Pharmacist invents 'monster spray' to help boy who is afraid of the dark
When Heather Garfield's son told her he was afraid of the dark, she turned to her pharmacy for a tried and true remedy to keep creatures at bay: monster spray.
Jakob Garfield, 7, had shared with his mom his fears about "what lies in the darkness, what's outside his bedroom, what's under his bed," Heather Garfield told CBC's Radio West. He kept coming into his parents' room at night, and when Heather suggested spritzing monster spray in his room, he didn't fall for it. "He's a little too smart for his own good sometimes," she said. "So I had to make it quite official."
Heather went to the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy in Prince George, British Columbia, and explained to pharmacy manager Jepal Patel that she had an unusual request. Patel "really loved the idea" of making an official monster spray for Jakob, and quickly put together a concoction that's mostly water, with some secret ingredients. On the outside of the bottle, there's a label instructing Jakob to "spray around bedroom at night before bedtime and repeat if needed."
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While Jakob did admit to his mom that he's pretty sure the spray is "just water," Heather shared with Radio West that since securing this protective potion, he has been brave enough to sleep in his room.
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Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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