The possibility of drowning mixed with the scariest virtual eel I had ever seen proved to be a kiddie cocktail that was a bit too strong for my young self.

Every medium has a source of tension that keeps audiences breathless in anticipation for what’s going to happen next.

Alfred Hitchcock perfected the art of anxiety by manipulation of the audience’s knowledge, the uncomfortable nature of voyeurism and his mastery of all things sound. The shower scene in “Psycho” is a perfect, albeit overused, example of tension at its finest.

R.L. Stine dominated our nerves by his wholly original use of cliffhangers at the end of every single chapter in every single book.

Wondering if the Shocker on Shock Street is going to kill Erin? Well then, keep reading kiddo. Curious as to just what the hell that crazy little dummy is going to do next? Flip that page like there’s no tomorrow.

Like film and literature (yes, I consider R.L. Stine to be high culture), there is a figure in video games that epitomizes the creation of anxiety. This figure is comes in the form of a slightly overweight plumber who hails from everyone’s favorite Mediterranean country.

One of the crowning achievements of my young, 10-year-old life was acquiring a Nintendo 64 before it was even released in America. Through a series of connections that only a young boy in South-Central Wisconsin could make, the moment that I got my hands on the black box was glorious to say the last.

Suffice to say, I immediately popped in my brand new copy of “Super Mario 64.” This story isn’t about how awestruck I was by the game (don’t you worry, I was plenty awestruck). It’s about something that happened after I got about two hours into the game. As I entered the third world, I had an excited high that only a ten year old could have. Little did I know, the hell-spawn creation known as “Jolly Roger Bay” was about to drop an anxiety bomb on me.

This level marks the first time in the game where Mario has to explore an area that is underwater. As soon as you jump in the lagoon, a meter appears signaling how much air Mario has left in his lungs.

Having played the Sonic games as a kid, this concept was hardly new to me. However, this was the first time I ever experienced it in a 3D environment.

As you progress in the level, you are forced to dive down into deep waters in order to explore a sunken ship.

This is the moment when it all went terribly wrong for me. I was already nervous from the deep dive down towards the sunken ship. My air was running out, and I really had no idea what I was supposed to be doing. As I approached the ship, a panic attack nearly ensued when a creature from the ocean floor suddenly attacked me.

The possibility of drowning mixed with the scariest virtual eel I had ever seen proved to be a kiddie cocktail that was a bit too strong for my young self. I turned the game off and left the room.

An hour later, I was able to muster up some courage and return to the same. Upon realizing that the eel was fairly harmless, the tension left my body and I was able to continue through the level. Ten years later, the eel isn’t all that frightening anymore. It reminds me of a blurry version of the hamster/mouse hybrid that promoted Quiznos a few years ago. However, the anxiety of my first run through that level is still etched inside my brain. Now if you excuse me, I only have a few chapters left to finish in “Monster Blood II.”

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