What scary stories mean

Man is still evolving. He [everyone] has an awareness of this, but cannot directly face this open  edge, so to speak, because it is logically contradictory to his assumptions about his own competence and importance. Perhaps this is related to the desire he feels for scary stories. It is like he can look at his own unknowable future in a mirror. But why should that future edge be frightening. The scary part relates to his reliance on the presumption his binary rational mind is the best tool to deal with the world. Why after all should the unknown in itself be scary.  Only it seems to me because this prospect directly challenges the presumptions underlying his perception of his own self-worth.

That creaky board in the attic means your assumptions don't really weigh what you think they do.