Narrator: Halloween.
The holiday
of mischief and mayhem.
A night to stock up on candy
and become anyone
or anything you want to be.
This was the best night
of my life.
But this holiday was born
out of darkness.
At Halloween, the spirit world
is reaching closer to us.
Narrator:
A time to celebrate the dead.
Halloween is the night
where the dead can freely
interact with the living.
Narrator: Halloween unleashes
our deepest fears.
When are you more alive
than when you're afraid?
[ screaming ]
narrator:
But beware the dark side...
Anchorwoman: Fires broke out
across the city
on the night before Halloween.
I had nothing to do
with my son's death.
Narrator: ...Because this is the
true story of Halloween.
♪♪
♪♪
Halloween is a
multi-billion-dollar industry
of candy,
costumes,
and trick-or-treating,
the second most popular holiday
in america after christmas.
[ cackling ]
but to the countless
who celebrate around the world,
it's much more than sweets
and dressing up.
[ maniacal laughter ]
kids: Trick or treat!
♪♪
Narrator: It is a holiday
steeped in nostalgia.
When we were younger, you know,
you didn't go on the streets
until it turned dark.
And it became a search
for candy,
and it was just phenomenal.
Bruni: I think there's
something about fall.
The leaves start changing.
It gets dark earlier.
The air starts
to get kind of crisp.
It takes us back
to our childhood,
and we feel
a little more vulnerable.
And we have this interest
in ghosts and spooky things.
Halloween is a time where
the mystical and the strange
can sort of enter your life
a little bit
and you can start thinking about
the weirder things of the world.
Who doesn't like Halloween?
Everybody loves Halloween.
You get to dress up,
be whoever you want to,
and then get free candy?
Sign me up every day
of the year.
Narrator: But its playful
appearance belies another truth.
The holiday started
as something much darker.
♪♪
What we now call Halloween
was created in the shadows
of a mystical time 2,000
years ago in ancient ireland.
Every year, ethereal
creatures of the night
became frighteningly real
during the celtic festival
of the samhain.
Bannatyne: Samhain meant
"summer's end,"
and that's exactly what it was.
It was the time of year
when celtic tribes
would bring their herds back
from pasture for wintering.
It was on the edge of going
into the dark, dangerous season.
Cold, scarcity of food.
Anything could happen
in the winter.
And so you gathered together
one last time.
Narrator:
This time was the beginning
of the dark half of the year,
a time of danger
when evil was present.
♪♪
The dark half is when the dead
are particularly powerful,
and so oíche samhain,
or Halloween,
is the night where
the dead can freely interact
with the realm of the living.
During the samhain,
the celtic druids
dressed in gruesome costumes
and gathered around
massive bonfires,
where they offered sacrifices
to appease the haunting spirits.
Samhain was also
a time for them when
the barriers between worlds
were at their thinnest,
and they thought that things
could cross over
from the other world.
♪♪
Bannatyne: It was also believed
that you could access
information
from the spirit world.
They would try to see visions
of what might happen,
and that was critical
to the safety of the tribe.
They needed to know
what's ahead.
Narrator: These customs
endured for generations,
until the medieval
catholic church
wanted to christianize
samhain rituals.
Thompson: The idea that
you can speak to the dead
and they can help you and you
can get insight into the future
doesn't really line up
with christianity's teachings
about how the souls of the dead
are supposed to work.
Narrator: Church leaders
tried to blend samhain
with all hallow's day,
a christian festival
honoring saints,
by moving it to November 1st,
the day after samhain.
A new holiday was born...
All hallow's eve.
In time, all hallow's eve
becomes hallowe'en.
♪♪
[ drums playing ]
today, samhain traditions
have been revived.
Festivals and bonfires pay
tribute to the celtic rituals
that gave birth to Halloween.
Revelers in edinburgh, scotland,
hold a spectacular
fire festival parade every year.
[ crowd cheering ]
ghoulish costumed dancers
evoke a battle
between summer and winter,
the light and the dark.
[ singing, drumbeat ]
♪♪
These modern celebrations
channel the same
fear of the unknown
as our ancestors.
Bannatyne: Halloween still has
a connection to the spirit world
because for the past
we've been thinking about
the dead at this time of year.
There's a sense that
the other world is present
and things are not all normal,
and basically it's a warning...
"stay close." [laughs]
"don't go into the dark.
