Treehouse of Terror

No, it's not spoilers for an upcoming Simpsons episode... it's the beginning of that most wonderful time of the year. The temperature is dropping, the nights are getting longer, and skulls, bats, and cats are suddenly acceptable decorations. October and Fall are most definitely upon us.
There is something about this season that encourages me to linger on the topic of fear. What do I fear? Why? The answers change over time. My biggest nightmare as a kid was the thought of hiding from a large intruder in the laundry room (by far the darkest room in my childhood home). It's been a long time since I worried about such things. When I wake up in the middle of the night in a veil of sweat and terror, I no longer think the monsters are coming for me... but I do step swiftly and silently to my children's doors to make sure no ill fate has visited them. The fear is similar.... but different targets scare me now.
From a writers perspective, I have to be aware of the myriad possibilities of what scares my audience. I need the cheap thrills, the fun scares... and a handful of those visceral terrors for different generations and walks of life.
Frostbite, where it dabbles in fear, tends toward the jump-scare and the "monster is after me" thrills. Two Wizard Roulette had to explore new territory: the growing horror that the monster is me and I may not have it as contained as I like to tell myself it is.