It’s still five months away, but a lot of people seem to have a need for Halloween invitations in recent years. This is one thing I can’t understand.
Sure, as kids, we might do some trick-or-treating and go to a friend’s house for some apple-bobbing and watching a scary movie, but that was about the extent of it. But recent retail surveys are reporting that Halloween is now second only to Christmas as a retail holiday season, beating out Indepdence Day, Easter and even New Year’s. I find it hard to believe it’s bigger than Thanksgiving, since turkey meat sales alone have to beat out Halloween and its candy sales.
But maybe not. Maybe Halloween is the second-biggest holiday at retail.
If so, I hope it doesn’t spread out from October the way Christmas as spread out from December. If I start seeing Halloween decorations going up before Labor Day, I think I may just sit down and weep. This country’s got something seriously wrong with it; could it be the “Stephen King effect” at work?
Of course, even if I don’t like it, remaining culturally aware of shifts like these is very important as a writer. If I never see another modern kids movie that features a Beatles tune, it’ll be too soon. I know the scribes in Hollywood penning these things might remember the Beatles, but I guarantee you most 10-year-olds have a hard time remembering a time when Britney Spears was known for her singing, not her child custody issues, they have no clue who Billy Joel is, and the Beatles are a non-starter; the Beatles are their grandparents’ music, not theirs.
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