As Halloween draws ever closer, it’s time for what has become a bit of a Thoughts on Thinking blog tradition to post a horror/fear-associated piece. My first post in this realm of thought covered 5 Reasons We Enjoy Being Scared . In this piece, we’ll discover the "what" that makes us scared.

To start, anything can be scary—and I mean anything. It just needs context. For example, clowns are not supposed to be scary. They are funny—singing, dancing, joke-telling jesters. But, if we change the context of the clown and their purpose, then it’s reasonable to understand why they’re scary. My dislike predates the horror movie IT (1990), which is said to represent a landmark increase in coulrophobia ( fear of clowns ) cases. I remember being around three or four and not wanting to leave a

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