Word of the Week: Samhainophobia

Before looking at the meaning of the word Samhainophobia, it is important to explore what Samhain actually is. Samhain is an ancient Pagan celebration that dates back to over 2,000 years ago.

This festivity represented a doorway between the dead and living. This allowed the dead to walk freely among the living, no matter whether their intentions were good or malicious. Samhain fell over the date which the Pagans believed ushered in the ‘darker-half’ of the year, or as some of you may better know it as: October 31^st. Halloween.

Samhainophobia is defined as ‘’a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of Halloween’’

Samhainophobia is defined as ‘’a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of Halloween’’. Those who suffer from this phobia may find an already deliberately spooky time even more terrifying. While unclear how many people suffer this phobia, it can be caused by multiple different factors. Those inflicted have listed many causes, these include previous experiences (e.g. watching the 1978 Halloween film), other existing fears such as those of ghosts and werewolves, brain chemistry make-up and genetics. Could these explain this specific phobia or is there something more sinister at play?