An empty store has been converted to a temporary Halloween one-stop-shopping bonanza lasting only until a week or so after October 31st. These temporary holiday shops have become standard fare, capitalizing on the every-increasing appetite for holiday décor and accessories. The huge sign out front says, “Spirit of Halloween,” a franchise of dozens across the state, and a play on dark spirits that roam the earth. I pass the store often, and every time I see that sign, I think about the truth of that sign.
Once upon a time in a far off universe when I was a kid, Halloween was about costumed urchins, generally under age 12, scouring their neighborhoods to collect goodies. Older kids trying to horn in on their turf were generally scorned and adults would never even imagine joining in the frivolities. It was purely a little kid thing. Home decorations were never more than a pumpkin or two. A kid draped with a sheet and eye holes pretending to be a ghost, or wrapped in toilet paper as the mummy was about as dark as it got. Celebrations were no more than a costume parade contest at school, if that.
So, what is the “spirit of Halloween” now? Over the past fifty years, I have watched it gradually