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What’s your most memorable Halloween experience?

In 2007, I was invited to a Halloween party by a classmate. That night, I not only won a costume contest with my homemade Iron Man suit, but I also used my helmet as a dueling weapon when an overeager performer on the haunted forest trail came at the others and myself with a chainsaw. (Don't worry, the chainsaw didn’t have its teeth, though, I certainly didn’t know that at the time.)

Tell us why you would make it to the end of a horror movie.

The world is its own horror movie, so staying calm, remembering where your feet are planted, and adapting to the situation, something I’ve been training myself to do, is key.

What would you do with the unlucky $13,000?

This relates to another key to survival I often remind myself: you are not alone. Sometimes you need to remind yourself of that, and sometimes you need to let the people you love know that too. If I were to win that sort of money, I would use it to give my friends and family the helping hand I know they deserve.

Who is your real-life hero who you would want to survive a horror movie with?

My hero is my wife. For 13 years, she’s pulled me from the muck and mire to remind me that I am stronger than I think I am. I wouldn’t be where I am now without her, and there is no other person I would want to survive a horror film with more than her. (She’s also a scholar of horror, so making us unstoppable with our combined knowledge is a bonus.)