For Halloweeniacs, Halloween Is Special
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There's something fun about being frightened. That fact has made Stephen King the world's best selling author, the inexpensively-made Blair Witch Project one of the most-watched movies of all time, and it brings more than half a million visitors to Massachusetts every year to participate in Haunted Salem. It has also made Halloween second only to Christmas in holiday popularity in the United States, and the rest of the world isn't far behind. In 1997, France's Halloween sales were only $1.8 million; in one year those sales jumped to nearly $19 million. According to the U.S. Retail Merchants Federation, Halloween is now a $5 billion a year business here and it's growing as much as 23% every year. Interestingly, this fantasy festival is becoming as much a play day for adults as it is for children. Sales and rentals of adult costumes for the first time last year surpassed those for the littlest haunters. A recent search of the internet found more than 93,000 individual websites dedicated to Halloween, many of them made by home haunters who put on a show for their own neighborhoods. Halloween, All Hallows' Eve, coincides with the pagan fetival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in), and is celebrated the night before All Saint's Day. In the distant past, it was believed that the spirits of the dead returned on that night to wreak mischief, and dressing in costume kept them from recognizing you. The more frightful the costume, the better protection it was supposed to be. Few people who enjoy the holiday today have any idea of its origins and it no longer carries with it any religious connotations. It's just a way for everyone to tap into the little kid inside who still likes to be scared...especially when we know the scares are not real. Today, this role-playing holiday is only as 'evil' as one cares to see it. Those who do not enjoy our particular--some will say 'peculiar'--brand of humor may not understand how we can find such dark and disturbing images delightful. Maybe part of it is the creativity it takes to 'suspend our disbelief' long enough to allow the obviously-concocted scares to work their magic; maybe it's like 'whistling past the graveyard.' Whatever it is, Halloweeniacs come together one night each year to let their hair down, to scream or instigate screams, to laugh and be laughed at...and to once again remember the heart-pounding excitement we felt as little kids building our courage to ring the bell on the door of a strange house....ready for anything....but getting candy. ### |
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