Skip to Content
Opinion

What SCARES You? (An Open Thread Discussion of Fear.)

We're getting spooky this week.

11:07 AM CDT on October 25, 2024

Wikipedia Commons

Greetings. Dr. Boller* here, scribbling in my notebook as you lay on a chaise lounge: What scares you? (*Mr. Boller is not a doctor; he graduated from a state school with a worthless journalism degree—Ski-U-Mah!)

As we careen spookily into the Halloween weekend, let's chat about scary stuff in the broadest and/or most specific senses. What stirs your existential dread (climate change, income inequality, creeping neofascism)? What phobias grip you (ablutophobia, coulrophobia, or, god forbid, samhainophobia)? What Minnesota locations "give" haunted "aura" (Glensheen Mansion, the Soap Factory, Cuzzy's)? Or, on a much lighter note, what sorts of frightening media do you enjoy (Rosemary's Baby, Stephen King, the Misfits discography)?

If these very prompts are giving you the heebie-jeebies, don't sweat it! This is your Friday Open Thread, so talk about whatever the hell (place the Devil lives, very scary) you'd like.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More Stories

Remembering the Time Gloria Steinem Delivered a Homily at St. Joan’s in South Minneapolis

Plus GOP AI slop, a new football pod, and your State Fair moment of zen in today's Flyover news roundup.

We’re Doin’ Something a Little Different for Our Annual Labor Day Open Thread

As we do every Friday, we're turning Racket over to you, the readers.

September 4, 2026

Muppet Masturbation, the Vietnam War, and Grandma’s Letters: Minneapolis’s Raunchiest Puppeteer to Perform in National Puppet Slam

Locally based artist Dominique Herskind takes her heartfelt adult comedy ‘1969’ to Atlanta.

September 4, 2026

Enjoy 43 Lovely Portraits of Minnesotans Thriving at the 2026 MN State Fair

At the Great Minnesota Get-Together, humanity shines as bright as the midday Midway sun.

September 4, 2026

Freeloader Friday: 102 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Plus 61 free shows to see at the fair.

September 4, 2026