Gather around, build a fire,
tell a few stories,
and let's hunker down
for the winter.
Be careful."
narrator:
Like the ancient celts,
many still believe the veil
between the living and the dead
is thin on Halloween.
I think the veil is
a bit thinner that night.
And I've investigated
on Halloween.
I've held seances
in haunted places to see
if we could communicate with
the dead a little bit easier.
And I've had
crazy things happen.
♪♪
Coffey: A lot of people who may
not give it a lot of thought
tend to think about ghosts
and spirits more at Halloween
because that's kind of
what Halloween is all about.
Schrader: When people discuss
how the veil thins
right around Halloween,
there are so many more people
keyed in to life, death,
and the afterlife in October
that we seem to be opening
that portal.
We seem to be
thinning that veil.
Narrator: These thoughts
of the supernatural
fuel the imagination.
♪♪
Berry: I grew up in
muscle shoals, alabama,
and like six houses down,
there was this lady,
and she used to decorate
the inside of her house
really creepy and very witchy.
But I thought she was witch,
and she would let you
come in the house
and stand in this big entryway
and this old staircase.
And then she would leave up
the stairs to get the candy
and leave you alone to, like,
think about what's happening.
So as a kid, it is so exciting
because you're like,
"do I leave? Do I run?"
I have never forgotten her.
♪♪
People like that make
Halloween spectacular.
Narrator: Halloween is
the one time of year
we confront the darkness,
and not just earthly danger.
Many parents are growing
more concerned
about the treats their children
might be getting this Halloween.
Anchorman: The night before
Halloween used to be a time
for harmless pranks.
The people that are scared
of it, it's like,
"well, yeah,
you should be scared."
that's part of the point
of Halloween.
Narrator: This shared fear of
a deeper supernatural evil
is the heart of almost
every Halloween tradition.
Thompson: This is the day
when you get to be scared.
You get to worry about ghosts
or witches or see the future,
all of the marvelous,
spooky sort of stuff
that we don't get to do in our
everyday, ordinary lives.
Schrader: This is the time
that everybody
can all be a part of one thing,
and that's being a part
of this fun of Halloween
and enjoying the scares
because, really,
when are you more alive
than when you're afraid?
Narrator: We've created an
amazing array of traditions
to ward off the darkness.
For almost all of them,
we wear costumes, but why?
Coming up, the terrifying truth
of why we turn ourselves
into monsters at Halloween.
♪♪
♪♪
[ witch cackling ]
narrator: Evil is
all around us at Halloween.
What better way to face
our fears than to blend in
and become something
monstrous ourselves?
Halloween is the one day
of the year
we can reach deep inside
and transform
into something
totally different.
Demons,
superheroes,
cartoons,
or monsters.
♪♪
I'm a big fan of
"the phantom of the opera."
[ organ music plays ]
my dad got me
the old 1920s silent film,
and I'm obsessed with that film.
It's my favorite film.
I just love that look
of the phantom of the opera...
The mask, mysterious,
you know, the hat,
the cape, everything.
I was that for maybe four
or five years straight.
And I was just walking around,
creeping people out.
It was fun. It's Halloween.
♪♪
Narrator: What's behind our
desire to become someone else,
even something horrifying,
on Halloween?
The truth may frighten you.
♪♪
It was commonly believed
that ghoulish spirits
roamed the earth
on all hallow's eve.
Costuming may have started
when people went door to door
disguised as these evil beings
to receive offerings
on their behalf.
People also wore disguises
as protection.
It was believed that you
dress up on these nights
to create this affront
to the dark side
so that they would
stay away from you.
♪♪
Narrator:
As the centuries passed,
the old folk beliefs
in the spirit world faded.
But the costumes remained and
combined with other traditions.
Bannatyne: Masking was
part of disguised begging
back in europe.
The idea was to disguise
yourself so nobody knew
who you were when you came out
and banged on someone's door.
[ banging on door ]
thompson: And so these people
would come, very often dressed
in traditional costumes
that they would make...
Spooky costumes
representing the other world
or, somewhat, the monstrous
or what have you.
Narrator: When modern Halloween
traditions began to emerge,
this desire
to disguise ourselves
as something strange,
powerful, and evil was familiar.
Bannatyne: Halloween was
really just the beginning
of the social season,
where people put on fancy dress
and went out to ba*ls
and masquerades and clubs.
Masks were a big part of that,
and the mystery of "who am I"
was a big part of that.
