Halloween is becoming more and more popular each year with nearly ever organisation wanting to take part, whether it is the local optician dressing their window or restaurants offering spicy pumpkin soup on the menu. However, it is not always a ‘trick or treat’ fun night for everyone. For those who have a serious phobia of spiders, real or plastic (they can seem life like enough) they have to endure this anxiety every year. So what is a phobia? It is an irrational fear triggered when faced with the feared object and as a result the person may sweat, shake, experience dizziness or palpitations as a physical response. Or they may try to avoid the trigger all together which can sometimes be difficult to do. I walked into my local charity shop and there was a plastic spider on the counter as part of their Halloween display. So not as easy as it may seem, and every time the trigger is avoided it actually reinforces the phobia. Why can’t phobias be rationalised by use of simple