“Eerie” used to be one of my absolute favorite words. From the exact second it was the answer to a daily NYT Mini Crossword puzzle, I was completely hooked.

Of course, I already knew the word existed, but I had simply forgotten about it—because, realistically, how often do you get to casually drop the word “eerie” into everyday conversation?

Well, cut to recently. I’ve been wrapping up my first big campaign for Mr. Appliance. The entire campaign is built on the concept that fixing your broken appliances yourself can be genuinely terrifying. Because of that creative direction, the word eerie has suddenly taken over my entire life.

It is now in every single search engine bar I look at: eerie kitchen at night, eerie open microwave, eerie fridge, eerie everything.

It is no longer that fun, sophisticated vocabulary word that gave me a little spark of joy when I solved the crossword. Now, it has transformed into a literal haunting. Especially with the Halloween season ramping up, I am quite layout-dependent and visually drowning in it.

Consider this a cautionary tale: stay safe out there, and protect your favorite words.