Halloween revolt!

[Barlow]

I'm revolting against Halloween!

Let me explain...

I am so tired of the "politically correct" nonsense and insipid, banal, watered-down Halloween costumes that seem to dominate the landscape. I'm seeing tons of sports costumes (ie uniforms), political personages, and silly stuff like clowns, ballerinas, cowboys, as well as kids walking around in partial costumes with no masks. It's just ridiculous! Where are all the monsters? This is Halloween, after all, not a costume party! Why so few witches, vampires, ghouls, zombies, mummies, aliens, etc? Do these kids even realize that masks are part of the costume?

So, I am now awarding extra candy to those kids who practice the tradition the right way...in monster costumes! Hell, instead of candy, I may just give out a fistful of uncooked white rice to all those goofy doctors, cowboys, ballerinas, and clowns!  Or maybe worse yet, tell them to come back in an appropriate costume if they want a treat! 

And what's this nonsense with trick-or-treating on the day before Halloween? No candy for those kids! And forget going to my house trick-or-treating in broad daylight as well! Go at night, when you're supposed to go!

I'm re-claiming Halloween, one trick-or-treater at a time! 

[The Creeper]

Amen Bro!  I now what you mean! 

[Elisabeth]

I'll drink a toast to that, as well.  I think this started in the 50s and early 60s.  Not too many parents were "enlightened" about "monsters"...and the few who were, didn't let daughters get into such things.  I was born in 1953 (yes...literally!), and I "trick or treated" from 1960-69. and there WERE no female monsters.  Also, most people bought those (pardon me..) cheesy Ben Cooper jumpsuits made of rayon.  I remember very few respectable monsters...just black rayon with a stenciled "jacket", and a half mask looking like Glenn Strange on a bad hair day.

I was lucky, because I had a mother who could sew.  My last big "Hurrah" was sewing three inexpensive white sheets together on the bias, and whipping the sides together with black yarn baseball stiches.  With the addition of a black "afro" wig covered with silver glitter,  my own spraypainted streaks, and my mom's blood red lipstick, I was ready to go!  Whole get-up cost about $5.00!

It's up to US to light our torches and take back our HOLIDAY!!   This is WAR.

Elisabeth

PS...The skunk streaks are natural now.... (lol)  With a "curly perm", I'd do Elsa Proud...

[BlackLagoon]

Wow Barlow..very very well said..I was actually going to start a new thread..buuuuuut since youre a step ahead I'll go ahead and vent here for a quick min:

Ok, when I was a "kid" and I say kid meaning..hmm lets say..grades K-6, Halloween was runner up only to Christmas in terms of sheer excitement and fun. I always give credit to my mom for going the extra mile for the holidays, but even then..and Im talking 1980's..other kids were doing it to.

Doing what? Well..one year I was the Incredible Hulk..painted green, with my natural red afro, dads shredded flannel and a Hulk t-shirt...while my friend was a homemade Jawa. Another year I was Dracula, the Grim Reaper, a Zombie, Freddy Kruegar...One year and this was my fave, we did my face like a skeleton, gave myself a grey wig, I had a walking cane with a silver skull ontop and mom cuffed an old suit of my dads to fit me..and that was it...what a cool ghoul of a monster!!! And ALL of my friends were doing something similar!!

Then as you get older and it was more about throwing eggs and getting a piece of candy here and there..Im gonna say maybe grades 7-9...You basically walked around with friends..egged a bus, sprayed string confetti at each other and then when you wanted to "trick or treat " a house..you put that rubber mask you got at CVS on and rang the bell.

Here is whats happening tonight..it was a rainy warm and overall nasty night. It didnt clear up till about 8 pm...I live in an apt/condo in an association that basically takes up 2 full blocks and theres 3 floors in every buidling...5 pm..no trick or treaters...6 pm I get my 1st and it was a little girl dressed as an Indian and her dad was too..very cool and cute. 7 Pm aa kid in an AWESOME outfit..basically an all black robe and on top of his head he had this giant plastic brain with eyeballs under it....he looked like somethign out of a 50's b-rated movie!! It was unique and fun and he had glow sticks hanging from him which I'm sure was for safety as well as aestethics.

