Helpful Hints

This document contains both information and form fields. To read information, use the Down Arrow from a form field. TRICK-OR-TRIVIA Test your knowledge of Halloween-themed phobias

Halloween is one of the spookiest days of the Why do we feel fear? year—and also one of the most fun! Whether you’re dressing up as a monster, watching your Everyone feels afraid sometimes. In fact, fear favourite frightening film or carving a pumpkin, is an important survival mechanism that there are so many ways to celebrate this helps people stay safe from danger. When holiday. something makes you feel unsafe, your brain tells your body that it’s time to prepare for Halloween is also the perfect time to learn danger. about the science of fear and phobias. After all, the best way to overcome fear is to Your brain releases chemicals that trigger understand it. something called the “fight or flight” response. Test your knowledge! This causes your blood pressure and heart rate to increase, and it makes you sweat. On the next page, you’ll find a quiz about Together, your brain and body decide Halloween-themed phobias. Don’t worry—we whether it’s safer to face the scary thing promise there’s nothing to fear! You can print head on (“fight”) or run away (“flight”). out the quiz and complete it on paper, or go ahead and fill it out on your computer or tablet. What is a phobia? A phobia is a type of anxiety disorder that When you’re done, check your answers using causes irrational, uncontrollable fear of a the Answer Key on the final page. specific object or situation. Phobias cause very intense fear, which makes the person Good luck! want to actively avoid the object of their phobia. For example, some people have a phobia of snakes—even the ones that can’t harm them. A person with this phobia might avoid going places where they could see a snake, like wooded areas, zoos or even the Ontario Science Centre! Helpful Hints

Try breaking down the words into smaller ones and relating them to similar-sounding words. Example: chronophobia → chrono → chronology = the study of time; therefore, chronophobia = the fear of passing time.

Think of the words in other languages. French, Spanish, Italian and Greek can be particularly helpful! Example: lupophobia → loup = wolf in French; therefore, lupophobia = the fear of wolves. An agency of the Government of Ontario PHOBIAS QUIZ

1 2 3 4 Cucurbitophobia Entomophobia Triskaidekaphobia Placophobia [cue-kur-bit-uh-phobia] [en-tuh-muh-phobia] [trisk-eye-deck-ah-phobia] [pla-kuh-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Pumpkins 1. □ Rodents 1. □ The number 3 1. □ Tombstones 2. □ Trick or treating 2. □ Bugs and insects 2. □ The number 13 2. □ The colour black 3. □ Apples 3. □ Bats 3. □ The number 31 3. □ Awards 4. □ Candy 4. □ Snakes 4. □ The number 33 4. □ Darkness

5 6 7 8 Arachnophobia Nyctophobia Kinemortophobia Chiroptophobia [a-rack-nuh-phobia] [nik-tuh-phobia] [kinn-o-mor-tuh-phobia] [kai-rop-tuh-phobia]

is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Snakes 1. □ Light 1. □ Ghosts 1. □ Crows 2. □ Spiders 2. □ Dark 2. □ Zombies 2. □ Ravens 3. □ Squirrels 3. □ Sunlight 3. □ Vampires 3. □ Bats 4. □ Squid 4. □ Moonlight 4. □ Demons 4. □ Pumpkins

9 10 11 12 Caramelaphobia Hemophobia Samhainophobia Masklophobia [care-a-mel-uh-phobia] [hee-muh-phobia] [sah-win-nuh-phobia] [mass-clo-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Candy 1. □ Eyeballs 1. □ Costumes 1. □ Masks and costumes 2. □ Pumpkins 2. □ Blood 2. □ Cemeteries 2. □ Clowns 3. □ Apples 3. □ Hair 3. □ Halloween 3. □ Jack-o’-lanterns 4. □ Halloween 4. □ Vampires 4. □ Scarecrows 4. □ Candy

13 14 Skelephobia Teraphobia [ske-luh-phobia] [terr-a-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Old houses 1. □ Ghosts 2. □ Skeletons 2. □ Monsters 3. □ Bones 3. □ Dirt 4. □ Skulls 4. □ Plants

An agency of the Government of Ontario PHOBIAS QUIZ

15 16 17 Lupophobia Coimetrophobia Formidophobia [loo-puh-phobia] [koi-met-ruh-phobia] [for-mid-duh-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Time travel 1. □ Money 1. □ Haunted houses 2. □ Full moons 2. □ Cemeteries 2. □ Ghosts 3. □ Wolves and werewolves 3. □ Tombstones 3. □ Scarecrows 4. □ Zombies 4. □ Candy 4. □ Masks

