During the month of October, common Halloween-related activities include corn mazes, scary movies and haunted houses.
To me, I always found the pursuit for scare to be kind of silly. Halloween is a season where many people will pay money and enjoy to be afraid through movies and various activities. When thinking about the implications, I find that it does not make sense to pay people in this time of year to scare you.
While I find it silly to pay for a corn maze or haunted house, many Americans feel the need to get the most out of the holiday possible.
Because of the desire to be afraid induced through this holiday, people love the adrenaline received from fright and are completely willing to put themselves in these situations.
Possibly, all people have an internal desire to be scared, but for many, it only surfaces when it is socially acceptable to participate in activities such as corn mazes and haunted attractions. Truly, Halloween is the only American holiday where dressing up is an essential element of the experience.
To participate in Halloween fully, it appears as if many Americans find that engaging in the thrill for scare is a necessity to being able to fully experience the month of October. But Halloween hasn’t always been around.
The concept of trick-or-treating and dressing up for Halloween has been popular amongst kids and families alike for decades, but the tradition didn’t actually appear in the lives of Americans until the 1920s.
Interestingly enough, haunted houses as an American widespread interest began when the Haunted Mansion opened at Disneyland in 1969.
So though the month of October has been dedicated to the Halloween holiday, it hasn’t always been around. Now it seems like the old traditions are decreasing as well. Trick-or-treating has turned into trunk-or-treating, and being scary isn’t as widespread as the sexy costumes or clever references.
But I’m not knocking Halloween. Even though it may seem frivolous to some, it’s always good to create new experiences. If you haven’t gone to a haunted corn maze, carved pumpkins or gone trick-or-treating, take your chance now. You might truly enjoy the frightful nature, but if not, stay-at-home movie nights do just as well too.
