What we fear can paralyze us, or provide good fuel for our friends to make fun of us. Either way, since this is Halloween season, I asked students and staff members what really freaks them out, and some of the answers were reasonable and others were just funny.

Senior Tyler Smith has a fear of small holes clustered together. I’m not kidding; I laughed in his face but the  fear is common enough among the general public that it has a name, trypophobia.

As to why Tyler is afraid of clusters of holes, I haven’t the slightest fraction of a clue. What I do know is that fear varies from person to person, which is fascinating. While many people I talked to, such as art teacher Mrs. Curley, junior Allison Camillo and about half the population of the earth (including me), confessed an aversion to spiders, others had an oddly specific fear such as a fear of being rejected by Steve Carell. This is Mrs. Fay’s actual fear. The English teacher wakes up screaming in the night from this.

Fear can be brought forth from childhood trauma or overexposure to a certain thing. It’s entirely dependent on the person.  Ms. Della Croce, the PE teacher, is actually afraid of dying in a plane crash. “I wouldn’t want to know if I was going to die,” she said. “I would just want the plane to crash ‘cause if I knew, I would be scared.”

Ms. D is suffering from agoraphobia, or the fear of being trapped in a place from which she can’t escape.

I managed to get a word with junior Dan McDougall, whose fear is sharks. When I asked Dan why he’s afraid of the animal, he responded with, “I don’t know. They’re just scary.” Wow, such prolific words.

Fears can be both rational and irrational. A rational fear would be junior Courtney Ceurvels, who was feasted upon by ticks . . . so she obviously hates ticks. An irrational fear would be from junior Kylie Chetwynde, who claims to be afraid of jeans. I didn’t ask why; I just moved on with my day.

Some people have no time for fears. “You shouldn’t be afraid of something,” said junior Erin Thornton. “That’s messed up.”

Plenty of people are afraid of plenty of things. Librarian Mrs. McHugh fears nothing more than crickets in her library. The scars from last year’s senior prank have not healed and I wonder if they truly ever will.

It’s important to realize, however, that being afraid of something isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Conquering a fear can be a very rewarding experience and it helps you grow as a person. Really, no matter what you’re afraid of . . . I’ll always be scarier.

Remember that when you go to bed later 🙂

This winter at Hanover High School, we will be lucky enough to showcase a production of Romeo and Juliet. Although we have always had such talented student actors and actresses, this year will be extra special due to our brand new play director and drama teacher, Mr. Jacob Plummer. Being one of Jake’s students myself, I can only imagine how much effort and dedication he is putting into this production to make it the best it can be.

“He’s awesome,” says sophomore Macy Hohenleitner (Lady Montague). “We’re only about two weeks into rehearsal but I couldn’t be happier with how it is going.”

Another actor, Isaac Bickford (Tybalt), reports that Jake has been doing a fantastic job, leaving him with no complaints.

“I love his artistic design, he’s a great guy,” reports sophomore Anna Harper (Juliet).

“You have no idea how great Mr. Plummer is,” says Sean Meehan  (ensemble). Sean may be right; although we can truly see for sure how talented and awesome the cast and Mr. Plummer is, when we go to see this seemingly wonderful play.

Romeo and Juliet was a great choice for HHS because everybody reads the play during freshman year. Therefore, everybody knows the story and the characters. This will ensure that the audience will remain hooked during their favorite scenes and parts. This year’s production is much bigger than last year’s, because this year they have an ensemble, which allowed many more students to make the cast list, rather than get cut from the entire production. Some former cast members from last year’s production of “You Can’t Take it With You” are Macy Hohenleitner, Katie Scott, Sean Meehan and Lindsay Glover. All four students say that the cast is much bigger this year, allowing them to make all sorts of new friends, many of them freshmen.

“We have so many wonderful new people this year, and they’re all doing such a great job,” says Katie(Benvolio). Lindsay Glover (Lady Capulet), being a busy senior, agrees with Katie and is elated with how everything is going. She loves being a part of this new experience regardless of how it compares to last year.

On the other hand, there are many freshmen and newcomers to theater who are just as excited about this production. Sophia Ruggiano (ensemble) agreed with the other cast members that everybody fits into their role perfectly, and she also said how great it was to join the  cast in her first year.

David Adams (Romeo) may be a freshman, but he’s sure not brand new to this. David has had minor roles in other plays but has never received a lead role. However, David truly enjoys this production so far, and loves everybody in it.

Mrs. Turner, a freshman English teacher, is beyond excited for the play. “I’m very excited to see Jake’s rendition of it, and I think it is going to be absolutely fabulous.”

