AS SAY ER OF STUDENT OPINION
THE UNI V ERSIT Y OF TE X A S AT EL PA S O
THE
PROSPECTOR
October 7, 2025
THEPROSPECTORDAILY.COM
VOL. 111, NO. 2
Creeping between fear and happiness
touch of human intervention that conjures up a sense of fear with the promise of fun. One of the key pillars of this curated experience is Spirit Halloween, a seasonal retailer where customers don’t just shop for costumes, but also for scares. With aisles stocked full of ghoulish decor, creepy props and eerie sound effects, Spirit Halloween transforms fear into a consumer experience, allowing visitors to browse and select their own personalized fright fest. Alondra Coronado, a Spirit Halloween associate of two years, has been a witness to the enduring attraction we have to fear. “The animatronics that jump at you, those are the ones that everybody wants,” Coronado said. For many, Spirit Halloween serves as a tangible segue into the macabre, a physical space where fear is both contained and consumed. Amid aisles of animatronics, eerie props, haunting décor, and wicked costumes, visitors can touch, select and curate their own experiences of fright, turning the intangible thrill of fear into something concrete and controllable. “Scream, Terrifier, and the Jumping Scarecrow are some of the popular bought stuff. It takes our fear and instead of hiding away from it, it makes it fun and shows that being scared is not always a bad thing,” Coronado said. Beyond haunted houses and seasonal storefronts, fear finds another home on screen. In film, we chase scares with the comfort of distance, immersed in suspense, but always safe behind the fourth wall. It’s fear in its most cinematic form:
B JAZMINE GARCIA Y CONTRIBUTER • THE PROSPECTOR
Fear is a feeling that never strays far, an emotion so intrinsic to the human condition that an entire month is dedicated to engaging with it. October invites people to confront their fears through haunted attractions, horror films and seasonal traditions. According to the British Psychological Society, our bodies are more than just bystanders in the experience of fear; they’re willing coconspirators. When fear strikes, adrenaline kicks in but lurking just beneath the surface are the brain’s own happy chemicals, like dopamine and endorphins. This unlikely partnership reveals that fear and happiness are far more intertwined than one might think, turning moments of terror into unexpected thrills. October is a month of carefully curated fear. With decorations draped in cobwebs and themed events designed to thrill, there’s an immersive quality that pulls us into a world of spooky enchantment. Yet, beneath the surface of the scares lies a suspension of actual danger — a crafted experience built for thrill rather than harm. Every creaking door and flickering candle is part of a deliberate design, a
see SPOOKY on page 6 What is it that drives many to buy a creepy costume? Could it be a way to cope with fear, or an inner attraction to the eeriness of the macabre? Photos by Damaris Flores/The Prospector
Jazmine Garcia is a Contributer at The Prospector and may be reached at jigracia@miners.utep.edu