The slow, sad death of Halloween in my town (1305 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.78 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Julia (View user info) at 2004-10-26 14:32:22 EDT
When I was growing up, Halloween rivaled Christmas as my favorite day of the year--not just because it's my birthday and I got presents, but because everything seemed so festive and fun. My dad would take the day off work, and he and my mother would spend hours decorating the front of the house. Our yard was filled with gravestones, a mock guillotine and gallows over the front walk. Dad set up a sound system to play screams, groans and scary music. My parents dressed up, too. Mom trailed around in a long, white nightgown, with a bloody stake through her heart and long fangs made by a dentist friend. Dad was the Grim Reaper, complete with evil mask and seven-foot scythe he made himself. Our entryway might have a rented coffin, candelabra and black roses, but some years they changed things around. One year our house was a mad scientist's laboratory, with bubbling beakers and my parents in bloody white coats.
My friends were jealous. Our house was frequently in the paper, and people came from several cities away to see what my parents had done that year. I imagine we'd have over 100 kids ringing the bell. My dad's mask was hideous, and he'd stay away from the door when little kids toddled up.
When I got married and moved away, I missed the excitement of Halloween. I couldn't wait to have a house where we could decorate our yard into a haunted mansion, packed with kids giggling in fear and anticipation. I have a house now, but there's no one to scare.
What the hell happened to Halloween?
Last year, two children visited my house. Two. The bowl of candy--the good stuff, Milky Ways and Milk Duds and Skittles and Nerds--sat sadly beside the door, hardly touched. The year before, three children came knocking. When I take my kids out, over half the houses are dark.
Where is everybody?
I miss Halloween.
User Reviews
Submitted by drfeggphd (user info) at 2004-10-31 14:49:50 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A tricky treat for YOU on this day:
Happy birthday to ewe
Happy birthday to ewe
Happy birthday dear <name>
Happy birthday to ewe
Good morning to ewe,
Good morning to ewe,
Good morning, dear kids,
Good morning to all
(to the tune of Universal Blackness by My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult)
© Copyleft 2004.
(Happy birthday, Julia!)
Submitted by DanielH (user info) at 2004-10-29 01:22:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
One of my fave holidays, which pre-dates Christianity.
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2004-10-27 10:46:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yup, this still pisses me off! I just cannot get over it! It's commercialization...
The only solace I take in the death of Halloween at the hands of those stupid Christians that think everything fun or worthwhile - everything that makes you happy, or want to laugh, or anything that causes hurt or even pleasure is wrong, is that their holiday is dying as well at the hands of the REAL EVIL, which is commercialization and 'Americanization' of EVERYTHING!
The Western philosophy of RAPING all that is pure - milking it for every last dollar it is worth, worming its way inside of everything that was ever dear to us as children, and poisoning it with its empty, monetary meaninglessness - has stifled our culture and is slowly turning us into one giant mass of mindless consumers...easily controlled...kept always wanting...dying a slow death in a life devoid of anything with emotion, individuality, tradition, or beauty.
So, go on America and the rest of the world that allow yourselves to be consumed by consumerism...buy another microwave oven. Stop making cookies for your children because they contain sugar and fat, don't every do anything loud, risky, or outside the norm. Deny your children everything you once held dear as a child because you've grown cynical and boring. Just kill me while you're at it, because your vision of the world SUCKS, just like you, you fucking LEECHES!
Submitted by Lucifer_Industries (user info) at 2004-10-26 22:50:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
What's important, and I can't stress this enough, is that Halloween will die and never become the holiday we remember as kids, if WE the parents don't continue to dress up and trick or treat ourselves with our kids. If you're the only one on the block with a porchlight on, then don't turn it off next year, put it on bright and proud.
A contributing factor that I see is people don't see the kids trick or treating. In my area I'd guess that the majority of kids don't walk from house to house, block to block, they pile into minivans and drive. They get out, trick or treat 5 or 6 houses, and get back in the van and drive down the street.
When I was a kid, if we came to a part of the block that was dark, but had one porchlight on way down the street, we loved to hike down there to that one house. Half the fun is just being out in your costume. I think that part of the problem has been all this focus on the door to door part and not being outside with neighbors and thier kids. I'm sure much of the bond that my parents have with the neighbors in the old neighborhood was forged by walking around with the other dads for hours that one night a year.
And yes, damn the churches who lure families to their basements and halls to trick or treat "safely" instead of going door to door. They prey on the fears of an event that has never happened, NEVER, in the history of the holiday, and that's the poisoned, laced or razor bladed treats. It's an urban legend and it's a shame so many people us it as an excuse to stay in or go to church.
Submitted by elysia at 2004-10-26 19:17:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i agree with you. There are almost no kids out anymore and god forbid there are kids out after dark! (jeez) when I was a kid we would trick or treat for about 4 hours and there were hundreds of other kids out too. We would get upwards of 200 at our door as well. what is WITH halloween now adays?
