We’ve all heard the classic myths and scary stories that get your skin crawling for the spooky season. Whether it be a 10 hour loop of a spooky scary skeletons remix in the robotics room (true story) or cobwebs and giant spiders decorated at your front porch, Halloween spirit is full of different scary animals, mythical characters, and old fairytales. But how much should we really be afraid of, in the spectrum of cool costumes and decorations? In this article, I will debunk some “spooky” myths, not to ruin your Halloween, but to ease your conscience when that full moon rises. 

Black Cats

This one is pretty self explanatory. Black cats are feared for their nature of “bad luck,” but really, they are just ordinary cats with a black coat. In fact the website The Spruce Pets states that sailors used to believe that a black cat at sea would bring their ship good luck and ensure a safe return home. Their silky black fur can be interpreted any way, good or bad, but when it comes down to it, they are just as friendly and safe as any other cat.  

Zombies

There are many examples of zombies in the natural world, a famous one being Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, an insect-pathogenic fungus that affects Amazonian ants by taking over their brains and essentially controlling the dead host. But as terrifying as this phenomenon is, the likelihood that a pathogen similar to this one could mutate and affect human populations is extremely unlikely, according to a 2012 Harvard Health article called Zombie Apocalypse? Only In Your Dreams. While it is theoretically possible because we see virus affected “zombies” in other animal species, you can rest easy knowing that in this day in age the only zombie you will see is on Halloween night. 

Spiders

It’s difficult to enjoy the sight of a spider crawling on your bathroom floor when you least expect it. However, spiders serve a higher purpose besides scaring you to death, they don’t mean to traumatize you. Spiders are natural predators in the insect world, their general diet consists of flies, worms, moths, and mosquitoes. Without this beneficial predator to prey relationship, we would be overwhelmed without pest control. We shouldn’t be killing the spiders, but rather admiring them from a distance, and perhaps even showing them a portion of respect.

Vampire Bats

While I can’t promise the 100% safety of vampire bats, I can prove false misconceptions about them. For starters, they won’t swoop down from the sky in a graveyard and begin feasting on your blood. They are a rather timid species, and though they are the only mammal that relies on blood for their diet, they primarily eat the blood of livestock. Additionally, it isn’t “sucking” blood, but lapping it up from the spot they have pierced with their teeth. These bats are simple creatures, nowhere close to the tales of bloodthirsty giants with razor sharp teeth and massive wings. You don’t have to worry about any creature sucking your blood on Halloween. 

Wolves

We often see wolves as the primal vicious monsters apart from our doggo pet companions. For the longest time, wolves have been hunted and feared because they are perceived as a threat. On Halloween especially, we continue our misguided hate for wolves. But why do we fear them, when only 3 people have been fatally harmed by wild wolves from 2002 to 2020? Even in places where wolf populations have been reduced to extinction, such as Scotland, residents still greatly fear them. Like many misunderstood animals, wolves are wary of humans and are recorded as the rarest of all large predator attacks, according to Western Wildlife. Even worse, wolves are critically endangered due to hate-fueled hunting. To stop this, we must stop demonizing them on events like Halloween, for a better experience for both of our species.