Halloween Can Be Triggering for Some People
know your limits, have a plan
Every year, two things coincide for me that probably shouldn’t. Domestic Violence Awareness month is in October. Halloween is in October.
What do zombies and PTSD have to do with each other? Well, they don’t occupy the same space well. For those of us living post-abuse, the symptoms of PTSD can make it difficult to enjoy the Halloween season.
Introductions to horror
The first “grown up” books I read were Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I learned early on that I love a good, suspenseful, absorbing, frightening narrative — but I do not like evil and gore. Devils/demons/zombies and I am out. Killer clowns? Forget it.
Did I mention that I do not do zombies? Even funny ones — no way, no how, YUK.
But under the covers I wrapped myself with a flashlight and read my King and Koontz books in the quiet of the night while everyone else in my house was sleeping. The Shining is, to date, the most frightening thing I have ever read. Scariest movie for me? Probably Event Horizon. That movie freaked me out.
I don’t do slasher movies either. So, that’s no demonic gore, no zombies, no slasher — it is a good thing there are umpteen subgenres of horror. Something for everyone…
