Looking at Halloween Decorations in Stores

When it comes to Halloween and its merchandising; it just seems to be getting a little out of hand. I remember when I was a kid. We wore our Planet of the Apes and Fred Flintstone costumes and carried our pumpkin baskets to trick or treat. If you went into stores in October when I was a kid, there were some Halloween decorations here and there. Maybe you would see a black cat or a witch riding on a broomstick. Perhaps there would be a glowing jack-o-lantern or even a hanging ghost.

But now- look out! Especially small children. And that’s one of the reasons why I say enough is enough. It seems that every store from the drug store to the supermarket to the retail stores have all gotten into the Halloween spirit--and it is not necessarily a pleasant one.
When did Halloween decorations and merchandise switch from being a holiday of fun for children to a celebration of everything grotesque, gruesome, and morbid?

The horror on display is of the same genre of R-rated films that are supposed to be restricted from children. This Halloween merchandise really isn’t for “all audiences”. And it’s not like you can use the same rationale as you do for undesirable television shows and just say “You don’t like the Halloween displays, don’t go shopping.”

I can’t honestly believe that the members of my family are the only ones grossed out by corpses, deformed faces, and blood-curdling screams. Not to mention all of the moving displays that seem to draw in the attention of passers-by (like young children). And I know that I can explain to my children that the rotting corpse hanging from the ceiling is not real and made of plastic. But my question is why is this all so acceptable in the first place?

Year after year, Halloween displays and products become more and more gruesome and we all just go about our business. Isn’t this perhaps just one more negative influence on our youth and their attitudes towards violence?

I say let’s take back Halloween and make it a fun time for the children again. Let our voices be heard that the gory and hideous horror in our stores is inappropriate and many times- offensive.