Does anyone else feel that Halloween is a dying "holiday"?

Well maybe not dying, but declining in popularity.

The thing that got me thinking about this is the amount of kids I saw out there going door to door mooching candy from strangers, or rather lack thereof. Time was, when I was a kid, the streets would be filled with kids in costumes going door to door and I was in the thick of it. Especially in the more affluent areas because the "treats were better with jumbo candy bars and cans of pop". For the second year though it's been rather dead. And not just for me but for other people I know. I called my mom and asked her how busy she was. She said MAYBE 50, and that was pushing it in an extremely well to do area. I remember living in the same house and we'd run through 200 bars without breaking a sweat. I remember a guy that used to come with a fucking drum and have 20 kids to himself alone and they'd march up and down the street. But the magic is gone, and I'm wondering where in the fuck it went. The reason I'm wondering about this is because I will be a father in a few months and it just weirds me out that something like this is, in my eyes, on a downward spiral.

Or maybe I'm overthinking it. Discuss.

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

Fucking no.

@TooWalrus said:

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

I read this and can only think;

Without a doubt, man. I'm almost thirty, and there's no question I see fewer and fewer kids every year. It's been on the decline for at least ten years, I feel. But the truth is, I don't give a fuck. Halloween is bullshit.

No. However parents are a lot more cautious these days, (I remember even when I was a kid there was a huge news story of people giving away apples with razor blades in them). Its escalated to the point where you'll see malls packed with children trick-or-treating there, but no going to individual homes. Its more a trust/safety issue these days.

In short, all the lil ones go to the malls now for candy.

It may just have to do with where you live. I don't think it's dying, I just think that some years there are more people that do it than other years. One year, we'll have a lot of kids come to our door, and another just like one or two. It's strange, but it happens.

Isnt it already.....dead? Muuwahahaha

Most of the kids now a days in my town either go to one of two malls or to the rich side of town where people are known to give out full size candy.

It has with me. Only had 2 trick or treaters in my new neighborhood. Feels pretty good actually. Won't be giving out candy at all next year, and saving money is a great thing!! Nothing wrong with that, and perfectly fine with me!!

really it's kind of a creepy holiday if you think about it. Not creepy in a halloween way, but creeepy in a "well maybe kids SHOULDN'T go out and get candy from random strangers"

I mean it always was, of course, but still.

I doubt it after all the stupid costumes I saw on campus today.

I'd be curious to hear from people with kids.

Because yeah we got like, 15 visits tonight. When I was a kid the streets were fucking packed! It was awesome, and makes me feel for the kids that are making the effort.

@TooWalrus said:

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

Muting a radio commercial seems more reasonable than hoping a holiday goes under.

@Oscar__Explosion said:

Most of the kids now a days in my town either go to one of two malls or to the rich side of town where people are known to give out full size candy.

Yeah, I remember that bullshit. Fuckin' rich pricks handing out king size candy bars, drawing in all the kids from surrounding areas like it's a competition or something. It's irresponsible.

As an Aussie, I can tell you that it's growing in Australia.

Much to my deep, burning annoyance. Fuck 'merica and its holidays!

Maybe, in some spots. I live in a tiny tiny town, and aside from a short gathering at the park that seemed to last <20 minutes or so, I haven't seen any kids or anyone out and about.

It's barely 8:30 my doorbell has rang twice tonight both times it was teenagers probably 16. It's also a Wednesday so being a school night might have something to do with the lack of kids.

@TheHumanDove said:

In short, all the lil ones go to the malls now for candy.

In other words, Halloween is fucking dead.

@TooWalrus said:

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

Muting a radio commercial seems more reasonable than hoping a holiday goes under.

@Catarrhal said:

@TheHumanDove said:

In short, all the lil ones go to the malls now for candy.

In other words, Halloween is fucking dead.

I'm bringing it back!

@TooWalrus said:

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

I want to hear all ads done in a god damn Dracula voice....or Morgan Freeman's voice >_>;;;;

also as far as trick or treaters, we don't see a ton, but I think it's more because all the kids in the neighborhood were my age, and now we're all grown up and it doesn't seem like there have been a ton of kids to replace us. Also I think there are like 4 other neighborhoods around us that have houses that are bigger and closer together so more people just go there and get better hauls. At least that's how it looks to me without actually checking it out personally lol.

Well yeah it was creepy in a pseudo-pedophile type of way if you think about it in the context of getting candy from a stranger from their house. And yeah shit could happen with laced fruits (Although seriously fruit? Get the fuck out of here). And yeah I can save 40 bucks and buy lunch for 2 days at a nice restaurant near my office. But it just seems wrong. We all had fun doing it, let's be completely honest. Going around with silly string, staying out late at night in a crisp October, hanging around with friends and getting free shit. We all fucking liked it. It's just weird to see it decline.

And it's not just my neighbourhood. I've heard it from a lot of people that they just don't see as much anymore. I live right near 2 elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school. You'd figure that there would be more action. That's what had me thinking. Maybe the person that said they go to malls might be right. Don't know.

Whatever. I still appreciate the adult Halloween. Getting dressed up like an asshole, seeing hot women whore it up, and end up with your face in the toilet. That's where the money is now.

how the fuck do some of you people hate Halloween? It's a bloody awesome holiday.

As for its "decline," I don't think that is actually happening. There are still a lot of kids going out and getting dat booty, but we notice it less because we're no longer in the target demographic of Halloween ads/celebration. Plenty of adults go to Halloween parties, plenty of kids go trick or treating. It's all really a matter of how many kids actually live in your hood, I've found.

