Oct 31, 2018 3 min read

I picked up a couple of bags of Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters the other day while browsing the Halloween aisles of a local store. Yes, there was an entire section of Halloween candy, costumes and decorations, and we even have entire Halloween stores pop up temporarily just for the occasion. It dawned on me how much Halloween has changed and grown since I was a kid.

Back then, no one I knew bought a Halloween costume. The few superhero, witch or ghost costumes they sold in stores back then were expensive (this is back in the stone age before the internet and online shopping existed), so we all came up with an idea of what we’d like to be for Halloween and mom or dad somehow made it happen. One year in grade school, I dressed as a cat wearing a black leotard and tights. My mom stuffed black pantyhose with socks to create a tail for me and drew on a nose and whiskers with black eyeliner. Another year, my dad turned us into robots by cutting armholes in big boxes, covering them with aluminum foil, drawing on eyes and mouths and making antennae for our heads out of coat hangers.

Nowadays, you can find any costume imaginable in stores or online for kids and adults. Halloween has grown and morphed into a multimillion-dollar event for retailers, with people throwing parties and decorating their homes with all kinds of creepy blowup spiders, cobwebs and orange lights. Adults have embraced Halloween by donning masks and costumes at work, dressing up to pass out candy for trick-or-treat and throwing elaborate theme parties. I don’t remember my parents ever wearing Halloween costumes or going to a Halloween party for adults. Some cities have even passed laws this year setting a maximum age for trick-or-treat.

A few years ago, I bought candy, turned on the outside lights and waited for trick-or-treaters to ring my doorbell at the appointed time. No one did. I looked outside and saw little vampires, princesses and monsters roaming the streets, then realized my neighbors were all sitting outside on their porches passing out candy. Do kids not ring doorbells to trick-or-treat anymore? Maybe they’re afraid to approach a stranger’s house in this day and age. Last year, we all sat outside in the cold waiting for the kids to come up the walk. Part of me likes when the kids have to ring the doorbell to ask for candy, but I guess I’ll set up a chair on the stoop outside again this year since I don’t want to be stuck with a huge bowl of candy (which I will proceed to eat) if no one is brave enough to ring. Happy Halloween!

Kristin Emery can be reached at kristinemery1@yahoo.com.