While some people only swear by Christmas or Easter, they only look forward to one thing each year: Halloween. But this holiday popularized in the United States, known for its “trick or treat?” », does not only attract fans among gourmands. Several readers who responded to our call for testimonials like it above all for its dark atmosphere. “With the rain and the gray weather of this period, it is a privileged moment to be in a darker atmosphere than usual,” explains Romain, 32 years old. To get in the mood, the thirty-year-old takes advantage of every October 31 to watch horror films, read authors like Edgar Allan Poe or dress up.
“This particular festival allows me to bring my passion for horror and thrills into the open,” says Macha, 31 years old. A passion shared by Romain. “Halloween allows me to feel something disturbing, something strange. I love expressing this by giving free rein to my imagination, by decorating, by dressing up, by partying, to create a moment of communion with our fellow mortals, for an evening. » How can we explain this passion for the morbid? “There are no more reasons to love Christmas than to love Halloween,” immediately reminds Nicolas Neveux, psychiatrist. There are no things that are normal to like and others that are abnormal to appreciate. »
Delving into your childhood psyche
For some, celebrating Halloween is above all about rediscovering their childhood fears. “When I was a teenager, with my friends, at nightfall, we put on our most horrific costumes,” remembers Cédric, 45 years old. All the elements of adolescent fear came together with the darkness, our attire and the screams. » The forty-year-old continues to dress up every October 31.
And as Nicolas Neveux reminds us, there is no good or bad emotion. “Fear is an emotion that we statically don’t like, but people will take pleasure in feeling it. They may also derive pleasure from feeling that they are capable of confronting and overcoming danger. » It must be said that the fear is no longer really the same once they become adults… “They know that they are in control, that they are in a precise framework and that they are not really in danger”, analyzes the psychiatrist.
Change from daily normality
Nao, 29, is one of those who prefers Halloween to Christmas. “With Halloween, we are freer. There is an atmosphere of decadence with dirty, funny and scary things. » For him, this celebration allows “to free oneself from the world where everything is serious, clean and square, to change from the daily atmosphere. It’s the only holiday where everything isn’t just lights and happy colors. »
Another advantage, according to the young man: unlike the end of year celebrations, it is not frowned upon to stay quietly at home on October 31, under a blanket, snacking in front of a horror film. A less conventional celebration, therefore.
Laugh at death
Finally, last reason, but not the least: to play down death. “Laughing at death seems to me to be a good catharsis,” considers Jules, 32 years old. Many members of my family have passed away and I like the idea of being able to laugh at these sorrows and celebrate death in a good atmosphere. » A functioning which can be explained psychologically, according to Nicolas Neveux. “The fact of making fun of something to remove its solemnity allows you to be better able to manage a problem that was generating difficult emotions. »
According to the psychiatrist, making sure you voluntarily feel fear would also be a way of becoming aware of the fact that you are alive. So find your skeleton costume, smear yourself with fake blood, take out your old horror movie DVDs and… live!