Thought of the Day and Question of the Day: When Imagination Meets Halloween Reality

October 27, 2025

Halloween isn’t just a holiday, it’s a personality test. You can tell a lot about someone by what they hand out at the door. This Thought of the Day and Question of the Day combo brings imagination, horror, and a little honesty into focus: the thin line between creativity and chaos when the doorbell rings and the costumes come out.

Thought of the Day: “Where there is no imagination, there is no horror.” — Arthur Conan Doyle

Arthur Conan Doyle knew a thing or two about suspense. Long before Hollywood or haunted houses, he understood that the scariest things don’t live in dark basements, they live in our minds. A shadow in the corner is only scary because of what we think it could be.

Imagination is what fuels horror. It’s also what keeps life interesting. Without imagination, fear becomes just a list of facts. A creaky floorboard is just a creaky floorboard. But add imagination? Suddenly, that’s the sound of something crawling closer.

And maybe that’s true beyond horror stories. The things that scare us, failure, rejection, change, aren’t always monsters under the bed. They’re ideas that grow fangs in the dark corners of our imagination. The same imagination that makes Halloween so fun also makes adulthood terrifying.

We outgrow costumes, but we never outgrow fear. We just get better at disguising it.

When I catch myself spiraling into “what ifs,” I try to remember: imagination isn’t the enemy. It’s a tool. It can create monsters, yes, but it can also create meaning. That’s the same muscle that powers creativity, storytelling, problem-solving, and parenting. (Because, let’s face it, surviving bedtime with toddlers requires as much imagination as writing a horror novel.)

So maybe the real takeaway from Doyle’s quote isn’t to avoid horror, it’s to understand it. To appreciate that without imagination, we’d live in a flat, joyless world. It’s the scary stuff that gives depth to our stories. And that’s what makes us human.

If that idea resonates, you might also like “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” or “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I do believe in demons.”. Both explore the power of imagination and perception—the quiet thrill before things go bump in the night.

Question of the Day: What’s something you shouldn’t give out on Halloween?

Let’s get practical. There are a few things you definitely shouldn’t hand out to trick-or-treaters:

• Anything that can be used as a weapon (yes, even if it’s “part of the costume”)
• Expired medications (you’d think this goes without saying, but apparently, it doesn’t)
• “Fun-sized” candy (because there’s nothing fun about being cheated by a Snickers half the size of your thumb)
  

But here’s the deeper question: what are we really giving out on Halloween?

Kids aren’t just collecting sugar,they’re collecting memories. They’ll forget which house had the full-sized Reese’s, but they’ll remember which house made them laugh, or which adult actually admired their costume instead of tossing candy into the bag with a distracted “Next!”

Halloween isn’t a transaction, it’s a tiny act of community theater. For one night, everyone plays along. The street becomes a stage, and we get to improvise together.

So this year, maybe the best thing to give out isn’t candy at all, it’s imagination. Decorate your porch. Add spooky sound effects. Throw on a costume, even if it’s just a hat. Hand out a moment of wonder. That’s the kind of thing that sticks.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also like “The zombies are coming—what’s your weapon of choice?”

Join the Conversation

What’s the worst Halloween “treat” you’ve ever received—or given? (Be honest, someone out there is still haunted by the memory of your toothbrush handouts.) Leave a comment below or join the daily email to get each new Thought of the Day and Question of the Day delivered straight to your inbox.

🎃 Join the daily email here.