Physics, Halloween, and magic have something in common: each appeals to our fascination with mystery. As Einstein once said, "The most beautiful thing we can experience is mystery. It stands at the cradle of all true art and true science."

But the commonality of the three ends there. The Halloween celebration is a frightful, irrational confrontation with mystery, whereas in physics we embrace the mysteries of the universe. We confront them rationally. We welcome the challenge to solve them. Furthermore, unlike the fanciful magic of mythical wizards, we have real "magic" at our disposal. It's our ability to comprehend the world—to understand how things behave. This understanding, which we gain through science, enables us to predict outcomes and exert a measure of control over nature. It makes the scientist a kind of modern-day magician.

The Haunted Physics Laboratory, with its mix of Halloween, theatrical magic, and physics, offers a unique opportunity for understanding physical phenomena and the difference between science and pseudoscience. It's a contextual theme for teaching physics that's too good to pass up.