By 8 and 9 pm..I had DROVES of kids now that it was clear and dry...seriously out of 20 kids..If 4 of them had any kind of costume on it would have been alot. Basically just a ton of kids in jeans and ti-shirts like "trick or treat!"...lol are you friggin kidding me?? I just spent almost 20 bux on candy and you guys arent even dressing up anymore!?!?

The best part about this whole thing is that at 32 yrs old..I have Night Of The Living Dead on the DVD..2 of my Auroras on display, next to some old "movie monster" books I put out...3 pumpkins and 2 are carved..I dont know if you remember my old avatar but that was me, and I did the same thing this year!! Dyed my hair..donned the white face paint, and skulled out my eyes, nose and teeth...threw on my very old and very spiked leather jacket..had a couple friends over for Octoberfest beers and plugged our guitars in covering Misfits songs and writing some new materal just to keep in the spirit of things...

I dont want to seem like a grumpy old man, but seriously..trick or treating with no costume..and at 10:00 pm for my bell to be ringing is to me, unacceptable and borderline obnoxious!!....I dont expect every kid to be a Zombie or shell out dough for a quality mask...but geez..could you get a little creative with a 1.99 tube of fake blood??

I dont live in bad area or anything..very suburban, lot of families of all differtn backgrounds...I just dont know whats going on, but in all seriousness..next year? Kids that dont make an effort are seriosuly getting whatever is laying on top of my garbage bag.

[Paul L]

What, trick or treating w/no costume? That's a shame (& what's the point?). When I was a kid, selecting a costume was as much fun as trick or treating. And you're right, you don't have to shell out big $$ to have a cool costume.

[Wicked Lester]

This year was a letdown for us as well. I was SOOOO pumped to have this glorious day on a Saturday. Even tho we live in a small village of 18,000 I thought it would be kickin.
I spent 3 hrs on my set up of props in the window and yard. Had 3 sets of masks depending on age of the kid. I had 2 scardy cats where mom took the candy because Wicked Lester scared them,and only one crier down the street when I chased a group of kids in a ghoul mask and snarled.Total kid tally on a clear 50 degree crisp day, 36 .After dark 2. WTF is that? AAND 90% of my crowd was tween girls.

[raycastile]

Turnout was pretty light tonight.  The lightest it's been in years.  It was raining last year and I had twice as many kids.  Weather-wise, tonight was probably the best Halloween in a long time.  So where were all the kids?  Maybe the weather was so good, they decided they had better things to do on a Saturday night than go trick-or-treating.

[DocManj]

We had a good turnout tonight.  Double from last year.

I also gave out extra candy to kids in scary or monster costumes. 

One kid came up wearing what I thought was a cool little skeleton costume.  I said, "Oh a skeleton, very cool.  Here are your treats.  Happy Halloween."

The young boy immediately corrected me.  "I'm the Grim Reaper!"  And he gave out a scary growl to prove it.

Of course, He was awared with extra candy for his performance.  Awesome!

DocManj

[Bogey]

Turnout was pretty light tonight.  The lightest it's been in years.  It was raining last year and I had twice as many kids.  Weather-wise, tonight was probably the best Halloween in a long time.  So where were all the kids?  Maybe the weather was so good, they decided they had better things to do on a Saturday night than go trick-or-treating.

Same here, Ray.  With the moon at 97%, weather in the 50's, and barely a breeze, we thought it would be hopping.  Add to this that it was a Saturday!  My wife and I made sure to personally thank all  the folks that did up their yards and took the time to look at all the detail that some put into it.  When we did this, they seemed pleased and some even came outside and discussed different things they set up.  I hope that they keep on decorating the yards even with the poor turn out.

