A crisp gust of wind catches you slightly off guard as you step out your front door. The sharp sting slaps your face and sends chills up your bare arms. Shivering, your pace quickens as you walk to your car. An unexpected crunch beneath your feet startles you and the world becomes alive with sound: the tinkle of nearby chimes that hang from an old tree, the swish of a cat maneuvering though the bushes, and the creaking of the wood on your front porch. Instinctively, you glance around to make sure that you are still alone, a thought you would not have worried about in the past months of sunny, cloudless days.
Another step leads to another crunch and you realize it is only the sound of the first brittle leaves smashing beneath the soles of your shoes. Relieved that you aren’t living out your own horror film, you realize that the only thing sneaking up behind you is autumn.
As September creeps into October, we enter the time of year noted mostly for a distinct atmosphere rooted deeply in our senses. With the first day of fall comes the desire to throw on a sweatshirt, eat a popcorn ball, and watch a scary movie. Our wardrobe colors change from bright pinks and blues to black, brown, and orange.With these exterior changes also comes a mental change. There is an excitement about the upcoming holiday season that is mixed with a slight edge. It is this edge that makes you look twice to make sure no one is following you. It is this fear that makes us double-check the locks before bed. This “edge” culminates in the first major festivity of the season, Halloween. This beloved “holiday” may only happen once a year but it lives in our minds the minute the days begin to grow shorter and the cold, dark nights set in.
As human beings we thrive off emotions and the drama that creates them. We would not feel extreme happiness without being utterly disappointed. We would not enjoy the comfort of feeling safe without the drama of being brushed by fear. Perhaps this is why the beginning of autumn and the month of October bring an atmosphere of unprecedented paranoia and apprehension that we absolutely love.
The success and popularity of the Halloween season thrives off of this desire for fear. Long standing traditions of haunted houses, scary movies, and gory costumes would not exist with out something about the human psyche that desires this drama. As a society we are brought up to embrace Halloween. At any other time of year, a person may be considered a bit of a freak for wanting to dress up like a serial killer, but on Halloween this is considered perfectly acceptable. This seems to support the notion that we all have a little bit of a freak in us. Halloween serves as the way for us to get a little drama out of our system.
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