IT'S HALLOWEEN -- GO AHEAD AND SCREAM

MANHATTAN -- From witches to haunted houses to scary sci-fi flicks, Halloween is notorious for bringing our fears to the forefront.

"We have a horrible fascination with looking at bad things," said Leon Rappoport, a Kansas State University professor of psychology.

What is it about spooky sights that really draw us in?

David Balk, professor of family studies and human services, explains that people enjoy being scared because it allows the human psyche to confront fears without actually being overwhelmed by the situation.

"It's the reason we slow down to look at a car accident," said Rappoport. "People like to live vicariously through the dark side of their experiences."

Balk explains that adolescents are particularly attracted to being scared because it is one of the first times in their lives that they can experience fear and understand that they are not in danger.

"It's intriguing for kids to test the limits of all the things that they have been protected from because they know this is safe," Rappoport said.

The security of Halloween is more than just the opportunity to confront our fears. It is also a way to release pent-up feelings, and it allows us to behave in ways that would ordinarily be unacceptable.

"Halloween is like an exorcism. You release all of the fears by bringing them out into the open and addressing them," Rappoport said. "It's considered a healthy way to ventilate experiences and emotions that are bottled up."

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October 1996