Key points

Like most holidays, Halloween evolved over the years to help humans process a universal challenge.

With its inherent bursts of terror, Halloween functions like a fire-drill as a rehearsal for real-life fears.

The prevalence of death-themed holidays worldwide reveals a deep need for the shared processing of such fears.

As a shared ritual with fun elements mixed in, Halloween readies us for harsh realities we must all face.

Halloween is all about fear .

It’s about scaring others and being scared — not just unapologetically, not just without the shame that typically accompanies or follows real-life fear, but gladly and eagerly. Halloween beckons terror just so we can laugh at it, and at each other and ourselves.

Throughout the rest of the year, fear tends to strike sudde

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