More Neapolitan

• Neapolitan Briefs
• Volunteers
• BENEFITS

Tell us about it

• What would you add to this story? Tell us what we missed.
• Do you have photos from this event? Documents we need to see? Share with us.
• Upload photos & videos
• More ways to get your stuff online and in the paper.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

Share and Enjoy [?]

NAPLES — Friday night, if no other night of the year, ghosts will appear. Hannah Montanas and black cats and skeletons, too, will circle malls and neighborhoods in search of the only true Halloween tribute: candy.

But for many of us, the supernatural isn’t what really makes our skin crawl. It’s something more irrational, inexplicable and sometimes downright silly.

There’s the classic nails on a chalkboard. Some of us can’t stand the sight of spiders. One friend is so frightened by clowns, she doesn’t even want to hear the word spoken out loud. For another, even the prospect of her socks touching carpet sends chills down her back.

And for the sake of full disclosure, I have a quite embarrassing repulsion for musical boxes. I was given one as a child — a pink little number with a tiny ballerina spinning in sync with the music it played. The song, I’m guessing, was supposed to be soothing. Instead, my four-year-old mind imagined that the ghost of a dead ballerina would emerge to hunt me down. Almost 25 years later I know I was wrong about the ghost, but the sounds of a music box song, any music box song, turns my arms to goose bumps.

So, in honor of the scariest day of the year, we our readers to tell us what scares or unnerves them. What follows is some of their thoughts, including e-mails and Web posts. Some may have been edited for clarity or length.

For the complete discussion go to http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/oct/22/talk-us-tell-us-what-scares-you/

People

Hillbillies (the angry, confused, drunk & shotgun-toting ones) and wacko liberals.— Jim Williams

■ ■ ■

Anyone who believes the confederate flag is something that should be proudly waved.

Anyone whose pickup truck has tires sized inversely proportional to their IQ.

That the commentors in the Letters to the Editor section represent an accurate sampling of SW Florida voters. — Posted by mthalo

■ ■ ■

People who can’t forget politics at Halloween. Oh, and big spiders. —Posted by thunderlightening

■ ■ ■

Politics

You have asked what things scare me? In my entire life, the scariest thing has been the Naples Daily News endorsement of Obama! — Marilyn Baumgartner

■ ■ ■

It scares me that NDN is endorsing a Democrat when their customer base is almost 70 percent Republican. Not a good business decision. — Posted by 3i3am3 POLITICS

■ ■ ■

Joe Biden scares me when he says this election is about a three-letter word – JOBS. — Posted by nightranger

■ ■ ■

McCain scares me. Palin makes my skin crawl. Dick Cheney gives me nightmares and Rudy Giuliani’s drag queen act really gives me the creeps. — Posted by fearisfailure

■ ■ ■

Sarah Palin with the nuclear launch codes. — Posted by americanpie

■ ■ ■

Obama becoming president and redistributing my money to his pet projects. — Posted by workingmom

■ ■ ■

Everything else

Last Saturday night I took my grandson, Dalton Lee Sidenor, to the train museum in Fort Myers. They have the cutest train, very small, (that) reminded me of an amusement park ride. It goes all around Lakes Park. The volunteers have done a smashing job of decorating for Halloween. [There were] signs saying “Go Back” several times, then “You didn’t listen — Go Back” ghosts jumping out of bushes, the train going under a bridge with a huge Spider overhead. None of that really scared my 4-year-old. Then we went into a tunnel. There were strobe lights the whole distance — very disorienting even for me, child of the ’70’s. When Dalton explained his experience to his grandpa when he got to our house he said it was fun except for the “Tunnel of Worry.” I have to agree with Dalton. Things that are disorienting to the mind are probably the scariest.

— Daryl E. Salerno

■ ■ ■

The thought of a mouse scampering across my face terrifies me. A few weeks ago while at my in-laws in Connecticut, my mother-in-law told me they’d had a mouse in their house. While I’m not a wimp, the thought of little feet running across my face freaked me out.

While I was in bed reading I heard this scratching sound. I knew it was the MOUSE!! I shot out of bed like a rocket with my heart pounding and insisted my husband do the manly thing and go on a mouse hunt. He rose to the occasion and duly checked the room. He declared it mouse free.

I crawled back in bed with my husband along side ... my mouse guard. He started snoring before his head hit the pillow. Some protector. The scratching started again. I did the only thing I could do: I poked him until he woke up. He heard the sound, too.

