The Halloween holiday is a Frankenstein monster of creativity as parents and partygoers alike assemble costumes for themselves or their children. They often piece together bits and parts of household bric-a-brac, paper, paint, duct tape, cardboard, cloth, wood and steel to give unholy birth to a one-time-only outfit.
The goal is to impress the candy-bearing neighbors and scare away the torch-wielding villagers.
If particularly creative and durable, that costume will slumber like Dracula until it rises 365 days later to again feed by sucking caramel, Nerds, Smarties and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from all the hapless candy dishes in town.
The National Retail Federation estimates 157 million Americans will celebrate Halloween 2015, spending $6.9 billion on costumes, candy and decorations, while 43.5 percent of adults will do so in costume and after the kids get home for the night, 31.5 percent will attend or throw a costume party.
However, an evil threat is rising from the depths like the Creature from the Black Lagoon to threaten the sacredly unholy fun of All Hallows Eve. An average of 62.3 percent of people plan on buying a costume this year, spending an average of $27.33. The behemoth of store-bought costumes lurches through streets, crushing creative alternatives underfoot much the same way Godzilla did to tiny models of Japanese cars.
In a rush, buying a costume from a local store can seem easy and painless but buying pre-made costumes from stores year after year becomes an addiction.
Parents and partygoers transform from the wickedly fun wolfman in “American Werewolf in London” into the lame, moody werewolves of the “Twilight” series.
Parents will spend $950 million on their children’s costumes but we adults will spend $1.2 billion on our own and $350 million on our pets’ outfits, proof that Halloween isn’t just for children.
Those costume sales numbers are clearly identifiable, but don’t take into account “ghost purchases” of Halloween supplies. A man buying used clothes he plans on cutting up, electrical tape, paint, duct tape, scissors, sewing needles, Sharpies, cardboard and glitter isn’t Norman Bates — he’s a father of three getting ready to spend some quality time creating a princess, pirate and a “Despicable Me” Minion with his eager children. An estimated 18.3 percent of revelers will make their own costume this year.
Who ends up a zombie in the movies? Generally it’s people in uniforms: Suits and ties — or store-bought Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Who survives zombie movies? It’s always the reckless, wild hero who thinks outside the box and looks great doing it.
The best part of trick-or-treating and attending costume parties afterward is seeing all of the Verde Valley’s Dr. Frankensteins who made their own unique costumes.
