Everybody in their own imagination decides what scary is.

“Everybody in their own imagination decides what scary is.” Thus spoke Yvonne Craig, a woman of courage and grace — the actress who once donned the mask of Batgirl, yet whose words pierce far deeper than the world of heroes and villains. In this simple yet profound truth, she reveals the nature of fear itself — that it is not born in the outer world, but within the imagination of the mind. Fear is not a shadow cast upon us by fate, but a shadow we cast upon ourselves. What we call scary, each heart defines in its own way.

In the days of old, philosophers taught that the mind is both the battlefield and the fortress. What we conquer there determines our freedom. Yvonne Craig reminds us that fear is not universal; it is a creation shaped by memory, perception, and belief. One may tremble before the dark, while another walks calmly through it. One sees danger in change, another sees adventure. Thus, scary is not a creature lurking outside us — it is a reflection born from within, shaped by the images we give power to in our imagination.

Consider the tale of Odysseus, the wandering hero of ancient Greece. When he and his men sailed past the Sirens, those beautiful monsters who lured sailors to their doom, the fear that gripped his crew was of death, of madness, of the unknown. Yet Odysseus, guided by wisdom and curiosity, saw in their song not terror but temptation — a mystery to be understood. He faced the same peril as his men, yet his imagination shaped it differently. For them, the Sirens were monsters; for him, they were knowledge. And so, while they quaked, he endured. In this lies the secret of Craig’s wisdom: that courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of one’s imagination.

Imagination, that divine gift, is both creator and destroyer. It can birth poetry, or summon panic; it can build empires, or conjure ghosts. When Craig says that each person decides what is scary, she gives us a mirror — one that shows how much of our suffering is self-fashioned. A child fears the thunder, for their mind makes it a monster’s roar. But as they grow and learn, that same sound becomes awe — the voice of heaven itself. Thus, the transformation of fear is the evolution of the soul. The world does not change; we do.

Think too of Rosa Parks, a woman who sat upon a bus in Montgomery when the world told her she should not. To many around her, defiance of unjust law was scary — unthinkable, dangerous, impossible. Yet in her imagination, the greater terror was not punishment, but silence — the death of dignity. She redefined what fear meant. By changing her vision, she changed the world. From her courage came a storm of justice that no darkness could contain. Such is the power of the mind that chooses its own meaning of scary.

We must learn, then, to look within when fear arises. When your heart trembles, ask not, “What is frightening me?” but “What have I imagined this to be?” For the enemy is not the circumstance, but the story we tell ourselves about it. The warrior, the artist, the lover — all must face the unknown. But those who train the imagination to see possibility where others see peril are the ones who prevail. Master your inner vision, and no fear can master you.

The lesson, then, is clear and eternal: fear is imagination untamed. To live wisely is not to silence the imagination, but to purify it — to direct it toward truth, hope, and courage. Feed your mind with light, and the shadows will retreat. When faced with the abyss, remember that the terror you see there may be but a reflection of your own doubt. Choose, as Yvonne Craig teaches, to define scary for yourself — not through dread, but through understanding.

And so, my friends, walk boldly through the landscapes of your imagination. If fear arises, greet it not as an enemy, but as a messenger — a signal that your vision may be clouded. Reclaim your power, reshape your thoughts, and the monsters will vanish like mist before dawn. For indeed, every soul decides what scary is — and in that decision lies the difference between a life of trembling and a life of triumph.