Does the very idea of death worry and frighten you? There may be reassurance from a new study that finds those fears might be exaggerated. In fact, the research shows, death is often described as a peaceful, "unexpectedly positive" experience by those who approach it. Death is one of life's guarantees, yet it's something people often avoid talking about, according to study author Kurt Gray. He's an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "There's almost an unspoken assumption that death is something to be avoided at all costs," Gray said. But his team found that the abstract concept of death may be scarier than the reality. To look at the question, the researchers first searched for blogs by people who were terminally ill with cancer or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease)—diseases where patients generally maintain their mental functioning into the advanced stages. The researchers turned up blogs from 25 patients, with over 2,600