(Fun Fact: Mrs. Turner was Jake Plummer’s English teacher for his freshman year and she had taught him the lesson of Romeo and Juliet. According to Turner, he seemed to really enjoy it as a student, and obviously he still enjoys it today.)

Anna Harper(Juliet) believes that everybody was given the part that truly suited them and complimented their personality. “Before this production I have had experience performing in local theaters, but I did not at ALL expect to be receiving the role of Juliet.” says Anna. When asked, Anna and David both agreed that there was no true chemistry behind the scenes of their characters. Oh well!

Cast: “If you were asked to describe this production to somebody who was considering whether or not to see it, what three words would you say to them?”

Max Meallo (Lord Capulet): “energetic, entertaining, fiery”

Lindsay Glover (Lady Capulet): “Shakespeare with swag”

Anna Harper (Juliet): “tragedies, relationships, fun”

Isaac Bickford (Tybalt): “historic, funny, entertaining”

Alexander Linn (Peter): “A. Fun. Experience.”

Macy Hohenleitner (Lady Montague): “crazy, exciting, awesome”

David Adams (Romeo): “fun, amazing, death”

Katie Scott (Benvolio): “busy, exciting, wonderful”

Dante Nicotera (Friar Laurence): “satirical, humorous, tragic”

Vanessa Gallo (Ensemble): “great, social, experience”

Audrey Lloyd (Ensemble): “educational, dramatic, funny”

Sophia Ruggiano (Ensemble): “outstanding, exciting, awesome”

Sean Meehan (Ensemble/understudy Lord Montague): “more Shakespearean, interesting”

Mrs. Turner (Freshman English Teacher): “Tragedy, love, loss”

If you’re as excited for this play as the cast is, stay tuned! It’s coming to the Hanover High School Auditorium this December! Get ready to laugh, cry, smile, frown, and jump out of your seats at this comedic tragedy! Wanna know more? Ask Jacob Plummer or any of the above named cast members! 🙂

Other cast members not named above: Hayley Ardizzoni, Ricky Dahlstrom, Dillon Russel, Cameron Mccauley, Coleman Hernon, Madison Fitzpatrick, Zack McArthur, Eric Carey, Julia Goslin, Bruno Barbuto, Emily Bartone, Maddy Carol, Jill Drummy, Kayla Maslow, Lauren Murray, and Emily Sweeney.

On October 6, at 7pm, a nearly-week long marathon of The Walking Dead began with the pilot episode of the series; Episode 1, Season 1. It was gearing up viewers for the premiere of Season 5. On Sunday, October 12, we began the new season and new beginnings for many.

From the get-go of the episode, there is anxiety as we see gore and horror in the brutal murders by the cannibalistic leaders of the death-zone Terminus. We see a carefully crafted escape from Terminus by the core group with help from a former ally, none other than Carol. Carol’s presence has been felt since the beginning of the series, and through her secret assistance to the group, loyalty, and bravery despite being exiled last season for killing sick members of the group, we can feel a true sense of her care for them. According to Yahoo and Forbes magazines reports on the episode, they also believe that Carol’s act of bravery and defiance to help her friends and companions is her way of redeeming herself to them. Despite her evident mistakes, Carol still has goodness instilled in her.

For viewers who were Carol fans all along, it appears that they “were lovers of Carol before it was cool,” upon her crossing serious boundaries to save the group in the premiere. Forbes article called what Carol did a “refreshing” act by a character, and during the premiere it wasn’t surprising to see jaws drop as Carol smeared herself in walker blood and guts, set off an explosion inside Terminus, and sauntered through flames to help her friends. During a scene of violence, action, and high-anxiety, this could almost be interpreted as a heart-warming moment to see her act of bravery for her group. After the escape of Terminus, we see the reunion between Carol and Daryl, which truly makes one smile, as well as Rick accept her with open arms. Here we understand that what Carol did may have been out of her own want to assist them, but it did indeed redeem herself in the their eyes as well. We see a passionate reunion between family as well with Rick, Judith, and Carl. In addition to Carol’s act of bravery, we also see such from Tyreese as he acts on behalf of Judith and puts up quite the fight when he is sentenced outside among the walkers with no form of defense. The episode has a lot of familial and friendship reunions and brings most of the group back together (except for Beth, whose whereabouts are still a mystery), pleasing a lot of fans who enjoy that aspect of the show; on the contrary we also see a good amount of action and violence to satisfy that part of the show as well.