The earliest masks
would have been handmade.
They would have been made
out of cotton or muslin
and shaped like a face or a
devil or a witch or something.
Of course, the classic
costume of just cutting
some holes in a sheet,
putting it over your head,
and you're a ghost.
♪♪
Narrator: To our eyes,
these early Halloween costumes
are the stuff of nightmares.
♪♪
As Halloween grew in popularity,
though, the handmade,
nightmarish costumes of the past
gave way to
off-the-shelf merchandise.
There was money to be made,
and yet people still wanted
to channel the dark side
with their costume.
Thompson:
But once people figured out
that there was a market in this,
some of these paper companies
started establishing
what american Halloween costumes
should look like.
Narrator: The first
store-bought costumes
drew inspiration from the world
of spirits and monsters,
evil witches and ghosts,
anything that was taboo
in normal society.
Halloween is always
a little bit edgy.
And some of its core costumes
are people on the edge.
At one point in our culture,
it might have been
what we call hobos or tramps
or gypsies, pirates, outlaws.
The whole idea of being
outside of our everyday life
is great as far
as Halloween costumes go,
and it's something
that you can see through time.
♪♪
Narrator: In the 1940s and '50s,
fairy-tale characters
and cowboys became popular,
but once television truly
conquers america in the 1960s,
pop culture takes over.
By the 1970s and '80s
and beyond,
it's rare to see a costume
that doesn't reference a movie
or a television show.
What's hot in this year's
Halloween costumes?
Those california raisins
have commercial fame.
Also, spuds mackenzie.
Reagans are still popular.
So are jim
and tammy faye bakker,
hulk hogan, george bush,
and the usual assortment
of scary monsters.
I just remember growing up
always being fascinated
with comic books
and superheroes,
so dressing up like spider-man
and these different things.
Reporter: Do kids still get
dressed up for Halloween?
Yeah. It's fun.
Narrator:
Most no longer fear evil spirits
in the dark around Halloween,
but the desire to disguise
ourselves remains.
♪♪
Bruni: I was a very
morbid child, [laughs]
so I always did something
really spooky,
like I was a kindergartner
dressed up as a zombie
with, like,
blood coming out of my mouth.
I think I really liked painting
my face and having blood.
Like, there had to be blood.
Berry: Being a vampire was
the coolest thing
because I could, like,
paint my face all white
and, like, try to scare people.
I was a vampire
for many, many years.
♪♪
I'm a devil.
Want to go to hell? [ laughs ]
'80s zombie.
Robin hood, man. I take from
the rich and I give to the poor.
♪♪
Narrator: From witches,
devils, and demons
to psychotic K*llers
from horror movies,
Halloween lets us
explore the dark side.
♪♪
Schrader: Halloween gives us all
that moment to step away
from who we are and be a little
bit of what we wish we were
or want to be
for that one brief moment
in time, and then next year,
you could be somebody totally
new and reinvent yourself.
Narrator: Every year, Halloween
costumes give us the opportunity
to be anyone or anything.
[ doorbell rings ]
and sweet treats wait
for some who venture out
on all hallow's eve.
But this delicious tradition,
like most things Halloween,
did not start
with wholesome intentions.
It was born of desperation
to escape Halloween's
own special brand of hell.
♪♪
Narrator:
October brings cool air,
changing leaves,
and childhood memories
of all things Halloween.
For kids all over the country,
Halloween is all about candy.
Wiseman: As a kid,
it's like your one time
to just do whatever you want.
You get to be silly.
You get to be loud.
You get to run around
the neighborhood
asking people for candy.
Narrator: Trick-or-treating
is a wholesome tradition.
But it came about to solve
a very troublesome problem.
♪♪
In the 1930s, when modern
trick-or-treating appeared,
adults faced some serious
threats to public order.
Roaming bands of rambunctious
youths raised hell on Halloween.
There was a lot of mischief
associated with Halloween.
This was not new.
There was mischief associated
with this time of year
in the old countries
and certainly in this country
well before the 20th century.
♪♪
Under the cover of darkness
of the fall, things happened,
and when you have this holiday
where the spirits are out,
many more things happened.
Young kids would pull tricks
at this time.
The mischief got to be known
more as vandalism
as the decades wore on.
The pranks were crazy.
I have a postcard from
a small...
I think it's iowa...
Town in 1910.
