I was always wary of boats as a kid. My dad had a lake boat, and in spite of being brought on it through babyhood, I did not like it one bit.

In second grade, I learned about the Titanic (this was before the movie came out). I couldn't sleep that night, couldn't even stay in bed - I sat awake, back to my dresser, wrapped in a blanket, shaking and crying.

Dad popped in to ask what was up, and reportedly I just gave him some sort of, "All those people, no one knew where to go, they couldn't get away," answer. He shook it off and got me some ice cream, then the next day came home with a book that went into the Titanic disaster in great detail (the book we had at school was incredibly simple, being meant for second graders), including the technical specifications of the ship and disaster reports. We'd keep up with the Ballard expedition.

Going to Titanic exhibits, I'd always feel a little spooky. Even nowadays when I happen to go into one.

Grandma thought I was a touch haunted, but I attribute it to the Titanic being my first taste of "sometimes very bad things happen", with a coincidental dislike of boats.