Letter from the Editor

Metro-LTE-ChristinaA couple of weeks ago, I tightly gripped my friends’ hands in a five-person chain as we navigated our way through the Trail of Terror at Dole Plantation’s pineapple maze. We crept around each corner, knowing that someone could pop out at us at any second.

I wrote last week about how much I love Halloween. And I do. And so do a lot of people. But isn’t it strange that any of us love it?

At some point while my friends and I were weaving our way through the maze, I started to wonder why we were even there. The masked figures kept coming out of nowhere. I was scared. I wanted out. But when we were done with the maze, we headed right for the haunted house and did it all over again. Why were we actively pursuing being afraid?

To shed some light on this, I talked with University of Hawaii at Manoa professor Michael Salzman, who gave me some insight on why it is that people seek out these types of experiences on Page 12. And because we apparently enjoy fear on some level, that story also takes you on a trip through a few haunted sites around town.

We also tackle some other fears in this issue. In our reader-submitted personal essay, Maria Kanai shares the anxiety she had when graduating from college (Page 4). And if you still don’t have plans for this Friday, we’ve got you covered with our Halloween events roundup on Page 6. Plus, Christa Wittmier has the lowdown on how to get rid of a different kind of ghost (Page 9). And don’t forget to read up on Halloween advice courtesy of Anton Glamb (Page 8).