It's the morning
after Halloween,
and the entire front main street
is covered with things
that these kids have moved...
Carriages, bathtubs, outhouses,
and the kids are all sitting
on top of this stuff.
Narrator: During the
great depression,
the cauldron of mischief takes a
dark and sometimes deadly turn.
While many cities considered
outlawing Halloween,
some residents tried to save the
holiday with a clever ploy...
Bribing the tricksters
with treats.
♪♪
They drew inspiration from
earlier religious traditions,
especially the practice
of souling.
♪♪
Souling was an
interesting tradition
that actually is connected
to all souls' day.
Part of the belief
with all souls' day
was that your loved ones
may be trapped in purgatory
and were unable to move on,
and so you would offer prayers
to your loved ones
to help them move on
up to heaven.
And souling became a thing
where beggars and kids
would go from house to house.
And they would say, "if you
give me a cake or a treat,
I will offer up a prayer
for your loved one."
narrator: The small, round cakes
given out came to be known
as soul cakes.
With souling as a model,
treats are given out
at Halloween costume parties
in hopes of curbing kids'
urge to cause mayhem.
♪♪
Morton: The idea of buying
the kids off was brilliant.
It worked.
Kids came to depend
much more, of course,
on the parties and the costuming
and the candies
than they did on the pranking
bannatyne:
Every kind of organization
threw a Halloween party for kids
and tried to curtail what was
going on outside in the dark.
Narrator: While parties curb
some of the mischief,
kids continue sneaking
door to door in the dark,
threatening to play tricks.
This was actually what
eventually evolved into
trick or treat, because the
parties and all of those tactics
didn't entirely work.
There was still
a little bit of mischief,
and it was when the homeowner
took up the effort
that it actually
did start to work.
Since kids are out,
since they're ringing
your doorbell,
since they're banging
on your door anyway,
have something for them.
Narrator: As america eases out
of the great depression,
the custom of handing out
goodies gains
widespread acceptance.
In the 1940s and '50s,
trick-or-treating takes off
and becomes a
coast-to-coast tradition.
Neither rain or snow
will keep kids from their candy.
Johnson: I grew up
in colorado, in denver,
and it could get quite cold,
so Halloween could get spoiled
relatively easily
with a snowfall or two.
But it doesn't matter.
We'd still trudge out there
in the middle of winter
and go door to door, trying to
get as much candy as we could.
I think I remember one year
I dressed up as huck finn.
I was like, "I'm gonna go
barefoot like huck finn."
and my mom was like,
"what the hell are you doing?"
I went around like a few blocks.
I think I almost got frostbite.
They almost had
to saw off a few toes.
But hey, I was committed
to my outfit.
Narrator: As the popularity
of trick-or-treating soared
in the middle
of the 20th century,
candy companies got onboard.
Thompson: The candy companies
also realized
that there was
a tremendous market here,
that they could have
candy marketed
specifically for
trick-or-treat sweets.
And so candy companies
started making spooky candies
and candy specifically
for this holiday.
This sort of Halloween candy
helped establish
trick-or-treating as a
child-friendly activity
for children.
[ children clamoring ]
it's kids! Hundreds of them!
What do we do?
Give them tootsie rolls.
But there's so many
kids out there.
And there are so many
tootsie rolls
in this Halloween package.
♪♪
Bannatyne: All of a sudden,
we've got kids,
we've got suburbs,
we've got candy manufacturers,
and we've got
a good reason for them
to be going house to house,
and that's where Halloween is
trick or treat, really,
coast to coast.
Narrator: With a little help
from candy companies,
Halloween made trick-or-treating
a fall fixture.
Our parents were like,
"okay, peace out.
You're gonna go
trick-or-treating
all by yourself."
and it was just this
fun, wild night
where we got to be out
after dark
and go trick-or-treating,
and you feel very free,
but it's also a little spooky.
Halloween was great
because it was a time
that I had mapped out...
Grabbed my pillowcase,
grabbed my costume,
grabbed my buddies,
and we went to
the furthest edges of town
so we could work our way
from the far end of town
all the way back home.
And of course,
the secret was always carrying
a second pillowcase
in the back holster,
just in case
you filled up the first one.
♪♪
Narrator: Today, over 40 million
kids take part,
and parents often join the fun.
The idea was to get as
much candy as humanly possible.
So we all had pillowcases.
I take my kids out now,
I don't see any pillowcases.
