All in Your Head

Even the most skeptical among us can sometimes get chilled by the thought of ghosties and ghoulies and long-legged beasties and things that go bump in the night. That's why Motherboard's October theme week, called All in Your Head, will be focused on one thing: fear. We'll be taking a look at all the creepy, spooky, scary, and unexplained phenomena that infiltrate the world around us, through a science and technology lens.

From October 26-30, we're going to strip down to our skeletons and tackle the frightful side of things. What happens in the brain when we think we see a ghost? What's the latest in demon-hunting tech? Are humans evolving to become more fearful instead of moving beyond this often useless reflex? Why are we more afraid of speaking in front of a crowd than we are of dying?

We're aiming for a Goosebumps meets Are You Afraid of the Dark vibe, with maybe a little Unsolved Mysteries thrown in for good measure (RIP Robert Stack). The point is, we're not going for the kind of real-life scary stories of the "look how quickly we are destroying the planet" variety, ya dig? This is the fun kind of fear, the likes of which you probably haven't seen since you hit puberty and started wearing "cool" Halloween costumes instead of spooky ones.

For some inspiration, and a little preview, you can check out some of the bone-chilling stories we've covered in the past, like a look at the scientists who believe in ghosts or our tour of the 90s ghost-hunting livestreams still haunting the internet.

So load up some skin-crawling, blood-curdling pitches into your proton pack and release them into our inbox by Wednesday, October 21, either to your favorite Motherboard editor or to our general editor email at editor@motherboard.tv. You can also drop me a line for more info at kaleigh.rogers@vice.com. The fear is real, but it's all in your head.