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-10-26 19:04:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I made my own Doctor Octopus costume this year. It's going to rule so hard.
Submitted by Julia (user info) at 2004-10-26 19:01:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Toothy, my neighbor, I love you. So HA HA NEENER NEENER!
Lovingly,
A carpooling, PTA-attending, Christian soccer mom with a minivan
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2004-10-26 18:49:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Once again...no offense Julia, but FUCK CHRISTIANITY! I am FUCKING SICK OF IT! The same people that tell us that Jesus said to 'love thy neighbor' are the ones who put 'I support Bush' stickers on their cars...
Fucking NAZIS! Propaganda-pushing NAZIS!
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2004-10-26 18:44:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
They have taken Halloween and the die-hard Christians are phasing it out. The only reason it's still around at all is the economic value.
In my town, they won't even let the kids trick or treat after dark anymore. How fucking stuipid is Holloween during the DAY?! THere are MANY things about stupid people that piss me off, and this is one of them. I am glad you brought it up.
I hate Christians and their PC behavior, and their assertion that NOTHING can ever be dangerous or exciting. I hate PTA mothers and their, "oh, my child would never do that" attitudes. I hate uppidy old geezers who think that we should strip everything about childhood that was once fun away and replace it with watered down semblances of their former charm.
It's the same reason why EVERYTHING has become so fucking commercialized...it's about the 15 minute holiday. Buy buy buy...then forget forget forget and move on to the next sale at Target or Wal-Mart. I am personally SICK of it!
I am NOT celebrating Christmas ever again...I will however try to scare the shit out of all the kids and parents this Halloween. FUCKERS!
(Excuse me if I have very strong emotions about this subject!) GODDAMNIT!
Submitted by Julia (user info) at 2004-10-26 17:39:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Kai . . . huh?
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2004-10-26 17:29:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good post, and sadly true. In a related story, be glad you don't live in Washington http://www.ubersite.com/m/49746
Submitted by RateBot (user info) at 2004-10-26 16:34:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by kai070169 (user info) at 2004-10-26 16:26:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Having a known pedophile as a husband can't help much.
Actually it is the same everywhere. Halloween is stupid anyway.
Submitted by NYCRulz (user info) at 2004-10-26 15:48:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Lets go egg some houses and bring back the good ol' days.......Oh and yea, i blame it on the holy rollers.....may they rot in hell for telling me to believe in their religion.
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2004-10-26 15:48:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
agreed. when i was younger the streets were teaming with ghosts, goblins, clowns,
ninja turtles... now we'll be lucky if a few teenagers show up with no costume demanding
candy.
Submitted by Yams (user info) at 2004-10-26 15:21:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Its alive and well here...But I feel your pain. Send me gumballs.
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2004-10-26 15:09:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by UBERDOOBIE (user info) at 2004-10-26 15:03:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
HALLOWEEN KICKS ASS...
one time out of the year "they" will let me dress up in costume in public and scare lil' kids.
Submitted by Julia (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:59:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Jellyfish, there's a running joke in my town that there are more churches per capita than anywhere in the country. I don't really think that's true, but we do have an awful lot of chapels in strip malls. There's also Focus on the Family, which is not-so-affectionately called Hate on the Hill. I'm a good Christian, but if fundamentalism really is the reason Halloween is practically dead, I'm going to go kick some doors down and start throwing miniature candy bars at people. The hard ones.
Submitted by jumpinjellyfish (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:53:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
We don't get many kids in my neighborhood either but that's because my neighbors are mostly old people. We take my 4 year old daughter to a neighborhood where there are more young couples with kids, but the holiday still isn't as much fun as it used to be. One of the reasons might be that the fundamentalist christian sects (cults?) frown upon Halloween due to it's "evil" nature.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:51:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Last year, I answered the door with my mask on and it was a couple of real little kids with their parents. The kids freaked out. I had to take the mask off to show them that I'm not a monster.
Then the parents screamed and told me to put it back on.
Submitted by TheSpook (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:51:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
It's because your town is a bunch of yuppie scum!
You know what will get them back, vandalism. Any house in my neighborhood growing up would get trashed if they didn't give out candy. Those people started coming out for Halloween the next year. People will watch their house if they think someone's gonna screw with it.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:50:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Julia..I'll give you directions.
Submitted by Feijuada (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:49:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
SUCKS FOR YOU!
Submitted by Julia (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:44:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
We live in a nice area. There are lots of kids, too. We have five elementary schools in a two-mile radius. I think everybody goes to the mall. If I break down and take the kids there, and I might because I want them to have fun and get candy, that will just be sad. Trick-or-treating at the mall. No. Please don't make me.
TigerLilly, can I come to your house this year?
Submitted by original_cola (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:38:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
probably bad part of the town? where my mom lives now she never gets kids at the door.
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:38:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
trick or treat
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2004-10-26 14:38:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No idea Julia. We usually get well
over 100 kids in our neighborhood.