[Bogey]

This year was a letdown for us as well. I was SOOOO pumped to have this glorious day on a Saturday. Even tho we live in a small village of 18,000 I thought it would be kickin.
I spent 3 hrs on my set up of props in the window and yard. Had 3 sets of masks depending on age of the kid. I had 2 scardy cats where mom took the candy because Wicked Lester scared them,and only one crier down the street when I chased a group of kids in a ghoul mask and snarled.Total kid tally on a clear 50 degree crisp day, 36 .After dark 2. WTF is that? AAND 90% of my crowd was tween girls.

Keep up the effort, Lester.  There are some of us that appreciate it and salute you. 

[hammerfan]

a lot of the kids in my neighbourhood didnt even bother to wear costumes. not even a cheapo mask. i ragged on them about it too. they just rolled thier eyes. the kids these days....................

[Wolf Man]

My wife and I live in a quiet neighborhood with not very many children.  We decorated the front yard as a graveyard and decorated the inside foyer of the house for the Trick or Treaters.  As we sat there waiting to see if any children came at all my wife was feeling bad for me since this is my vacation from Kuwait and I was really looking forward to Halloween.  My response was that if any children come at all we will give them loads of candy and appreciate them no matter how few would come.  I know that kids will talk about how much fun they had at our house and spread the word so that perhaps next year it would be better. 

My wife and I waited in our costumes, spooky music playing, haunted graveyard lit up and looking good when the first doorbell rang.  We gave out loads of candy and the doorbell kept ringing.  Parents lined up to take pictures of our graveyard and us in costume.  The kids loved our house and were so happy with all we gave out.  Parents asked us not to take down our decorations as we were doing late in the night because of impending rain.  We were a hit. 

I would never dream of shorting a child because of their costume choice.  Many are influenced anyway by their parents.  We had our share of witches, and spooks but each child regardless of costume received a large share of candy treats.  I am sure next year our house will be their favorite destination for Halloween.  It seems the parents enjoyed our efforts as much as the kids did.  Win their hearts and minds works every time. 

I was truly greatful for every child and even took over two bags we prepared special for some neighbor older kids who were too old to trick or treat.  They were very appreciative to receive something also. 

My wife and my love for Halloween was contagious to the whole neighborhood and we can anticipate great things for the future. 

I read another thread on here about "worst" treat anyone received for Halloween and a potato seemed to be the main one.  Well, I love potatoes and would have taken it home and baked it.  Many said they threw them back and even broke a poor woman's window.  I guess no one ever thought that perhaps this woman was indeed poor and wanted to give something out to participate.  My wife used to receive apples from some Amish folks who do not even celebrate Halloween but were kind enough not to refuse a childs Trick or Treat.  I applaud those Amish folks and their efforts. 

Kindness and generosity wins more hearts than being mean and hurtful to a child that does not understand why one kid gets loads of good candy and they do not.  They do not understand a person's love for monsters and Halloween.  They just do what comes to them with their parents influence. 

Since I wore my "spooky" Victorian costume and did lots of spooky things for the kids and they thought it was fun, cool and exciting I am quite certain that I have influenced them for upcoming years to want to dress like that "cool" guy with the "cool" house that they had so much fun at. 

We are shaping memories for future generations and are responsible for those memories good or bad.  There are many ways to hurt a child not just physically and I would never dream myself of doing anything but offering them a fun time that will live in their memories long after I am gone. 

[Bogey]

My wife and I live in a quiet neighborhood with not very many children.  We decorated the front yard as a graveyard and decorated the inside foyer of the house for the Trick or Treaters.  As we sat there waiting to see if any children came at all my wife was feeling bad for me since this is my vacation from Kuwait and I was really looking forward to Halloween.  My response was that if any children come at all we will give them loads of candy and appreciate them no matter how few would come.  I know that kids will talk about how much fun they had at our house and spread the word so that perhaps next year it would be better. 