Neighborhoods fluctuate. when you were a kid a lot of young families lived there, now most of the kids have grown up and moved away.

@TooWalrus said:

I certainly hope so. If I have to hear one more radio ad trying to sell me furniture in a god damn Dracula voice, I'm gonna lose my fuckin' mind.

I want to hear all ads done in a god damn Dracula voice....or Morgan Freeman's voice >_>;;;;

NO! Halloween is the best holiday and it will never die! No you shut up!

I had only one group of kids come to the door for candy this year. I think part of it is, at least in my area is that there are many community activities that go on the weekend before Halloween for kids to get their candy and such.

You just aren't drinking hard enough.

We got a lot less Trick or Treaters here too. By 7:30 my parents gave up.

I live next to two families and I did not have a single kid come to my door. I am reading this post while I eat a bunch of Kit Kat bars now.

@Mendelson9 said:

I live next to two families and I did not have a single kid come to my door. I am reading this post while I eat a bunch of Kit Kat bars now.

I'm eating Aero bars while Frankenstein plays in the background. So I know that feel bro.

This shit keeps up I'll be a diabetic.

I think it depends on the neighborhood. When I was a kid we had a bunch of people who went all out and made their own haunted houses. It was a lot of fun. Nowadays most of those people have moved on so Halloween is a lot more quiet in my neighborhood.

Getting old sucks.

It's been on the decline since the 90's ended. I think Haloween (or more specifically Trick or Treat) as a cultural event hit it's peak in the 90's and has been declining ever since. I've been seeing more Haloween parties than I used to though, maybe that's the new thing. But yeah, I'm really glad I got to experience Haloween during its absolute peak.

Less kids are going door to door but more girls are dressing slutty at parties.

Hmm, good or bad thing...

So I went trick or treating today. (Give me a break, I'm still in hughschool) I went as Toad (for actually the first time) Kids thought I was Yoshi and a man thought I was Koopa Troopa... But anyways to answer your question yes. When I was younger Trick or treating was better. A lot more people active. Now it's a few. But I will continue to celebrate Halloween and make my kids dress up as well!

Since I'm an older person now, halloween is just a party day now.

Lobbyists for Big Candy wanted to keep Daylight Saving Time going through Halloween. That's why it happens so late now. 
 
So...yeah. I guess.

I think the main reason is kids care less about it then we did. You see this with Christmas too, kids want computers and cellphones instead of toys more and more.

No, it isn't declining, its all about where you live and where you go. My old neighborhoods no longer have kids in them we've all grown and had our own kids and moved out, my parents never get any trick-or-treaters out anymore. We took my daughter and her friend (8 yrs old) to a different neighborhood in the area, there were probably close to 1k kids, people driving them around in hay trailers pulled behind trucks in groups of 20+(and in one case a golf cart with 15 kids in a trailer and orange lights/pumpkins etc all lit up), 2 or 3 solid blocks done up with Halloween gear with only maybe 10% of the homes blacked out.

Difference is I wont let my daughter walk our neighborhood alone, we go to well lit, affluent areas when possible for safety (people don't drive like idiots as much) as well as for the fact that more homes per block will give out candy, which is a must so you don't have to walk with a grumpy kid for too far when they get tired. With the recession, less lower and middle class homes are decorated I suppose, but it's still a growing holiday. Infact sales were expected to be up this year from last by like 15%. That means more people are buying more stuff.

Halloween is pretty dead in my area, and I live near an elementary school.

I also saw a lot of cars drive up to my door, kids get out, get candy, then get back in the car and the car drives off. Halloween was my favorite day as a kid, and it sucks to see how little the kids these days seem to enjoy it.

Traditions change and/or phase out as the culture that governs them change. It's not a big deal.

EDIT: That being said, I will miss the free chocolate.

A lot of people are more cautious/paranoid these days. Plus, it depends heavily on your location. It's probably not as prodigious a holiday as it once was, at least when it comes to the trick-or-treating aspect, but I wouldn't say it's "dying".

Man, I hope so. I don't even get a day off for this bullshit.

Though, it is one of the only times of the year where giant-ass Reese's cups are are available in retail stores.

yep, it seems dead to me. i think all of the kids are going to the mall or something. i went to the mall today to get a game and there were a lot of kids dressed up. i couldn't really believe how many kids were there. i never went to the mall during halloween.

on another note, i was hoping to get a CD. i went to best buy they didn't have it and i went to FYE they didn't have it either. i was pretty sad. i ordered it from amazon. kind of hoping that i got it by now.

@Tireyo643: I had one trick or treater come to my place. Weird.

I haven't had a single trick or treater knock on my door. :( 
Yes, it is definitely declining in some neighborhoods.

@Animasta said:

really it's kind of a creepy holiday if you think about it. Not creepy in a halloween way, but creeepy in a "well maybe kids SHOULDN'T go out and get candy from random strangers"

I mean it always was, of course, but still.

Well you really have to think about the times. Just 20 years ago everyone knew who their neighbors were and a lot of people felt safe leaving their doors unlocked. The world has changed...

There still seemed to be a lot of kids in my neighborhood. But the disgusting thing about it is that the parents (or at least 30% of the groups I saw) were just slowly driving next to their kids while they went from house to house. Because walking is hard.

Anyway, it seemed grossly lazy to not even bother walking with the kids, and made it a pain to get to my house after work. That level of laziness could kill Halloween, because just buying a bag at walmart for personal consumption is way more efficient.