Fear
October 31, 2008 – 1:15 pmToday is Halloween. A holiday that is ripe with interesting topics to discuss.
Did you know that Halloween is derived from the Celtic festival of Samhain, which was conducted at the end of the harvest season? It was believed that on October 31st, the boundary between the living and the dead weakened and allowed the dead to harm the living. That’s where the masks came in, to scare away the evil spirits. I find this curious.
Would an evil spirit, who is already dead, really fear evil masks?
Fear is considered one of the four innate emotions. The four emotions that are with us from birth are joy, sadness, anger, and fear. Do evil spirits really have emotions such as fear, anger, sadness, and joy? Let’s stick with fear for the moment, in the spirit of Halloween.
Fear is obviously a survival mechanism. It is the emotion that triggers flight or fight in response to external stimuli. The behavioral characteristics of fear are…
1. Eyes widen.
2. Pupils dilate to take in more light.
3. Upper lip rises (baring the teeth).
4. Muscles constrict and fill with oxygen.
5. Heart rate increases.
6. Perspiration occurs due to blood being pumped to the extremities, raising body temperature.
7. Rise in adrenaline levels.
Like animals, which are also capable of fear, humans go through several emotional stages. Like a cornered dog that will initially try to escape until it is trapped, at which point it becomes violent and fights to the death. Fear also can result in intimidation, where an animal or human will go alone with another’s wishes regardless of their own thoughts or intentions.
I don’t think spirits will have any of these reactions.
Another interesting thing about fear is that, while all humans born with the ability to fear, the objects of fear vary from individual to individual. That’s because fear is learned. If someone who doesn’t fly very often experiences high turbulence on an airplane, combined with seeing images of plane crashes on TV and movies, then there’s a chance they will develop a fear of flying.
Take me for example. I have a fear of snakes. All kinds of snakes. I can’t even see one on TV without dilating my pupils and raising my upper lip. But when I was a kid, I used to catch them in my dad’s backyard. Then I started mowing my dad’s yard. Every time I mowed, I would either “hit” one with the mower (a disgusting and unpleasant experience), or one would slither out from under my feet. Every time I mowed I was on edge, ready to jump or pull back on the mower so I wouldn’t get plastered with snake guts. Now, that behavior has been engrained into my very being and I am struck with a bolt of fear every time I see a snake.
I have a friend who is afraid of Jesus and Angels. She was raised catholic and is still religious. But she noticed that in the bible, every time Jesus or an Angel appeared to someone, they always said “Be not afraid.” So she assumed that it was a terrifying experience. Not to mention Angels only appear to warn someone that something bad is about to happen. She told me a story about how, when she was little, she would pray to Jesus not to visit her.
Moving on.
There is also something called Island Tameness. Animals living on an isolated island lose their fear of predators. That’s one of the reasons the dodo bird became extinct. By the time humans arrived on the bird’s island, it had lost all fear of humans. Combine that with the fact that it was flightless, and you have a recipe for extinction.
So, returning to my original question. Can Evil Spirits be afraid? Evil Spirits can harm us living creatures, but I’m assuming we can’t harm them. So, technically, they don’t have anything to be afraid of even if we are wearing silly masks. Then again, technically, garter snakes are harmless to humans, yet I’m afraid of them. Then again, Evil Spirits inhabit the “world of the dead” which is sort of like an isolated island, isn’t it?
Add it all up, and I’m guessing that Halloween masks are generally ineffective against Evil Spirits. But then again, I don’t believe in Evil Spirits to begin with. This raises an entirely new question…
How come people are afraid of Evil Spirits? I’m assuming it is similar to my fear of snakes, that they somehow are conditioned to be afraid. Fear is contagious. It is such a palpable emotion that you can actually FEEL when someone else is afraid. Because of this, a parent’s fear will infect their children with the same fear.
At the same time, fear can be fun and exciting. The increased blood flow pumping adrenaline and other chemicals through the body creates a rush and an emotional high that is addictive. Sort of like eating a chili pepper, how the tongue registers the spice as pain and releases endorphins. But is the “pleasure” of being afraid really worth the consequence? Halloween is fun, and I don’t mean to diminish the experience, but wouldn’t it be MORE fun if we as a society were no longer afraid?
On one hand, fear is a built in emotion for a reason. A lack of fear can be dangerous, as the dodo bird so tragically illustrates. But on the other hand, most of our fears are irrational, whether it is my fear of snakes, the fear of evil spirits, the fear of Jesus, or the fear of terrorism. Our response to irrational fear is often just as irrational, like wearing masks to scare away Evil Spirits.
In the end, the emotion of fear is more dangerous than the object we fear because it promotes irrationality, gullibility, and hostility. So I ask… is being afraid worth the price of admission?
Chris