I just see the
little plastic pumpkins.
I'm like, "you can't get
too much candy in there."
narrator: When it comes to
trick-or-treating,
every kid develops a sixth sense
for where to find
the best candy.
Chelsea: Kind of got to plan
your route. It's strategic.
And so I did that.
I knew the good houses.
I'd skip the bad houses.
[ laughs ]
one of my fondest memories
from Halloween
was our next-door neighbor.
He was a professional
football player.
He gave us, like,
king-sized candies.
And I would not...
I would never miss his house.
Harvey: You know, I was raised
by a single mother.
So my mom was smart.
She would take us to rich
neighborhoods, you know?
Our neighborhood got me
a little couple snickers bars
here and there...
The fun size.
They didn't give you
the large ones,
until you go
to the nice neighborhoods.
Then they give you
the full candy.
And that's what we used to do.
♪♪
Narrator:
At the end of the evening,
Halloween turns
into a high-stakes game
as the candy trading begins.
You dump your bag on the ground
and you start sorting it all
because you got to go,
"all right.
How many kit kats do I have?
How many snickers do I have?
All right. I got 10 snickers,
only five kit kats.
Let's trade a couple of snickers
and get some more kit kats."
schroeder:
"oh, you want a snickers?"
"no, I'll take your m&m's,
and you can have this."
clearly, reese's
peanut butter cups
were the hottest commodity.
Wiseman: You start eating
and you don't even care
about a stomachache at all
'cause you're just chowing down.
And then all of a sudden,
you hit this super high,
and then you just crash.
You want to stay up all night,
but it's really hard to when you
just downed a ton of candy bars.
♪♪
Narrator: But millions of kids
taking to the streets,
knocking on strangers' doors
revealed unexpected dangers.
In the 1970s,
Halloween faced
its greatest crisis.
Next up, a shocking m*rder
triggers waves of panic
through the american public...
I had absolutely nothing to do
with my son's death.
Narrator: ...Threatening to end
Halloween celebrations for good.
♪♪
♪♪
Woman: There's one magical,
haunted evening each year,
when all the scary creatures
come out to prowl
through every neighborhood.
Narrator:
Halloween has a reputation
as a carefree night
for children of all ages.
Kids: Trick or treat!
Narrator:
But in the 1970s and '80s,
the holiday faced crisis
when a series of sensational
media stories caused mass panic.
♪♪
All during
the Halloween weekend,
police across the state received
reports of candy
containing dangerous objects.
Narrator: Candy given out by
strangers was no longer safe.
It could contain poison,
razor blades, needles,
even broken glass.
Many parents are growing
more concerned
about the treats their children
might be getting this Halloween.
Police in new york
are warning people
buying Halloween treats to check
their purchases carefully.
Straight pins were found
in candy from four
long island stores.
Leblanc: I remember getting home
from trick-or-treating
on Halloween, and my mother,
based on the news reports
that someone's putting
razor blades in the candy,
started to take a snickers bar
and start cutting it in slices.
Man: There might be things
in the candy.
So break open candy bars
before you eat them.
Leblanc: I think it was my dad,
was like, "what are you doing?
They're fine."
but I think these reports
were coming out
that this really happened.
♪♪
Narrator: The panic started
with a real case,
a shocking story the media
dubbed "the candy man m*rder."
in 1974,
of pasadena, texas,
died of poisoning
on Halloween night.
Even more horrific,
the boy's father,
ronald o'bryan, was arrested
and put on trial for the crime.
Woman: Most of today's testimony
came from jimmy bates,
a close friend
of the o'bryan family.
Bates said o'bryan went
to one house
where no one appeared
to be home,
and after the children
had scampered ahead
to the next house,
o'bryan came off the front porch
carrying the pixy stix.
Later that night,
timothy o'bryan died from eating
a poisoned pixy stix.
Narrator: Ronald o'bryan was
convicted of k*lling his son
and sentenced to death.
The state of texas ex*cuted
him by lethal injection,
setting off another wave of
publicity surrounding the case.
Morton: It became
a very famous case.
And after that, people were
in an absolute panic,
thinking that there were
anonymous psychos out there
tampering with their
children's treats.
Narrator: The paranoia only
accelerates in 1982
when a series of murders
in chicago, illinois,
make national news.
Tylenol capsules were
removed from the market
after seven deaths were reported
in the chicago area.
