Well, here we are!  It’s October already.  I know.  It’s crazy how the year has flown – at least for me.  As the Steve Miller Band song goes, “Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping into the future…”   (“Fly Like an Eagle”)

   We generally keep some sort of outdoor, decorative lights up to some degree or another at our house.  I try to change them out from season to season.  I’m perhaps a little overdue at getting the orange lights up in the tree for the combination “Autumn, Harvest, Halloween Season.”

   It would seem that the Halloween part of this season has become the main event for this time of year.  I’m sure you’ve noticed that a lot of Sanpeters have had Halloween decorations up for quite a while now.  The gigantic skeletons in the front yards of people are getting to be ubiquitous in Sanpete.

    I’ve been waiting for a while to use that word “ubiquitous” here in the column.  It’s not a rare word, but when I use it in conversation occasionally with people, I more often than not get a quizzical look or a “say that word again and what does it mean?” comment.

   It was my “word of the day” a long time ago.  For a while, I was attempting to learn new words frequently.  Ubiquitous means:  seeming to be found everywhere at the same time,  or seemingly commonplace.  It’s from the Latin word “ubique” which means everywhere.

   What is it with our fascination with skeletons, skulls, Halloween, and scary stuff this time of year?  Like so many things in life, it’s complicated.

   The origins of  Halloween go back a couple of thousand years to Celtic times when the harvest ended and the dark, foreboding, cold winter began.  Pope Gregory in the 8th century made November 1st “All Saint’s Day.”  That’s when people who had died as martyrs for the cause of the church and saints otherwise were honored.

   The night before November 1st,   October 31st,  became known as “All Hallows Eve” which became shortened to Halloween.  And, presto! – with a little passage of time and imagination, here we are dressing up as ghosts, skeletons, vampires, and you name it, trying to scare people and collect candy.

   I know quite a few people who claim that Halloween is their favorite holiday.  I think that there is some fun involved, but I don’t quite get how it can be the favorite.  Some of it, I think, is associated with the spookiness of it all.  Many people like to be scared in a safe way.

      Research seems to back that up.  This is my interpretation of it.  Imagine that you’ve decided to go to a spook alley or “haunted house” this month.  It’s a popular thing to do.

   Evidently, a good scare floods your body with adrenaline and cortisol.  Then, luckily,  your pre-frontal cortex part of our brain reminds you that you  just paid twenty bucks (or whatever) to “get scared.”  You remember that the chainsaw you’re being threatened with doesn’t have a chain on it. And you’re reminded that these kinds of monsters in front of you aren’t real.

   When your mind settles on the reality that you’re actually safe, you can let your initial fear change to excitement and fun.  Some say that being scared together creates bonding.

   Being with someone and subjected to stress hormones together (dopamine and oxytocin) make people feel closer with each other.  So “they” say.

   Well, I think that many know that scary movies and haunted houses are great  for dates.  Especially if one of your goals is wanting to be “held onto” by your date.  Thrill rides at amusement parks have the same effect at times.

   This skeleton popularity that seems to be going on right now is quite the thing.  I gather that these huge yard decoration skeletons can set you back a bit of money.  The 12 footers at Home Depot typically go for around $300.  Others can be much more.  I kind of like the ones that make the skeleton look like it’s emerging from the ground – being a half-sized, top half display.

   So again, a little research had to be done.  Why are people obsessed with skeletons and skulls?

   History.com suggests that skeletons remind us of the inevitably of death and that we should be focusing on the important aspects of our lives.  Underneath it all, we’re all alike.

   We all have the same arrangement of bones that make us the same, regardless of our race, social status, or anything else.  That sounds logical; but I don’t know.

   What do you think about the question posed by the title of the column today, “Is October Scary?”  My answer is “Yes!”

   It’s scary that Christmas is “just around the corner.”  It’s scary that end of year taxes are “just around the corner.”  It’s scary that winter time driving is “just around the corner.”  (We hope we get some winter this year!)

   But, thinking about October and Halloween otherwise –  no, it’s not too scary.  It’s fun to see the kids dress up.  It’s entertaining to see people having fun who love Halloween. (I enjoy it, but I wouldn’t call it “love.”)

    There are ways for me to enjoy Halloween.  Sipping hot chocolate with a plop of ice cream in it, and watching Mel Brooks’ “Young Frankenstein” – that’s fun, but nope, not scary.  — Merrill