My wife and I waited in our costumes, spooky music playing, haunted graveyard lit up and looking good when the first doorbell rang.  We gave out loads of candy and the doorbell kept ringing.  Parents lined up to take pictures of our graveyard and us in costume.  The kids loved our house and were so happy with all we gave out.  Parents asked us not to take down our decorations as we were doing late in the night because of impending rain.  We were a hit. 

I would never dream of shorting a child because of their costume choice.  Many are influenced anyway by their parents.  We had our share of witches, and spooks but each child regardless of costume received a large share of candy treats.  I am sure next year our house will be their favorite destination for Halloween.  It seems the parents enjoyed our efforts as much as the kids did.  Win their hearts and minds works every time. 

I was truly greatful for every child and even took over two bags we prepared special for some neighbor older kids who were too old to trick or treat.  They were very appreciative to receive something also. 

My wife and my love for Halloween was contagious to the whole neighborhood and we can anticipate great things for the future. 

I read another thread on here about "worst" treat anyone received for Halloween and a potato seemed to be the main one.  Well, I love potatoes and would have taken it home and baked it.  Many said they threw them back and even broke a poor woman's window.  I guess no one ever thought that perhaps this woman was indeed poor and wanted to give something out to participate.  My wife used to receive apples from some Amish folks who do not even celebrate Halloween but were kind enough not to refuse a childs Trick or Treat.  I applaud those Amish folks and their efforts. 

Kindness and generosity wins more hearts than being mean and hurtful to a child that does not understand why one kid gets loads of good candy and they do not.  They do not understand a person's love for monsters and Halloween.  They just do what comes to them with their parents influence. 

Since I wore my "spooky" Victorian costume and did lots of spooky things for the kids and they thought it was fun, cool and exciting I am quite certain that I have influenced them for upcoming years to want to dress like that "cool" guy with the "cool" house that they had so much fun at. 

We are shaping memories for future generations and are responsible for those memories good or bad.  There are many ways to hurt a child not just physically and I would never dream myself of doing anything but offering them a fun time that will live in their memories long after I am gone. 

Post of the day!

[Fester]

Well Done, Wolfman!  I'm sure you'll have lots of guests next year.  BTW welcome back stateside!

As for the rest of you guys:  I don't know what part of the planet you reside in, but here in the wilds of Spokanistan, we had more than our share of ghoulish guests.  Two "Freddy Krugers;" seven "Screams;" five or six witches (one may have returned with friends); eight "Draculas;"  I don't know how many extras from "Night of the Living Dead;" plus some assorted cowboys, princesses, vampires,  ghosts; the whole band "Kiss" as portrayed by eight year olds; and one who I swear looked like Doctor Shocker!  The malls were not as full of trick or treaters than the last few years, but then it was the warmest Halloween in about 20 years.

I have to admit there were few masks.  But the local police and fire departments have recommended makeup over masks because of better visibility.  The only thing I have noticed that may have been anywhere more "PC" than the early '60s when I was a kid is the lack of ethnic stereotype costumes.

The Holiday is what you make it.  Praise and reward the kids that make an effort and they'll remember it till they're old like me.  Act like a jerk to those that did not, and they'll remember that too.

[Monster Kid]

Wolfman,   I cannot agree more.   My own childhood is a perfect example.  My first costume at the age of 5 was a storebought Bugs Bunny.  My second was as a Sleeping Beauty and I didn't start having scary costumes until 8 years of age with a black cat costume and later, my ghost.  If I got less candy than a kid dressed as a vampire it would have made my Halloweens less fun!  And I was a Monster Lovin' child, a devoted viewer of Shock Theater and collector of Monster stickers, The Munsters and Milton the Monster comic books and Jack Davis monster cards.

Halloween was a big event for us and I feel that it was one of many shaping forces toward my becoming a dedicated classic horror film person and author today.  All adults who encouraged me and supported me, including those who gave out stuff at Trick or Treat, played their role.   It is thus for the little kids of today.  Their trick or treat bags are now fuzzy cloth instead of paper now and they wear Power Rangers outfits instead of Bugs Bunny costumes but the magic is there for them with our help.