Halloween: Not Just for Kids

What is it about Halloween that calls to the kid in all of us?  Is it the free candy or the costumes? For me, it was always the latter. I can tell you what I wore on my first Halloween—I was three and sported a plastic yellow and white Harlequin clown suit that made me sweat. In subsequent years, my parents tapped their not inconsiderable creativity and I was, variously, the Statue of Liberty, Queen Elizabeth II and Robin Hood.  

The unifying feature of all these costumes was the longjohn pajamas, dyed to match, that I wore underneath.  This was Pennsylvania at the end of October, and it was cold at night. We didn't wear masks, but at some point in the evening, my sister and I would return home and our mother would daub our faces with the pitch from the burning Jack-o-lantern.  We would then continue with blackened faces to trudge the lanes of our country town carrying our booty in big paper shopping bags from Gerber's Market.  

I have no memory of what we actually got—that was beside the point, it seemed to me.  In later years, however, I do recall that apples figured largely in the haul, as well as handfuls of candy corn just tossed into the bag.  This was, obviously, prior to the reports of weirdos inserting razor blades in apples and poisoning the unwrapped candy.  It was also during the time when kids were still allowed to roam their neighborhoods after dark without adult supervision.   

Despite the changes made for safety’s sake, it still seems to me that Halloween is as big a deal today as it was for me back then.  I was thinking about this when I responded to , which offered suggestions for activities teens could do when they’re too old for trick-or-treating. Too old for trick or treating? When does that happen—and why?

As I told Kelly, judging by the teens appearing at my door here in Elk Grove, boredom with trick-or-treating is not an issue. My response was the defensive posture of someone who was still trick-or-treating when she was in her twenties (see photo). My role on Halloween as an adult is merely to hand out candy at my door? How sad.  

The fact is that Halloween isn’t just for kids. There is a whole industry that has grown up around it that caters primarily to adults. Never mind the special Halloween stores that spring up in September every year; the aisles of local drugstores and other retailers are also sporting costumes for adult-sized people.  In fact, it seems to me that those celebrating Halloween get older and older every year.  I certainly don’t remember adults doing it when I was a kid, but maybe that’s because as a kid, you’re mostly unaware of what adults are doing unless it somehow infringes on your freedom.   

Today, however, the fact that we Americans love to dress up for a day is hard to miss.  Social philosophers might talk about the carnival aspect of Halloween: one night when you’re given free rein to be someone or something else.  

Still, the question remains—how old is too old to go trick-or-treating?  When I see costumed teens at my door proffering bags, when the “trick-or-treat” comes in a baritone, I’m a bit wary. In my day, we carried soap for the Trick part if it was needed.  Today, in a world of razor blades and poisoned candy, who knows what mischief might be lurking. My nervousness in turn makes me resentful, followed quickly by judgmental and wanting to turn out the light and be done with all of them. 

And yet, in Elk Grove, the best costumes are the ones the teens cook up for themselves.  Since for me the costumes are the highlight of Halloween, I also look forward to the teens at my door.  Ah, conflict. 

I will handle it this year as I have in the past: If you’ve got a great costume, I’ll shower you with the best of my candy.  If not, well, you’ll get a Dum Dum sucker or some other less-than-desirable sweet.  But I will be the witch at the door, bestowing candy on all trick-or-treaters, no matter their age.