I think drjohnson has asked some pertinent questions. Is this something that developed recently, or has your daughter always seemed fearful and anxious about things? Did you recently move, or have some other kind of upsetting event occur in your lives, like the death of a grandparent? Perhaps she read some kind of scary book? If the fears are interfering with her daily life, I agree that talking to a professional could help your daughter.

Earlier this summer there was a mom of another 9-yr-old whose daughter gave very descriptive stories of a "vision" she kept seeing and she talked about an imaginary friend her daughter seemed to have. While I don't have any personal experience with "visions," my husband and I once vacationed in an old historic bed and breakfast, and the lobby contained old newsclippings of reported visions that people had, over the years, of the original tenants. I actually asked one of the long-time employees if they had ever "seen" anything unusual, and the lady did get a strange look on her face, and said once, when she was locking up, she swore she saw a person in hoop-skirt dress go from one room to another down a hallway. My husband and I never heard or saw anything odd in the nights we stayed, but it does make a person wonder....

I agree, with drjohnson, but it could be also simple...cartoons, are not like the used to be,children who hang around older children hear things...after saying all that..i have always been afraid of the dark..now i have a "DOG"and i am 40......If it is just a fear, that's one thing--night terrors,are another thing and you need to speak to their DOCTOR

My kids have had such fears at night - they're 12 now and both have anxiety issues. They both still sleep with all of their lights on. During the day they've had some fears, especially when alone - but they're traceable to bike thefts and other petty crime in the neighborhood.

It's hard to tell from your brief description, how normal or extreme your child's fears are. Can you tell us more? If your child seems anxious lately about other things, these fears could go away when the other situations resolve themselves.

If this is a continuing and escalating problem which feels abnormal to you, then you should talk to your pediatrician about it and perhaps get a referral to psychologist or psychiatrist. A psychologist could help your child work through fears caused by problems he or she is confronting. A psychiatrist could prescribe anti-anxiety medications.

p.s. Many people assume I'm a doctor, but I'm just a mom whose initials are DRJ.