20 18 19 Sanguivoriphobia Phasmophobia Sciophobia [sang-wivv-o-rih-phobia] [faz-muh-phobia] [sigh-uh-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Zombies 1. □ Ghouls 1. □ Shadows 2. □ Blood 2. □ Werewolves 2. □ Science 3. □ Vampires 3. □ Ghosts 3. □ Ghosts 4. □ Costumes and masks 4. □ Zombies 4. □ Zombies

21 22 Wiccaphobia Phobophobia [wick-ah-phobia] [fo-bo-phobia] is the fear of is the fear of 1. □ Straw 1. □ Ghosts 2. □ Wicker 2. □ Phobias 3. □ Clowns 3. □ Jack-o’-lanterns 4. □ Witches 4. □ Candles

An agency of the Government of Ontario TRICK-OR-TRIVIA

SPOILER ALERT ANSWERS AHEAD!

An agency of the Government of Ontario ANSWER KEY

1. Cucurbitophobia – Answer: Pumpkins 6. Nyctophobia – Answer: Dark 12. Masklophobia – Answer: Masks and 19. Sciophobia – Answer: Shadows Pumpkin is a fruit of the genus Cucurbita and The word nyctophobia comes from the Ancient costumes This word is taken from the Ancient Greek skia, the family Cucurbitaceae. There are many Greek nyktos, or “night.” It refers to an extreme Masklophobia is the fear of people in masks and which refers to “shadow” and “shade.” In Greek different species within this genus that we fear of nighttime or darkness. Nyctophobia is costumes, including mascots and other mythology, the term “shade” also referred to know as “pumpkins.” also known as noctiphobia, from the Latin root oversized costumed characters. the spirit or ghost of a dead person. noct. 13. Skelephobia – Answer: Skeletons 2. Entomophobia – Answer: Bugs and insects Halloween can be a very tricky time for people 20. Sanguivoriphobia – Answer: Vampires The Ancient Greek word entomon means 7. Kinemortophobia – Answer: Zombies with a fear of skeletons! Fortunately, this phobia Lots of films and books are off limits for people “insect.” A person with entomophobia would There are two root words at play here: Kine is not very common. with sanguivoriphobia, a fear of vampires. certainly never become an entomologist (a comes from the Ancient Greek for “movement,” scientist who studies bugs). and mort from the Latin for “dead.” 14. Teraphobia – Answer: Monsters 21. Wiccaphobia – Answer: Witches Derived from the Ancient Greek teras, for Some people think witchcraft is a whole lot of 3. Triskaidekaphobia – Answer: The number 13 8. Chiroptophobia – Answer: Bats “monster,” teraphobia is sure to leave some hocus pocus, but not people with wiccaphobia, In Ancient Greek, the word treisaideka means There are many different species of bats, and people terrified on Halloween! an intense fear of witches. “thirteen.” In many cultures, 13 is considered an all belong to different families within the order “unlucky” number. Chiroptera. The word chiro derives from the 15. Lupophobia – Answer: Wolves and 22. Phobophobia – Answer: Phobias Ancient Greek for “hand,” while pteron means werewolves We hope completing this quiz hasn’t given you 4. Placophobia – Answer: Tombstones “wing.” In Latin, the word lupus means “wolf,” and the phobophobia: a fear of developing or Halloween decorations are sure to be scientific name for wolves is Canis lupus. There experiencing a phobia! frightening for people with placophobia, an 9. Caramelaphobia – Answer: Candy are many different subspecies of Canis lupus, irrational fear of tombstones. A less common phobia, the fear of candy can but don’t worry—werewolf isn’t one of them! sometimes be caused by choking on hard 5. Arachnophobia – Answer: Spiders candies. Sounds like a good reason not to run 16. Coimetrophobia – Answer: Cemeteries The Greek word for “spider” is arachne. Did you or play while eating candy! In Ancient Greek, the term coimetro sometimes know there are more than 45,000 known referred to a “burial place.” species of spiders in the world? 10. Hemophobia – Answer: Blood Hemo is a prefix—something attached to the 17. Formidophobia – Answer: Scarecrows beginning of a root word—meaning “blood.” Scarecrows are meant to be formidable to You may have seen it before in medical terms crows, meaning they seem powerful and like hemoglobin, hemophilia or hemorrhage. intimidating. They make less of a formidable opponent to humans—except for those with 11. Samhainophobia – Answer: Halloween formidophobia! Halloween as we know it today has its roots in Samhain (pronounced sah-win), an old Gaelic 18. Phasmophobia – Answer: Ghosts festival celebrated on the evening of October Some people go looking for ghosts, while others 31st to mark the end of the harvest season. do everything they can to avoid any sign of them! This word derives from the Ancient Green phasma, for “apparition,” “spectre” or “phantom.”

An agency of the Government of Ontario ANSWER KEY

An agency of the Government of Ontario