Bannatyne: In 1982,
a number of tylenol bottles
were tampered with in chicago,
and people died.
They did not find who did it
by the time Halloween happened.
And as a result, there was
a culture of fear
around Halloween.
Towns and cities
stopped allowing
people to trick or treat
that year.
Halloween is on Sunday,
and there's a spreading fear
that this year
the real Halloween scare
will be many more cases
of contaminated treats.
Anchorman: Halloween candy sales
at this minneapolis supermarket
are down 10 to 15 percent.
Anchorman #2: A lot of people
say they won't give out
candy treats on Halloween.
It's too dangerous
and they're too scared.
I think it's a very
sad situation.
Narrator: With concerns
about copycat crimes,
the tainted candy- and
product-tampering scare
threatens to end
trick-or-treating forever.
Anchorwoman: Officials all over
the country are emphasizing,
when in doubt, throw it out.
I remember seeing it on the news
where we all had to be careful
because there are people putting
razor blades in the candy.
So I remember having to
dump out all of my candy.
My mom had to check
all of my candy.
It was a really
scary time for us.
Morton: In reality,
what we had were isolated cases
that were far from anonymous.
We knew exactly who had done
these things and why,
but it caught on
in people's minds.
Kaza:
The razor-blade thing didn't
alter my view of Halloween,
but I just remember
it being something
that we all had to be careful of
because it was happening.
Narrator: In time,
the panic dissipates,
and Halloween
survives the ordeal,
but the mass hysteria leaves an
indelible mark on our culture.
Urban legends of tainted treats
still sweep through communities
along with growing alarm
over stranger danger.
Some parents never shake
the feeling that a real monster
could be lurking in the shadows
on Halloween.
Pittman: There would
also be stories
where crimes were happening
in the area,
and it was tied
to closer to Halloween.
They told you to be more careful
and to keep your kids closer
because, you know,
something bad could happen.
Thompson: We have that phrase...
"never take candy
from strangers."
okay, so around comes Halloween,
and what do we tell kids?
"oh, go take candy
from strangers."
trick or treat.
Trick or treat.
♪♪
Narrator: The real-world fears
of psychotic K*llers
stalking kids on Halloween
had another effect.
[ woman screams ]
♪♪
Man: "night of the living dead."
narrator: In the late '70s
and into the '80s,
a bloody wave
of terrifying films built
on old Halloween obsessions
took the country by storm.
♪♪
Gonsalves: I've been obsessed
with horror movies
my entire life, and Halloween
just fits into that.
You know, I remember
going trick-or-treating
and then going back to the house
and watching, you know,
"c.H.U.D." and all of these
different movies
while I'm sifting
through my candies.
And I still continue
that tradition.
It's just the best thing ever.
It really is.
[ screams ]
narrator: In 1978, Halloween and
hollywood cement a lifelong bond
after the release
of a low-budget thriller
cleverly named
after the holiday.
Morton: "Halloween"
by john carpenter
was originally called
"the babysitter murders."
fortunately, one of the
producers of the film
was smart enough to go,
"you know,
we could tie this
to that holiday
and I'll bet it would be
more successful"
and was completely right.
That, of course, is the movie
that not only kind of
associated Halloween
and horror movies forever,
but also turned Halloween
really scary.
I think any movie
that's scary around Halloween,
it works for me.
The movie "Halloween"
is amazing,
but I like the '80s movies
around Halloween...
"nightmare on elm street,"
"pet sematary."
they're more like campy and fun.
I'm a "Friday the 13th"
girl, though.
Part 1 is the best one.
♪♪
Dakota: Once I got old enough to
maybe watch real scary movies,
I started watching the classics
like all the slasher movies,
everything.
That's where I was exposed
to horror movie,
and that's where I found
my love for horror.
And I still am obsessed
with horror.
Schroeder:
"nightmare on elm street."
that was the first movie
that actually terrified me.
And so every Halloween, I like
to try to watch that movie
just to get back into
the spirit of being scared
and remember my childhood
a little bit.
[ screaming ]
fans of horror
became fans of Halloween.
Adults found their way
into celebrating Halloween,
and older teenagers found
their way back into Halloween.
So it actually increased
the celebration
of Halloween in america.
But it also changed
the look of Halloween
to become much more
visually dangerous.
Narrator: A new generation of
Halloween costumes are inspired
by violent slasher films.
