“Trick or treat!”  It’s Halloween, a time of candy and fun… except for those with a phobia relating to this spooky holiday.  To those affected by phobias, Halloween becomes a terrifying experience.

Spectrophobia: Fear of Ghosts    

Debilitating panic arising from spectrophobia, or the fear of ghosts, may be dismissed as as a simple childhood fear, however, it proves a reality to those suffering from the phobia.  “”They’re creepy sometimes.  They can go through walls,” Olivia Allen ‘20 said.  

Samhainophobia: Fear of Halloween    

The fear of Halloween, also known as samhainophobia is most common in children, however, it can continue into adulthood. “People are afraid of the holiday because generally, people dress up to scare you,” Chiara Robinson ‘18 said.

Kinemortophobia: Fear of Zombies    

One experiencing fear of “the walking dead” may be thrown into a full blown panic attack by even an imitation of a zombie.  “They’re so hard to kill and they eat you,” Spanish teacher, Margaret Motz said.

Cucurbitophobia: Fear of Pumpkins    

It isn’t every day that you see someone burst into tears at the sight of a pumpkin, but for those with cucurbitophobia, the fear of pumpkins, Halloween is a real nightmare.  Jacob Kesler ‘20 said, “My grandpa has it.  It was getting close to Halloween and we were at my grandma’s house.  She had pumpkins out and he got to the door and was like ‘ugh!’  It was just a full pumpkin.  There wasn’t even anything on it.”