[Big Howlin]

:jol:I know the title might be a little too harsh, I should ask, "Is Halloween 'Dying'?"

:jol:What do you think?

:jol:Tell us your stories on why you think it is and how you feel.

:jol:I ask this because I have noticed it and is very sad....

 

[Brad Green]

Changing a bit maybe, but dying, no, I don't think so. Halloween is always in a state of change from one decade to the next ( I'm almost 50 now, and the Halloween of my childhood was radically different that of today). The neighborhood's of yesterday operated on the 'Cheers' mentality, everybody knew your name, todays communities are really nothing more than a bunch of strangers living in close proximity to one another, and frankly, wer'e scared ****less of one another. When I was young, we did'nt fear sexual deviants, terrorists, drug dealers, or murders, they just did'nt exist (at least to our knowledge at that age), the scariest neighbor you had was the weird old lady at the end of the road. Today, thanks in part to the information age, we feel that monsters lurk behind every door but our own, so less and less people venture out on Halloween. Add that to the church's new found drive to "purge the great evil of Halloween" (funny, they always used to run the best haunted houses), and the media reminding parents to check for razors and poison in your babys TOT bag (all myths, to one degree or another) and you are seeing a new phase of our favorite holiday. Fear not, however, with folks like us, it may become re-defined, but die? NO F'n WAY!

 

[IshWitch]

I think it has an ebb and flow. There are tons of stores for it and the sections in the dept. stores are bigger than ever before.
So if anything, I believe it is on the upswing.

 

[Zombie-F]

Halloween definitely took a hit after 9/11. Who wants to be scared for fun after a real life scare like that?

I firmly believe Halloween is on the upswing again. Each year since 9/11, Halloween has gotten a little bigger again. Bit by bit, it's coming back.

 

[slightlymad]

BG expressed my thoughts exactly.
Now i live in a working class neighbor hood and holloween is large we see easily 250 kids every year but with info and connectivity peolpe dont go out. So we only see these people on holloween. The neighbors think im nuts becaus eif a kid is doing some thing wronge i confront them and take them home to mommy and daddy
Sorry holloween is not dead and is experiencing a rebirth or growth as such because of great sites like this who allow all us nuts to connect and realize we are not alone

 

[Big Howlin]

Hey BG,
"the church's new found drive to "purge the great evil of Halloween""

What do you mean?

 

[otherworldly]

It's interesting for me to read on forums about some of the blows that Halloween has suffered south of the border. This bizarre concept of 'trickortreating hours' during the daylight...I don't have to deal with that. If it exists here in other cities, it's news to me. We have a strange thing where families go trickortreating in shopping malls and the retailers give them treats, but whatever.
We don't have the same problem with the church that I see you describing either. I'm a practicing part of 'the church', and a Halloween fiend. :jol:
I think it's safe to say that it's alive and well in Canada if the sale of treat-size candy and Halloween 'stuff' is any indicator! The collecting of Halloween vintage stuff is signficantly hotter than Christmas vintage as well, is that an increasing trend or a passing fancy?
Probably the biggest thing that gives me hope, are the kids that come to my door. And the parents that bring them. The parents are usually a bit younger than me and their children can barely walk. Seriously, the majority of the kids I see are under 5 years old. A new generation is having children and this generation loves Halloween. Parents, teach your children well.

 

[Dr Morbius]

What is this "Halloween" you speak of?

 

[Death's Door]

I think it's the homehaunters that strive to keep it alive and well by putting it out there and promoting it. Most people that I know like Halloween and celebrate it by hosting parties and doing hayrides. They are not into it as we are, but they definitely celebrating it in their own way. Also, I think if the Halloween retailers are making money, there won't be a decline with Halloween and from what I'm reading, Halloween is making billions every year and is a runner-up to Christmas.

Yes, there was a definite slow down with 911 and also when we had those two dumasses that were doing sniper attacks right before they got caught (I think they finally got caught on Oct. 15th). A lot of the states and cities were cancelling Halloween because of these random acts before they got caught. Most of that is history now and Halloween is in full swing in my neighborhood and other towns close to it.

 

[roadkill]

IMO Hallowe'en is alive and doing fine. There are some extremist churches seemingly bent on censoring the world to their liking (God made man in His image so we'll make our community in our own I guess) and a ton of misinformation about the nature and history of Samhain / Hallowe'en.

All-in-all, however, I'd say with the surge in the horror film industry (coming into the mainstream more and more), extreme rides at amusement parks, and thrill-seeking that people are becoming adrenaline junkies. They crave that thing that makes their hearts race - are we not feeding into that addiction?