Gonsalves: For me, it was always
special make-up effects.
Ever since I can remember,
you know,
having the eyes
dripping out of my head.
I couldn't wait
to get everything
and, you know, really
make myself up every year.
Narrator: Horror films revel
in the mayhem of Halloween,
but it's all for show.
What happens when the chaos
turns frighteningly real?
Anchorman: It was devil's night
last night in detroit,
the night before Halloween
narrator: Could lawless
Halloween revelers
plunge a major american city
into anarchy?
♪♪
♪♪
[ maniacal laughter ]
[ screams ] [ growls ]
narrator: Halloween cooks up
delicious frights every year,
and while trick-or-treating
was meant to contain
kids' destructive impulses,
the mischievous spirit
never went away entirely.
♪♪
Wiseman: What we do
is we'd go to tping,
which is when you grab
just, like, a toilet-paper roll
and you unravel it a little bit,
that's the pro technique,
and then you just huck it as
high as you can up in the trees.
And the higher it is,
the better it is
'cause it's harder to get out.
And you don't tp, like,
random people's houses.
You go to your friend's house
and, like, tp them
and then you tell them
about it 'cause it's funny.
But like, you never went
to, like,
try to make it, like, malicious
or try to be mean to someone.
We decided to egg our school.
And we ended up egging the
windows of our own classroom,
and we just thought
it was kind of funny.
And I remember going into school
that next morning
and the windows
were just covered so much
that you couldn't see out.
I mean, the teacher
knew it was us
'cause we were just laughing.
It didn't last long, to figure
out who were the culprits.
♪♪
Narrator:
Rowdy kids have a reputation
for wild behavior on Halloween,
but they're not the only ones
that pull pranks
and scare the living daylights
out of strangers.
♪♪
It's funny, like,
most of my halloweens
are spent scaring people,
I guess, now that
I'm thinking about it.
My dad is a prank guy, and he
taught me young to do pranks.
The front of our house...
We had a scarecrow
there all year round,
just sitting on the chair there.
And so we got a similar-looking
outfit so it blended in,
and I was in the scarecrow's
stuffed suit and scared people
when they went up
to the front door.
[ screaming ]
I did that for the
whole night of Halloween,
for one Halloween. [ laughs ]
what I like to do is just
turn my yard into a show.
I've got the lights
and the fog machines.
I tend to hide with the little
fog-machine clicker in my pocket
and wait and time it,
just as the kids come up to
the door, and I'll blast them.
[ kid screams ]
[ laughs ] they go crazy.
[ woman screams ]
I did a really
cool party one time.
[ mechanical laughter ]
and I built all these monsters
with actuation
out of pvc and masks,
and I used timers
and I used motion sensors...
[ electronic chiming ]
and the mechanism
from an oscillating fan
to move the heads and created
this big game out of it.
And I had a guy who was
in the bushes with a chainsaw
and he would go... brrm...
Scare everybody.
[ screaming ]
[ chainsaw buzzing ]
♪♪
Hawes: I used to
deck up my house.
I would set up sheets with
rear-facing projector systems
and have scary things
moving on it.
At one point, I created
a false garage door,
and I had a
rear-projector system
sh**ting on a sheet,
which looked like the door,
and it would go off
with a sensor as kids
were walking down the driveway.
♪♪
My wife made me stop that
after the second year
because people would drive by
and purposely avoid our house.
So the wife made me stop doing
that so kids would feel safe
and secure enough to come up
our driveway and trick or treat.
♪♪
Narrator:
In many parts of the country,
Halloween mischief is confined
to a specific night
where youths run amuck.
♪♪
The night before Halloween
has often been called
mischief night,
cabbage night, damage night,
tick-tack night,
devil's night.
♪♪
When I was growing up,
it was doorbell night,
and that's what we did.
We rang doorbells and ran away.
So it depends on what area
of the country you're from,
what you call that night.
But it is the night
where you make mischief.
♪♪
Narrator: Over its long history,
devil's night
represents rebellion
when city youths pull
petty pranks like egging
or soaping houses and cars.
♪♪
But in the 1980s,
devil's night
in detroit, michigan,
took on a much
darker reputation.
Playful mischief
transformed into mayhem.
Halloween celebrations
were under siege by arsonists.
And for a time,
many wondered if Halloween
should be canceled entirely.
Anchorman: It was devil's night
last night in detroit.
