What if Halloween were... not scary?
I love a costume and I love candy but I do not like to be spooked. Plus recs for Ben Swire's book, funny videos, and Becca Young's pizza union.
Here’s a thing about me: I don’t like getting spooked.
I don’t like horror movies.
I don’t like scary stories.
I don’t even like to see a frightening poster.
So Halloween is not my favorite holiday. Back when I was living in NYC, there was one year where this streaming horror movie service, Shudder, bought signs on all the subway cars and their signs were so scary and I hated them. There was this one guy with teeth all over his face! Teeth in places there definitely SHOULD NOT be teeth!
I hated commuting next to that tooth guy. Even now just thinking about it makes me give a little involuntary shudder. Which, of course, is also the name of the streaming service so I guess it was effective advertising except I would never in a million years pay money to experience that feeling.
You know what streaming services I’d like to sign up for? Sigh of relief. Deep guffaw. Surprised yum.
That’s where I want my money to go to.
ANYWAY.
Whether I like it or not, it’s October and it’s Halloween season. Our new neighborhood in LA is a big trick or treat destination, we’ve been told, and the decorations are sprouting up daily. Some of them are delightful and I really enjoy, like there’s one yard where a skeleton is getting down on one knee to propose to another skeleton. Or there’s another house where they put eyes in the windows and giant inflatable tentacles on the lawn so it looks like the whole house is actually an octopus. So clever and fun!
Other houses are NOT fun. They are scary. And what’s even worse at this particular moment in my life about these scary houses is that my almost two-year-old son is not scared by them but I am. We walk by in his stroller and he says “Pumpkin!” and I have to say “Yes, that’s a pumpkin!” while ignoring the fact that the pumpkin is being held by a hyperrealistic witch creature that will haunt my dreams.
One block later, my son says “uh oh!” and starts to laugh. It’s my job to say “That’s right! Uh oh! That skeleton lost his head!” as I try to not make eye contact with the animatronic figure being executed by electric chair.
Several times I’ve said “You don’t have to be scared,” and he looks at me confused because he is not scared. He’s doing great. I’m the one whose heart rate is getting elevated.
The thing is: Halloween is so close to being something I would like 100%. I do like candy and I do like putting together a costume. I like meeting the neighbors and I like walking around the neighborhood! I like tricks and I like treats!
I would like to propose that people like me (scaredy cats, the elderly, and those with heart conditions) get to experience a non scary only fun and wacky Halloween during the day. At some point each night, people are allowed to transition their decorations (and advertising for TV, movies, and streaming services) to spooky. Let’s say after 9 p.m., you’re allowed to terrify people. I will be in bed eating a Reese’s. My toddler will probably be out wandering the streets with a witch and a zombie holding a bloody chainsaw. We’ll both be having the time of our lives!
My projects and upcoming events:
BOOK: Humor Me: How Laughing More Can Make You Present, Creative, Connected, and Happy (Doubleday) - My book comes out on January 6th, 2026. Pre-order it now!
PODCAST: How to Be a Better Human (TED/PRX) - Kasley Killam is a Harvard trained social scientist who studies human connection and social health. She’s come to believe that one of the most important (and under-appreciated) elements of public health is increasing social connections and care. So how do we fix that? And what impact would it have on society and our own physical health if we could get it right? Kasley told me all about the policies and the practical, everyday actions that a regular person can take. Listen wherever you get podcasts OR watch the conversation (filmed professionally! Not just by me on my computer!) on YouTube here.
PODCAST APPEARANCE: The Daily Zeitgeist - I was back on this always funny current events podcast to sort through the events of this week. Jack and Miles, the hosts, somehow manage to talk about the increasingly dark daily news while being funny but without undercutting the reality of the situation. Our conversation also inspired me to write about Halloween because we talked about my hatred of scary ads and being spooked. You can listen here (heads up, there’s a lot of cursing… we’re talking about the news, after all).
This week’s list
GREAT:
My friend Ben Swire has a book coming out this Tuesday called Safe Danger. Ben is so fun and creative and I’m very excited to read what he has written. It’s a book about “how small creative risks can be used to unlock our authentic and unique voices and share them with the world” and it’s full of activities and exercises. It’s been getting recommended by everyone from Radiolab’s Jad Abumrad to professors at Harvard Business School.
FUNNY:
These two videos are less than 30 seconds each, but I have watched them both dozens of times this week and I laugh every time. They have nothing in common except that they made me cry tears of joy.
Karaoke Man (h/t Alison Leiby)
INTERESTING:
I’ve been thinking a lot about unions recently. It feels like collective action is urgent and necessary. From my understanding of history, unions have played a major role in making that kind of action possible. This article by Becca Young about the life and death of a union at a pizza restaurant highlights the potential, the dreams, and the struggle that it takes to make a union actually happen. A Fair Slice: Can a restaurant survive a union?
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That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading! Please share Bright Spots with anyone you think might enjoy it.
Focusing my eyes on the pumpkin and only the pumpkin,
Chris Duffy
This has been Bright Spots, a newsletter.
…wait, who are you?
I’m Chris Duffy, a comedian, TV writer, podcast host, and both a former fifth grade teacher and a former fifth grade student. I’m currently writing a nonfiction book about humor for Doubleday.
“You don’t have to be scared.” Dying.