Fear and Pumpkins

If I walked through this fear like a haunted house — knowing it can't actually kill me — what tiny moment would I want to peek at first?

As Halloween creeps closer, the one word that comes to mind is fear . From horror movies to haunted houses popping up around every corner, Halloween is a time to play with fear, to dress up as something spooky, and to walk through the dark knowing it’s all pretend.

But fear in real life feels different. It doesn’t wait for the last day of October, and it isn’t always fun. Anxiety, stress, and anxiousness can make everyday life feel like a haunted house you can’t escape. The stress from school, relationships or the future are like costumes we can’t take off or lights we can’t switch back on when it’s over.

Yet, just like Halloween reminds us that fear can be faced, real-life fears can be understood and managed too. Sometimes, naming what scares us takes away its power and talking about it helps us find our way through the dark.

So this Halloween, as we decorate with scare crows and pumpkins, reflect on the fears we carry quietly all year round and possibly face them with the same courage and even curiosity that we bring to a haunted house.