 

[Death's Door]

I definitely agree with ya, Roadkill. I've noticed that a lot of the churches are having "Fall Festivals" (I think this is a cover-up and they are wanabee Halloweeners but without the costumes). They want to be apart of it but just can't cross that line. And yes, heart racing is a need for any thrill seeker!

 

[Brad Green]

Hey BG,
"the church's new found drive to "purge the great evil of Halloween""

What do you mean?

Well, when I was growing up in the sixties, the local churchs treated Halloween as just another social function by sponsoring Haunted Hayrides or the area 'Spook House', and considered it no more than a harmless diversion for the children. Over the course of the last 20 years or so, the outlook has changed to one of animosity towards the holiday, decrying it as 'Satan's birthday' and a source of blight on the minds of youngsters everywhere. Some of the churchs in my local have their followers post "No Halloween Here" signs, and more than one church goer has confronted me about my displays and their inherent satanic implications (I REALLY love those little chats), so, all in all, I would consider this to be an attempt to purge or exsponge Halloween from our social landscape.

 

[Shadojack]

I've been in the city for the past 15 years and I have to say trick-or-treaters here don't have alot of options. Unless your in a residental area of the city you have to go to bussineses and shops. And during the day for safety. When I was a kid you were out as long as you had room in your sack or time enough to change costumes and go back out. No one worried about being kidnapped or robbed.

I still see alot of people decorating for the holiday though. At least that hasn't changed.

Oh but to be a kid again for one Halloween night.

 

[Shadojack]

Oh and the churches participated in the Halloween parade along with the fire stations, police department, and virtually every bussines in town. It was like having two Christmases in one year.

 

[Otaku]

I just heard this morning that San Francisco is considering banning the celebration of Halloween in the Castro district. This is not a small event; it usually draws ~100,000 people. The problem of course, is the traffic snarls and the tons of drunks on the streets. In my neighborhood last Halloween, I had a lot of parents, both while with their kids and by themselves, ask about how to do a yard haunt (cost, time, where and how to find props etc). I think (hope) I'll see some competition this year! I agree with Da Weiner, it's the home haunters that help to keep Halloween alive and kicking.

 

[Ugly Joe]

I'll add in that, in my area at least, Halloween (well, the Trick or Treating) has been increasing the last few years.

I will say, however, that a number of the larger retail stores in my area have been slacking when it comes to Halloween items on the shelves...what we get is cheap, pathetic, absolutely non-frightening items that hit the shelves late September, and are never re-stocked (seasonal...at best) - and it's becoming slightly worse over the last few years...

...kind of a "lowest common-denominator" environment...

cheetahclub67 - here's an example of what some folks are pushing...
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0058/0058_01.asp

Now...are they serious, or not?

 

[Big Howlin]

cheetahclub67 - here's an example of what some folks are pushing...
http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0058/0058_01.asp

Now...are they serious, or not?

Bwahahahah OMG!!! That was the funniest thing I have ever read!! No offence to...whoever believes that stuf, but that is really, really SAD.

As for all your other positive feedback on this subject, thanks for cheering me up!! I hope you guys are right! I live in an apt so I sadly dont get to do much for Halloween, so I dont get to see whats going on. I just get word of mouth. :jol:

 

[Fright Yard]

from what Ive seen, my old area in NY ( I used to live in Lake Carmel NY) we had a pretty good amount of people decorating (some are even members here!!) as for NC there are a TON of haunted houses down here but very few home haunts or displays, at least I havent seen any and I drive 12 hours a day at work during the season. I think that decorating is on the rise with all the stores and all but I think trick or treating is down. A lot of people go to malls down here (whic is really an exscuse to get you to go to the mall and buy more stuff from them) and it seems less and less trick or treat. Last year I didnt get anyone after 8pm. It was eerie, I had almost 200 people but they were all early in the day. Up north I had a steady flow up until 10pm. Im hoping that this year its a little better, after our little snippet in the newspaper last year (I didnt even know about it until a month after) Im sure Ill get a lot more people!!

 

[slightlymad]

Home haunters keep the faith.
I to love those little religion discussions especially as most of them come unarmed without basic knowledge of their own religion or in some cases education. Most think we are uneducated idiots. Just cause i look like a truck driver ( nothing wronge with it been there) does not mean i am uneducted or ignorant bring it on church boy.

For the record; I have been a truck driver and spend three years in a christian only school and no i cant spell worth a damn

The catholic churhes in this area no longer do bingo but do texas holdum pocker casino style.