My heart was in my throat as I waited for him to dive over the side of the bed and capture the critter. He turned to me and calmly said a tiny mouse couldn’t be making that noise. He informed me that it was coming from something outside the house. He was back to sleep in an instant. I lay tossing logic and fear back in forth in my head. Reason won out and I drifted off to a mouse-free sleep. — Lorrie McCann

■ ■ ■

A bug crawling in the ear scares me. It gives me the willies. — Posted by Wendel

■ ■ ■

10. Drivers over 60 and half blind who can renew their driver’s license by mail in the State of Florida without an eye test.

9. Ticks. U know those bugs that carry Lyme disease and there’s no freakin’ cure.

8. Getting lost in downtown Miami ... where U don’t stop, U just keep drivin’ till U get the heck outta there!

7. Cottonmouth snakes and brown recluse spider bites. Not really scared by the critters ... just way they can kill somebody ... dunno ... could B me.

6. Poison ivy and poison sumac ... 50 oatmeal baths later, the itching finally leaves.

5. Barracuda .... once had one turn around and look at me (he turned totally dark black) while swimming off Dry Tortugas. Scared the pee outta Beetle, so these make me a lil’ frightened.

4. That kids will never know what it’s like to live in peace instead of war. This scares me.

3. That one day, Beetle will be too senile to remember writing this. This kinda scares me.

2. OMG ... That movie ‘Blob’ many, many, many years ago scares me. The blob eats everything it runs over and it freaked the heck outta me as a kid ... had nightmares for weeks after that movie.

1. Palin ever becoming Pres. if Big Mc ever croaks. To think she’ll have her finger on the button ... and that slaughtered moose she was holding in a recent family magazine with blood flowing outta the neck as she was holding it and smiling. This scares Beetle! — Posted by beetlejuice

■ ■ ■

Chainsaws have always scared the bejesus out of me. When I was 7, I thought I was fearless and went into my friend’s dad’s haunted house. The first time was fine. The guy with the chainsaw left me alone and I walked out of the house thinking I was tough. I went back in nonchalantly, until the end. The guy must have recognized me, and this time he chased me. The house was in a grocery store, and I don’t know how long he chased me, but when I turned around I was literally across the store. I won’t go near a chainsaw to this day. — Ashley Carver

■ ■ ■

1. Those pythons in the Everglades, which isn’t far from the Estates. And rattlers.

2. People who text/eat/read/etc. while driving.

3. Deep water. Meaning any water over my head when my feet are on the bottom.

4. Some, but not all, of the (online) posters.

5. My 401(k) balance. — Posted by eaglebeak

■ ■ ■

1.People driving while on the phone.

2. Bees, wasps, hornets, etc.

3. Illegal immigration

4. Palin and her $150,000 makeover.

5. NAFTA

6. Sharks (of any type, walking or swimming)

7. Loss of Freedom and Democracy (quasi-democracy)

8. Our Constitution being decimated.

I think that’s enough! — Posted by rocknfla

■ ■ ■

Donald Trump’s hair! — Posted by LieStopper

■ ■ ■

It scares me that:

■The concepts of liberal and conservative have taken on such hateful connotations by opposing sides.

■ Responsible parenting seems to be seen as less and less important.

■ The misguided works of so few will affect the Collier County Public Schools for many years to come.

■ Scorpions like to crawl in shoes.

■ This country has become so divided.

■ Many people in Naples should probably no longer be driving.

■ Random acts of kindness are not a normal part of everyone’s day.

■ It takes a natural disaster to bring people together.

■ The person in the mirror has gotten so old.

■ In a country that honors freedom, so many people in blogs want to allow only that with which they agree.

— Posted by beenthere_56

■ ■ ■

“Poverty. The thought of becoming Homeless, Food Stamps, no health care ... NAPLES ... 21 percent cost of living ... minimum wage ... no JOBS ... living in an igloo in Alaska surrounded by polar bears with Russia right across the river looking to foreclose on my igloo.” — Posted by Working4Peanuts

■ ■ ■

“Dancing with the Stars.” The Back Street Boys singing the National Anthem at the World Series game last night — and that they are touring.” — Posted by Working4Peanuts

■ ■ ■

Yankees. — Posted by mothernature

■ ■ ■

What scares bubs? Well, it would have to be running out of beer. Or banning alcohol altogether!

No, in all seriousness, what scares me is life in general at this point (is that) there is so much hate and violence in the world. It scares me to think what it will be like in the future. Like others have said, what happened to the random acts of kindness? Why all the hate? But other than that, spiders and snakes.” — Posted by bubs1980

■ ■ ■

Living longer than everyone I know.” — Posted by indigodragonfly

■ ■ ■

“Nothing. Life is too short to be scared and take things to seriously.” — Posted by thedudesview