Psychology Today: Why Do People With Anxiety Love Halloween?

UC literary expert cited in article on Halloween lore and anxiety

Facing your fears or hiding from them in fantasy worlds are just a few of the examples given in an article in "Psychology Today" as to why people who have anxiety tend to love scary things, especially those associated with Halloween and the dark underworld.

In the article, experts give seven reasons why anxious people might lean toward Halloween as their favorite holiday and Gary Vaughn, an associate professor of English at the University of Cincinnati, highlights that beneath the guise of the horror genre, shows such as "American Horror Story" offer social commentary.

In this season of "Freakshow", for example, he says that entranced viewers are made to ponder the notion of normalcy, change, diversity, and, of course, fear. This ancient underworld of the horror genre has allowed for provocation for centuries, and for someone who runs anxious, it may allow a safe and indirect realm to face their fears.

Read the article

Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.

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