My week: Dan Stevens - Telegraph In Hertford, Hereford and Hampshire hurricanes hardly ever happen. One of my early memories is of opening our front door during England's Great Storm of 1987 (having, of course, been told not to) only to find my five-year-old limbs unable to shut it. Here on the Hudson, however, they h'occur. On average, New York has been hit by hurricanes every eight years since records began, but with Irene brushing the city only last year, and Sandy on its way as I write, that frequency may be shifting. A note was slipped under our door last weekend advising us to stay away from windows, stockpile food and, inexplicably, "fill the bath with water." Even media outlets not prone to vulpine scaremongering predict one of the more epic storms to hit the north-east for decades. A coincidence of hurricane, Arctic nor'easter and full moon is mashing up to form the most rapturous meteorological terms. Time will tell if the "Frankenstorm" does indeed lead to a "snowpocalypse." What a week for Frankenstorm to hit. Hallowe'en is always celebrated with more spirit here than back home, but this year it comes with an added frisson, a diabolical breeze whistling through the witches" wigs. As a festival it has a unique function in the American calendar: a confrontation of fears, an indulgence of silliness and (for adults) even repressed sexuality; a Pride Parade for the id. Alongside traditional vampires and ghouls it has become something of a moment to embody ironic comment on a contemporary horror. In 2008 many women, and even some men, saw fit to dress up as Sarah Palin - Alaskan lumo hunting vest and all. My late walk home from the theatre on Saturday saw myriad monstrosities, but my favourite had to be the girl proudly occupying a third of the sidewalk dressed as one of Mitt Romney's "binders full of women." Fear is in the air. When is it not? Global politics trades on it; the fear of other religions, nationalities, sexualities, systems of government, ways of life can divide and conquer a populace to the great convenience of the incumbent (or wannabe incumbent) powers. In an age when isolated communities were exposed only to certain points of view or limited information, those fears might be forgiven. But now the access to knowledge is out there, there is no excuse for not understanding. A "binary blizzard," as Will Self brilliantly puts it, "is blowing through humanity's consciousness." Fear of a storm is founded; fear of each other is not.