Halloween is Not Cancelled

I've been seeing a lot of posts out there on various social media sites saying that "Halloween is cancelled" or "Halloween is dead" even. So far, this has been primarily in reaction to major haunts saying that they're not opening this year due to the Covid19 pandemic that's currently raging through the United States and the rest of the world. There's been a few instances where it's just a general statement, but it's usually haunt industry people or those close to it saying such, from what I've seen so far. 

To that, I wholeheartedly disagree.

Terror Behind the Walls - 2014

Some haunts have started announcing they're not doing their events this year, and it's scary for a lot of folks. There's no Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at Disney, Eastern State Penitentiary has cancelled their Terror Behind the Walls event, and many smaller haunts along with annual haunt conventions have begun cancelling (or have in the past already) and postponing until 2021. On the surface, it sure seems that the trend for things is that this is going to be the norm for 2020 and it looks like Halloween is just over. 

It's not a death knell to Halloween, and saying Halloween is cancelled is just silly.

Yes, the industry of haunting will suffer a huge blow this year, and there's no disillusion to that from me at all. Many haunts, and other businesses that rely on haunt revenue, will hurt. Some may not even survive the missed season if they have to cancel, and who knows what it could spell for even large events in the future to come and how they're handled. I've been in and around the industry for decades now, and have so many friends within it that it hurts and I hate to see them hurt.

I hate the thought of it, it's heartbreaking.

That said, while we all love a good scare, and nothing is more glorious than the sounds of screams in the night as the monsters come out to play in the fog, it's not the only thing Halloween is about.

You can still decorate your house to the nines, go around and see all the other houses that have done the same in your neighborhood by walking, or driving. It's a religious holiday for many, myself included, so those festivities will likely continue, even if done in smaller scale. Trick or Treat may still happen too, but done on a slightly smaller level by people, not grouping up, etc and figuring out distancing for house safety, etc. You could still potentially have a small gathering of friends over to celebrate as well. 

No, these aren't the huge events that have tons of people all over or the massive energy that we may be used to, but are those really what Halloween is only about? I don't think so. There's also the slight chance that some of the more modern traditional experiences could happen, but on a smaller scale too. 

For the record, I say all this stuff from my own personal experience over the past few years. I haven't been to a haunt in 3 years (health, distance to them, finances, etc), haven't been to a Halloween event, not even had friends over due to scheduling issues. Trick 'r Treat? Hit or miss at best, we had like 7 last year, and none the year before almost. Still, that has not stopped me from me celebrating.

This may come as a shock, but I never saw haunts as necessary for Halloween to be celebrated. I've had a love affair with Halloween and everything about it long before I was ever a haunt industry worker and I started working haunts when I was 13. Yet, I freely admit that it's just not necessary to celebrating the awesome that is Halloween as a whole. Maybe we all could use a slight pull back from the massive that Halloween has become.

My forced hiatus from almost all things haunt industry has helped shift my view a little, and I'm not going to deny that. It hurts being away from it, on a lot of levels as it's something I really love, and I hate to think about the hurt that my haunt family is very likely to face this year, but that's not what makes Halloween what it is. 

We do.