The things of nightmares have arrived in the Inland Northwest.

Thankfully, those who study them were already lying in wait.

All across Spokane this week, Jason Voorhees terrorized teen campers, a missing little girl’s voice echoed through an old box TV, and Jack Nicholson poked his sweaty face through an axe-hacked door to announce, “Here’s Johnny.”

Whether it’s a classic horror flick, a startling bump in the night or that surprise spider in the shower, scares are aplenty this time of year.

As hordes of residents prepare to celebrate Halloween Friday evening, fear is – or will soon be – front of mind.

The emotion is hard-wired into the human condition, explained Kristen Lindgren, a clinical psychologist and researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine. It’s an evoluti

See Full Page