The time is approaching for the second most wonderful time of year: Halloween. As a child, we would pick up our pail buckets and ding-dong-ditch the neighbors without the ditch and persuade them to give us candy. All we would have to do is to bat our baby eyes, smile with our baby teeth and in the cutest voice say, “Trick or Treat.”
Halloween is the time to dress up as anything you want to be, from a superhero fairy to a blood-curdling horror character from their respective iconic movie. However, the one thing I dislike about Halloween is the scary stuff. Now, I know most people reading this are thinking, “That’s the best part of Halloween. The haunted houses, Fright Trails and yada yada.” Trust me when I say, that is not the best for me.
I can be the biggest crybaby or the most violent force when I am scared. If I were to go into the 13th Gate Haunted House, I cannot promise that I will be the same person when we enter versus when we exit. In seventh grade, there was a haunted house that the art students put together for our Fall Fair. Tell me why I was full on breaking down and boohoo crying when I got out. The good news is the art students got an A because they needed to scare the majority of people who went in; I think I can classify myself as part of the majority the way I screamed.
To piggyback Halloween, I can easily be the comedic relief if someone else is scared; just know, I am taking one for the team because my anxiety will go beyond the roof and into the skies. My question that circles back after watching people experience terrifying horror movies, looking at the people scared to death in haunted houses, and just the overall risk of constant nightmares for weeks is “Why?”
According to Health, it states, “In turn, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, which means it’s flooded with adrenaline and euphoria-inducing brain chemicals like endorphins and dopamine—all of which can pump you up and make you feel like you’re ready to take on the world.”
Personally, I can partake in any other Halloween event except for anything which would cause me to have an anxiety attack. Why would I want my blood pressure rising, my heart skipping more beats than normal and my stress at an all-time high just for some thrills? I understand other people have genuine excitement for this time of year for the sake of being scared.
However, in my last article, I talked about cooperating with your inner child, and I doubt my inner child would argue with my current self that Halloween would not be as hyped if it were not for the scary.
I have grown more fond of simple things like kickbacks and small, intimate gatherings, so if I had the choice to pick between Fright Trail and a kickback, you better believe I will be at that kickback in a heartbeat. Why? It is for the simple fact that my heartbeat will still be intact.