While stopped at an intersection on the way home from work, I noticed that the car in front of me had a silver laughing skull sticker displayed prominently on the trunk. Now, I’m not judging. People should have the freedom to display whatever they want on their cars. But I still wonder why people do this. What is this person trying to promote? Is he trying to inform me that he is a fan of the undead? Is he trying to inform me that he himself is scary? Is this some sort of tattoo reference?
Laughing skulls and the like I think serve to assuage our fear of death. If the skull was actually dead, then it would not be laughing. There seems to be a level of reassurance, likely in a person with no strong religious convictions, that there is an afterlife. It is likely that most would be truly frightened by the prospect that death marks the end of our existence.
I knew someone once that was a horror film enthusiast and spent a great deal of their time and energy immersed in this world. This all changed unfortunately when a close family member was the victim of an untimely death. Here the worlds of fantasy and reality collided. This person was shaken not only by the death, but also by the loss of identity when they could no longer watch horror films.
Existential angst is a normal part of life. It is, in my opinion, the root cause of all religion, philosophy and science. Because our mortality does not at some level make sense, we strive for understanding.
