Meh, they didn’t fear these things, they saw them as present in their own time/society… Because you can make these types of statements/stories at any time:

“I think grug enjoys staring into the forest too much, I do not understand what he sees out there.”

“I wish someone other than me would disagree with the tribal elders. I will still disagree, but I will hide it.”

Neither of them particularly capture what’s going on today.