You know what grinds my gears? Halloween.
I was born in October, so there has always been a special place in my heart for this holiday.
From candy, to dressing up, to scaring people and haunted houses, no holiday can compete in my mind.
Then I grew up.
Many things happen when you grow up and become cynical like myself, but honestly I never thought I would feel that way about “All Hallows Eve.”
The reason I dislike Halloween now is that, just like other holidays, it is all commercialized.
We buy so many useless things for Halloween.
In my opinion, not many people try to make their houses haunted.
They might decorate their outside to look “spooky” but the generic spider webs and ghost decorations are not used as much. Jack-o-lanterns are more focused toward making smiley faces and weird designs.
The originality is gone from even the most basic of items.
It is almost like, other than in stores or on television, it is forgotten.
When I was younger, I dressed up almost every year. From being a ninja, to batman, an army man, to a baseball player, I was always pumped for Halloween.
My neighborhood would be full of people giving out delicious chocolatey treats and boat loads of candy.
I could always count on Mr. Goodman to dress up and scare us children.
My brothers would forcibly make me watch Halloween, “Children of the Corn,” and “The Crip Keeper” until I would cry, and then they would remind me he lived in my closet.
My mom always dressed up like a witch at school and told scary stories to us with the lights out as she walked around playfully scaring us.
Every Nickelodeon show had its own Halloween special and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” would be playing on TV.
It was just so basic and full of the right qualities about the holiday; being scared and eating junk food.
The only thing that scares me now is how the kids are dressing dressed up in skanky outfits that they should not be wearing.
I was thrown into a new life where Halloween is all about getting drunk and dressing up.
The holiday is an excuse for women to look trashy and for guys to be half naked.
Houses are not as lit up anymore.
The “fun” is sucked out of the holiday, and kids do not appreciate what Halloween used to mean.
It meant a lot for me to get any sort of candy at someone’s house. Now kids expect so much more and the economy does not allow folks to carry that much candy.
Gone are the days of having your parents check for poison or razor blades.
It has been years since I have heard a story like that, and it disappoints me.
We still have scary shows on, but most channels replay the same things because society is so prudent on what we watch.
When my mother got in trouble for her Halloween spirit, I saw the beginnings of why I would hate the holiday.
People just lose sight that being scared is what makes Halloween the greatest holiday ever.
It is not the candy; we get that all the time. It is the fact that an entire holiday is built around terrifying those around you.
Most people do not even go to the lengths to prepare for Halloween.
Many families would rather hide or leave town on trick-or-treat night than buy a few bags of Snickers to hand out to the children.
The Halloween parades are dumbed down to only cheap thrills and bad tasting floats. Haunted Houses are open year round, which loses their appeal in October.
I just hope that one day I can restore my childhood onto my kids during Halloween and scare back to life the true meaning.