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.

More Stories

Wanna Own a Home in Your 30s? Minneapolis Is a Good Place to Be.

Plus screen-addicted seniors, cougars make a comeback, and a cool manhole cover in today's Flyover news roundup.

October 23, 2026

For This Week’s Open Thread, How Do You Use Mass Transit?

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

October 23, 2026

Bangkok Sweetheart’s Rolls Are a Sensation. These Are the Best Ones to Order Right Now.

If you brave the long lines or successfully navigate the cutthroat preordering system, here's what you should get.

October 23, 2026

Freeloader Friday: 103 Free Things To Do This Weekend

Movies, markets, Halloween, and more.

October 23, 2026

Who Is Potential MN Gov. Amy Klobuchar? Let’s Ask Author Amy Klobuchar.

Plus suspicious Klobes mailers, the mysterious killing of Joe Eder, and what if we legalized sleeping in cars in today's Flyover news roundup.

October 22, 2026

On the Big Screen This Week: Hitchcock, Hamaguchi, and More Fests Than You Can Handle

Pretty much all the movies you can catch in the Twin Cities this week.

October 22, 2026