What’s the scariest thing in the universe?

Scientific American · Phil Plait · 2026-10-30 10:45 UTC

It’s Halloween, and nothing is scarier than our terrifying universe

Ah, autumn. Leaves are falling, days are shortening, and there’s a chill in the air.

But is that just a result of the approaching winter as Earth’s northern axis begins to tip away from the sun? Or is it caused by some other cosmic horror, a cold finger of dread running down your spine as you contemplate the legion of nightmares lurking in the universe all around us?

Space is a scary place. Certainly, many objects in it appear scary to our human brains, and we interpret their shapes as witches and skulls and fiery jack-o’-lanterns. These are in reality relatively harmless illusions whose specific structures only remind us of dreaded visions.

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