particularly memorable. Because it was written in 1960, the story reflects the mid-century suburban aesthetic—full of cigarette lighters, soap operas, and the era’s specific attitudes toward child-rearing—which adds a nostalgic, eerie layer to the horror. It is not a long commitment, but its ending is likely to stay with you, prompting a lingering, uncomfortable question about how much we truly know about the internal lives of the children around us. If you are looking for a story that feels like a dark urban legend, this is a perfect choice.