The OCT. 30 issue of THE NEW YORKER tells us about Timothy Haskell, a theatre director turned haunted house owner. Timmy put up five haunted houses in each of the five boroughs “tailored to prey on the fears peculiar to each one.” After some unscientific (but extensive) research, he made some conclusions:
Queens People–Afraid of getting mugged (harpaxophobia)
Manhatten and Brooklyn People–Afraid of the homeless
Bronx People–Afraid of becoming homeless
Stanten Island People–Afraid of chemical spills.
Interesting article. Amazing to see what lengths Mr. Haskell would go to in providing people the oportunity to experience their worst fear. He actually “ordered an essence of dead rat from an outfit in Chicago called Sinister Scents. In every borough, it seems, both fear of insects and fear of rodents trump thanatophobia, the fear of death.”
Can you imagine what kind of illusions about death you’ve gotta maintain to think it’s less-scary than mice? Either that or you’re a Christian who knows where he’s going.
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