Wolves in the walls, ghost in the corners

My son is certain that when people die they become spirits for a while.   These real and scarcy spirits haunt the corners of his room, the darkness under his bed, the shadows down the hall.

Around the age of two, he became certain there were wolves living his his walls, scratching from within, staring at him in the darkness.

When we moved into a new house, just before his 5th birthday, the wolves went away.  The ghosts came instead.

I was the same when I was little.  I used to blame my dad, his dark sense of humor.  He would purposely jump at you from dark corners to hear you scream.   But I've never purposely scared my son and he is still afraid.

What is it in my son's  internal wiring, so like mine, that makes him sensitive and fearful.   And how will this effect the man he is to become?   Will puberty fill him with mind and body changing testosterone, replacing fear with confidence and strength or will he continue to struggle with the monsters of his imagination?

I cherish the imagination and uniqueness of my son, and want to encourage those traits, even as I feel the need for him to embrace courage and strength.   A balanced man, one in tune with his mind, heart and body could be a powerful thing.  But to create one, that is a challenge.