
You’ve heard about things that go “bump” in the night. Whether it was a vampire, a zombie, or the Boogeyman, the chances are that as a child, you feared those middle-of-the-night sounds that seemed to have no explanation. And whether those “monsters” hid under your bed, outside your bedroom window, or in your closet, those things that go bump in the night were likely the scariest at night, in the dark, when you were alone in your bed.
But fearing things that go “buzz” in the night might be a first for you–even if you had frequent “visitors” in your bedroom at night as a child.
Monsters, Inc.
Disney and Pixar monetized that commonality of “a monster under the bed,” or, in this case, a monster in the closet, with Pixar Animation Studios’ fourth feature-length animated film, Monsters, Inc.
The monstrous film is set in the city of Monstropolis and follows the story of James P. Sullivan, aka “Sulley,” and Mike Wazowski, two monsters who are best friends and co-workers at Monsters Incorporated. The two are part of the life of the Scare Floor, where monsters go to enter various doors in order to scare unsuspecting kids in their bedrooms at night.
But at least for these kids, the horror induced by the monsters they see in their closets serves a purpose. The screams from the children are bottled and used to power Monstropolis. So, in a way, the monsters at Monsters Incorporated are a little like the employees at your local electric delivery company.
In the story, children are toxic, or so the monsters think. Ultimately, however, Mike and Sulley discover that children are not toxic at all and that their laughter can power the city far more efficiently than their screams can.
A Toddler Is Introduced to ‘Monsters, Inc.’
Monsters, Inc. is just another example of the creativity that originates from the minds of the uber-talented writers and animators at Pixar.
And while fans have enjoyed the film since it debuted in 2001, for other fans, the film is delightfully and enticingly brand-new. Such is the case for three-year-old Saylor Class, who lives with her mom and dad in North Carolina and was introduced to the joy of Monsters, Inc. several months ago.
According to her mom, Ashley, the animated film was an instant hit with her toddler, and little Saylor was such a fan of Mike and Sulley that when she started talking about a monster in her closet, her parents thought it was one of the imaginative side effects of her affinity for the film.
“We even gave her a bottle of water and said it was ‘monster spray’ so that she could spray away any of the monsters at night,” Ashley Class explained during an interview with NBC News. But the monster spray didn’t appease the child, and it was ineffective against the monsters she said she heard in the closet of Saylor’s bedroom inside the family’s century-old farmhouse in North Carolina.
The Toddler Wasn’t Giving Up
Over the next several months, the toddler became increasingly insistent that there were monsters in her closet, and things started to make more sense to her mom once Ashley noticed bees swarming in groups near the attic and chimney of their home.
Saylor’s parents finally called a beekeeper to see if the bees were what Saylor kept hearing “in her closet.”
When he arrived, the beekeeper used a thermal camera in the toddler’s bedroom, and instantly, they knew what Saylor had been talking about–a beehive weighing more than 100 pounds.
“Like a Horror Movie”
“I kid you not, it lit up like Christmas in the wall right next to my daughter’s closet,” the young mother explained, referring to the exterminator’s thermal imaging. “When I first thought it was like a man in the wall, I was really startled.”
Suddenly, it was clear that Saylor had indeed been hearing “monsters” in her closet, except that the monsters were actually honeybees–more than 50,000 of them. The pest control officer, whose name was Collins, said the hive was more than twice the size of any other beehive he’s ever removed in his career–and that he had never found a beehive so deep into the wall.
Immediately, Collins knew that the bees would need to be extracted from the home–a feat that would require a long process involving three separate visits and attempts over the next several days.
“It was like an apocalypse, is all I can think about,” Class said. “It’s just all these bees started flying out.”
The honeybees, which are protected in the United States, had reportedly spent more than eight months building the massive hive and were traveling toward the floorboards of the home’s attic, which is located just above Saylor’s bedroom.
The beekeeper removed between 55,000 and 65,000 honeybees, as well as 100 pounds of honeycomb. Because the bees are protected, they were removed by reverse vacuuming them out of the home’s walls and moving them into boxes so they could be relocated to a honeybee sanctuary.
The Bees Are Protected. The House Is Not.
Though the bees are protected, the Classes’ family home was not, and according to the young mother, the bees, as well as their honey, caused extensive damage to the electrical wiring of the home. And to make matters worse, their homeowner’s insurance carrier denied their claim, saying that damage related to pests of any kind is preventable.
Ultimately, the intruders have cost the Classes more than $20,000.
As for three-year-old Saylor, she says that Collins isn’t a beekeeper: “He’s a monster hunter!” she told her mother.
Perhaps Pixar would be interested in writing the story for Monsters Inc. II: Bees in the Wall. Hey, it could work, and we’re willing to bet that little Saylor would be among the first in line to see the new flick. Only time will tell.
This post Real-Life ‘Monsters, Inc.’ Plays Out in Toddler’s Closet Until Mom Calls Pest Control. What He Found Was Far More Terrifying Than Monsters appeared first on Inside the Magic.