Raising the dead instead of raising taxes this Halloween

Yet another spooky Halloween season has descended upon the New England area with open arms from retailers and consumers alike. Over the past two years, Halloween participation has seemed to increase drastically for adults who traditionally spend the witching holiday at home answering their door for trick-or-treaters or bringing young children through their neighborhoods. So far, this Halloween has proven an expanded market to adult-sized costumes and party themes as retailers have been scrambling to pick up the extra business at a time where the only thing that's really scary is our economy. So this leaves people to wonder why more adults are finding themselves at Halloween parties or going door-to-door with a pillowcase in hand. Perhaps the promise of free candy in a time of economic instability is impossible to refuse. Perhaps the retail industries are simply pushing more aggressive advertisements down the gullets of consumers to get them to purchase plastic pumpkin pails. Whatever the reason, Halloween has dominated store displays and blue light specials as retailers scurry to make every extra dollar before the beginning of the Christmas season, which comes earlier and earlier each year.

It is difficult to tell if the retailers are just spooked that this season's Christmas sales will be just as lack luster as the previous year but it is doubtful that a fattened Halloween is propping up business models across the country. The mid-Fall sales are being received with open, zombie-like hands reaching for the 18-and-older demographic. But how old is too old to be trick-or-treating?

"I pulled it off until I was 17. Now I just take my niece around trick-or-treating and figure- 'while I'm here'" says Rochelle Walbridge, a BSC student while miming shoveling candies into an imaginary bag. When asked about where she obtains her costumes, she replied "Thrift Stores" and the importance of finding "the cheapest costume as possible."

Another BSC student, Rachael Woodcock will be hunting for different treats this Halloween. She explained, "For Halloween, we're going out to collect canned goods and non-perishables. I'm part of FaM for Change, and we're collecting for charity."

FaM (Friends and Mentors) is a program run by Bridgewater State College and Brockton Public Schools which targets high school students who show great potential yet face challenges in their academic well-being. It challenges its members to become civically engaged and pairs college students with high school students. Everyone is well aware now of charities ever since the economic downturn. Giving has become scarce as millions of Americans are forced to tighten their belts. Not only are markets relying on Halloween in order to profit but charities are relying on Halloween to non-profit (fundraise that is).

Even tourism in the Massachusetts area is affected by the sudden adult interest in Halloween happenings. Salem Massachusetts, a "must see" destination point during the Halloween season has seen a slight increase in tourism while everything else has decreased. Should towns begin burning witches to acquire revenue during the middle of Fall? Perhaps Massachusetts communities can raise the dead instead of raising taxes.

The last significant spike in adult Halloween interest occurred back in 2000. Online news outlets like www.Halloween-news.com reported massive growth during a robust economy, citing baby boomers and their trick-or-treating tots as reason for the nearly 1.8 billion dollar leap from the previous year. The baby boomer generation has often been targeted by marketers for their massive purchasing power that can make or break entire industries.
Perhaps this year's Halloween interest can be attributed to America's new found fixation on vampires. Since the wildly popular and popularized Twilight novels, television and the movies have been exploding with many vampire spin-offs. It is doubtful however that this season's good performance is entirely reliant on fake vampire teeth, hair gel, and glitter with which to sparkle in the sun.
However, a strong, contributing factor to this year's adult Halloween interest, is that the holiday lands on a Saturday this year, leaving most adults a night of festivities without having to stumble into work the next morning looking like accidental Frankensteins. Looking back to 2000 Halloween season, it also fell on a weekend. Could the only thing holding back adult dollars from purchasing gallons of fake blood and rubber spiders be work in the morning?
No matter what economic boons this season can conjure, this year's Halloween looks to be a fun one. Even if Halloween can't raise our economy back from the dead, people of all ages will celebrate this holiday of ghosts, candy, and masks, which has made its mark on many family traditions. Whether you find yourself trick-or-treating or at a Halloween party, be sure to get into the Halloween spirit, less a Halloween spirit get into you.