Eight features of life in New York that are more frightening than panic rooms

Spooky season allows New Yorkers to truly embrace their weirdness, but Halloween in the city also brings the fears of everyday life into focus. Time Out believes that in order to get really scared, you don’t have to wait for October 31st, you just need to live in New York.

1. A clean, empty, suspicious seat in a crowded subway car.

Will you be tempted to take advantage of this killer rush hour deal if you notice passengers avoiding the seemingly perfect seat? Something happened there a few stops ago and obviously you don't need this place that much, right? It is best to find a free corner opposite the door and hope that another place will soon become available, which will be less suspicious.

2. Sunny forecast for the week and heavy rain as icing on the cake

The New York rule is that if you want to be as social as possible on a given weekend, then bad weather is sure to put a damper on your plans. In October, after a perfect week of sunshine, an autumn thunderstorm will inevitably disrupt your Halloween bar crawl and leave you scrambling for a waterproof pumpkin costume. Don't forget to consider the suit's mobility when you have to jump over a deep street puddle after midnight. Luckily, it looks like the weather will give us a break this holiday weekend.

3. Traveling on public transport on Halloween

Traveling on the subway or bus on a normal day is usually a mildly eerie experience. But when you add in the endless array of costumes, alcohol-fueled fun, and the goal of attending the Village Halloween Parade, half the fun of the evening is trying to get home in one piece. Is it really Halloween in New York City if you don't end up on a subway platform at the end of the night talking to a stranger dressed as a Marvel character?

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4. Trampled feet at the produce counter at the farmers market.

We all know people who somehow buy their entire week's food at the farmers market. These regulars arrive at the crack of dawn at Union Square, 79th Street or Brooklyn Borough Hall with wheeled carts and know exactly which stand to stop by for the perfect fall squash. Meanwhile, you make your way around midday, hoping to grab the last of the pain au chocolat, and without thinking twice, buy a mini pumpkin to enhance your apartment's fall aesthetic.

5. The burden of responsibility for the role of the ringleader and joker

When October rolls around on the calendar, pumpkin patches, apple orchards and wineries pop up in the Hudson Valley. Be careful when talking about falling leaves and fall beer, because the most enthusiastic friend in the group chat always ends up with the responsibility of planning a weekend excursion to a small, Gilmore Girls-themed autumn town that's probably swarming with people wanting to experience the same thing.

6. “Indian summer” is coming unnoticed

You can finally put on a sweater again, there's a crisp coolness in the air, and the leaves are slowly but surely changing color. And then, out of nowhere, the heat comes, which nullifies all the terrible forebodings of the season. Switch to a layered look and ward off the imminent threat of global warming with the bliss of a brief summer reminiscence. After all, it's better than a reminder that it will soon be dark before 6 p.m.

7. Trader Joe's on Sunday morning

All grocery stores are crowded on Sundays, but New York's Trader Joe's is in a whole different league. Be a couple of minutes late and you'll find yourself in a mad rush. May you always find that golden hour in the morning when you can calmly dig into your favorite frozen foods and stand in line without frantically searching for where the line ends.

8. I have a cold, flu or something...

When you notice sniffling more often than usual on the subway, but at work you hear nothing but the sneezing of a colleague on the other side of the office, you know it's cold and flu season. Along with it comes the eternal question: “How sick am I?” Stock up on vitamin C and an emergency supply of masks in case your congestion worsens after a weekend spent next to other people's snot. And is it really New York autumn if your body doesn’t collapse and burn after an adventurous Hallo-weekend?