RIP Halloween
A once-spirited holiday is passing away
Halloween is moving gently into that good night. A holiday remembered as an evening of unsupervised fun and mischief, where kids in ghoulish costumes sought a bonanza of gooey, chocolatey mouth-watering treats, is breathing its final breath. (Heavy sigh.) It’s enough to make Vincent Price roll over in his grave.
For Boomers like me who grew up in the ’60s and ’70s, Halloween represented much more than just a simple accumulation of candy. The celebration actually began days before Halloween night, when we would visit an actual pumpkin patch — not the grocery store — and pick out the largest pumpkin we could carry.
At home, we used a long, sharp knife and carved it ourselves — no adult supervision required. (If you were like me, you kept the seeds, cleaned them, and roasted them in the oven for a crunchy snack.) When our Jack-o-lanterns were finished, we proudly displayed our works of art on the front porch. Of course, at night, we placed a lit candle inside them.
In those days, the most popular Halloween costumes were ghosts, witches, monsters, and vampires. Almost nobody was doing lame stuff, like dressing up as a tree or giant banana. For most of us, the outfits didn’t come from a store. We made them ourselves, sometimes with help from Mom, using whatever clothes or props we could find in our basements.
In the 1960s, Halloween was alive and well — even in school. Younger kids came in costume and paraded from class to class, bringing a smile to everyone. Except for chewing gum, our teachers were fine with letting us bring in some of our Halloween stash. We’d trade it, share it, and munch on it in our classroom. Back then, nobody was freaking out over peanut allergies or childhood obesity.
When it came to trick-or-treating, my brother and I had the whole thing down to a science. We knew which homes or streets typically handed out the best or biggest candy bars — and instead of a paper or plastic bag, we carried pillowcases, because no matter how much candy we accumulated, they’d never rip.
Trick-or-treating was a two or three-hour endeavor. We’d cover several streets, until our pillowcases became heavy as bowling balls. Then we’d stop home, empty our loot, and go back for more. By the end of the night, we had enough candy to last us through Christmas. If we weren’t exhausted when we finally arrived home, we would stay up and watch a classic horror movie, featuring Dracula or Frankenstein.
Obviously, Halloween was mainly about the treats: Hershey bars, Whoppers, Junior Mints, Chuckles, Sugar Daddies, Starbursts, and all the other sweets that make dentists rich. But as we got a bit older, there might also be some mischief, such as lighting firecrackers, soaping windows, or smashing a pumpkin. However, those were very brief diversions. Our primary mission was always to amass as much candy as possible.
And it wasn’t just kids who warmly embraced Halloween. Many adults bedecked their houses in spooky motifs. Some even wore costumes, most often a monster or vampire. One gentleman in our neighborhood even set up a coffin in his living room and reposed there as kids approached.
As we stood on their front porches, people opened their doors to a booming chorus of “Trick or Treat!” The smiling adults would comment on our costumes, reward us with goodies, and happily wait for the next gang of revelers.
My dad got a kick out of Halloween as well. He used to put a speaker inside a large jack-o-lantern on our front step. When kids came up the porch in search of treats, my dad (hidden inside the house) would produce a ghostly moan or chilling laugh. More than one young trick-or-treater leaped off the porch and scurried down the street like a scared rabbit.
When Halloween comes around these days, it’s almost ignored. Some people turn off their lights and pretend they aren’t home. Trick-or-treating has become a bland routine: Many parents merely buy their kid a costume, escort them around for 30 minutes, and it’s over. Many older kids no longer trick-or-treat, and the ones who do rarely bother with a costume or engage in any mischief. The holiday has clearly lost its spirit.
Sadly, today’s youngsters will never experience the unfettered thrill of such a magical night, when the streets teemed with costumed kids (minus their parents) running excitedly from house to house in a mad quest to acquire copious amounts of candy.
Halloween today contains about as much excitement as a Zoom meeting. It’s gotten so lame that some people have stopped giving out candy! Good grief.
What in the name of Boris Karloff are they thinking?
C’mon, what kid wants an apple, juice box, or stickers for Halloween? Give ’em candy! Yes, give them the sugar and food dyes and preservatives, just like we had. Let them enjoy themselves — even if it means a bunch of cavities or a shortened lifespan.
Mark is a proud Boomer and author of The Misfit Chronicles: True Tales of Growing Up & Screwing Up in the 1960s and ‘70s.