By the end, although, not all questions are answered. Where is Beth? What is happening in the cattle car at the end of the episode? Could Beth possibly be in there? What truly will happen or may have happened to the leaders of Terminus? Will we see them again? Those are the questions we anticipate to be answered as the season rolls on, of course.

I have been hooked on American Horror Story since the very first episode of season one. The unconventional series, which tells a unique story in a new setting each year, often with the same cast of actors, spooked me in the Murder House, scarred me for life in the Asylum, and amused me in the Coven. For its fourth season, which premiered Oct. 8, we are taken to a circus Freak Show, the likes of which we haven’t seen on the boardwalk or beside the big top in decades. The trailers released before the premiere promised a terrifying, creepy and, to borrow from the show’s title, freakish experience. That’s saying something given the horror-riddled basement of season 1 and the mutated monsters of season 2. The premiere episode did not disappoint. If you have not watched the episode, be warned that there are SPOILERS ahead.

It’s Florida in the 1950s, and a freak show is trying to stay afloat while others across the country have fallen out of fashion. Some of the performers try to blend in with regular society, hoping to be treated as ordinary people and not the monsters they appear to be. That’s not easy for people like conjoined twins Bette and Dot Tattler, played by series regular Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates’ Bearded Lady or the flipper-handed Jimmy Darling, played by Evan Peters, another fan favorite. According to the show’s creator, the theme of the season will be the “freaks” in conflict with the “evil forces” that don’t understand them.

Entitled “Monsters Among Us,” the premiere introduced us the Tattler sisters, who are discovered hidden in a farmhouse after their mother’s murder. When Elsa Mars, the German immigrant running the freak show, hears about them, she tries to convince them to join her troupe. The “Siamese” sisters have very different reactions to the idea, played convincingly by Paulson with the help of some voiceover, diary entries and, I’ve read, long grueling days of filming. But they are convinced to join when other freaks defend them from a sheriff who blames them (rightly so, it turns out) for their mother’s death.

As the freak show fights for its survival, a psycho clown nicknamed Twisty is terrorizing the community where they’ve set up camp. Played by character actor John Carroll Lynch, Twisty is absolutely terrifying from his slipshod makeup to the way he dramatically pulls juggling pins from a bag –before using them to bludgeon a couple he finds canoodling in a field. When he makes a balloon animal for two children he’s holding captive, I wanted to scream too. What the fluffernutter? Who is this guy? What has driven him to this madness? And, later, when we see him watching from a distance as the freak show performers chop up the ill-fated sheriff, I wondered : what is this guy’s end game? What is his plan? It’s going to be fun to find out, if my heart doesn’t stop along the way.

As she has in the three previous seasons, Jessica Lange shines in her role as Elsa, a frustrated starlet who dreams of a shot at fame and, in a scene near the end of the episode, reveals that her connection with the freaks goes beyond seeing them as a money-making venture.  Viewers will want to savor every moment that she’s on screen, for it’s no secret that she has decided to move on after this season ends. Creators of the show have promised to give her an over-the-top sendoff.

The other performers in the freak show are an interesting bunch. Peters, as Jimmy Darling, longs for dignity and life beyond being a sideshow attraction. But he also has no trouble using his freakishness when it benefits him. His mother, Ethel, is the bearded lady and fiercely loyal to Elsa and the life the show has provided. The cast includes several performers who have dealt with the “freak” label in real life: Matt Fraser, who portrays Paul the Illustrated Seal, has malformed limbs as a result of phocomelia. Rose Siggins, who plays Legless Suzi, had her legs amputated when she was 2. Jyoti Amge, who plays Ma Petite, is in reality the world’s smallest living woman. These actors bring realism to a show filled with the absurd, and make it easy to empathize with their view that it’s not their deformities, but outsiders’ reaction to them, that is truly monstrous.

That seems to be a perfect segue into talking about Dandy Mott and his mother Gloria, the show’s only spectators one night who offer large sums to buy the Tattler sisters. They seem normal, if very dysfunctional, but their fascination with the freaks as objects to own is unnerving. I’m worried about the role they will play, especially given the teaser for coming episodes.

The premiere built in me a sense of dread, but also anticipation, of what will happen next. I can’t wait to learn the back stories of more of the characters, especially Elsa and Twisty. I’m also eager to see how other cast members such as Emma Roberts, Angela Bassett, Patti LaBelle and, it’s rumored, Neil Patrick Harris will factor into the story.

American Horror Story: Freak Show airs Wednesdays at 10 pm on FX. It is recommended for mature audiences.