The night before Halloween
used to be a time
for harmless pranks,
but no longer.
When you think of devil's night,
you often think
of detroit, michigan,
which had a problem
with arson around Halloween,
and their devil's night
was especially powerful.
Narrator: For several years,
residents felt like the city
was teetering on the edge of
total anarchy on devil's night.
Thompson: Hundreds of fires were
being set all over the city,
and the authorities felt,
at times, powerless to stop it.
They basically called
for community support
to knock these practices out,
especially arson.
The authorities
simply couldn't keep up.
Narrator: But the true spirit
of Halloween was resilient.
Brigades of volunteers patrolled
the streets of detroit.
They were determined
to keep Halloween safe
and transform devil's night
into angel's night.
No arsonists will touch
this house.
My lamp will burn,
not my neighborhood.
We'll keep an eye out
for anyone who doesn't belong.
All: Halloween will be
safer this year.
So, within a couple of years,
they had amassed volunteers
that would patrol
the neighborhoods
and keep a lookout.
Last year, the people
of detroit made it clear
through their anti-arson efforts
that they would
no longer tolerate
the senseless destruction
of our neighborhoods.
Bannatyne:
something like
which eventually did change
devil's night to angel's night.
Narrator: Angel's night
brought the fires under control
in detroit.
Archer: As we join together
to keep the devil
out of devil's night,
we are taking another step
and making detroit
a world-class city.
♪♪
Narrator: Halloween survived
the chaos of devil's night.
But what kind of evil
truly lurks in the shadows?
Could Halloween open a portal
that allows ghosts, ghouls,
demons, and devils
to walk the earth?
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: Halloween is
terrifying and mysterious.
A night when we hide
our true selves behind masks
and embrace the dark side.
It's a time of year
when the veil thins
and a portal
to another world opens up.
The dead walk among us.
Could demons and devils break
into our world, as well?
♪♪
Does Halloween bring
the spirit world closer to us?
Does paranormal activity
increase?
♪♪
Common belief in the paranormal,
that more activity happens
that night,
I have no proof of that,
but I wouldn't be surprised.
And I would actually love to go
to a haunted place on Halloween.
That might be, maybe,
what I do this next Halloween
and put it to the test,
but if any night of
the 365 days out of the year
is gonna be haunted,
it's gonna be that night.
Schrader:
It's a scary time of year.
You've been told
that's when the veil is thinned
and we're so much closer
to the other side.
So maybe it's just the intention
of millions of people
and maybe even billions
of people around the world
focused on the meaning
of that day and looking for it
so that these
opportunist spirits
find a way to
make their presence known.
♪♪
Narrator: Chilling paranormal
encounters on Halloween
are more common than you think.
And the sheer terror of them
can haunt a person for years.
♪♪
It was probably 1977, 1978.
I grabbed my stuff.
I was on my way
to my buddy's house
to go for trick-or-treating,
and there was a house
that I passed by.
I noticed that there was a man
standing in the window,
and he was just looking out.
And I took a few more steps,
and I turned back to look,
only now he was outside.
When I turned back, he was in
the middle of the yard,
just standing there
staring at me,
and at that point,
I scooby doo'd it.
Boom!
I was out of there, running
all the way to my buddy's house.
I did find out that the father
had passed away in that house
a few years earlier
on christmas.
So I don't know
if I was encountering
that as my first
full-on apparition,
but I have no idea how this guy
moved from inside to outside
to the middle of the yard
without making a sound.
♪♪
Narrator: Can we make contact
with the spirits of the dead
on Halloween?
That notion would be
put to the test
by someone who made a career
out of cheating death...
The great magician and
escape artist harry houdini.
Man: Harry houdini was
a dynamic personality.
He was a man of great ego,
a man of great force.
Narrator:
Houdini was world-famous
for his thrilling escapes
from straitjackets,
suspended from skyscrapers
♪♪
Or sealed in water tanks,
even being buried alive.
But on Halloween 1926,
death finally claimed houdini.
Many wondered,
"could the great houdini
pull off the ultimate escape?"
the renowned magician
would use Halloween
to test the limits
of the afterlife.
Harry houdini had left
instructions to his widow
that she would hold
a yearly seance
to try and contact him
on Halloween.
He left a very specific
pass-phrase,
which supposedly only she knew.
Narrator:
Faithfully keeping her promise,
his wife, bess, held a seance
on Halloween night, 1927.
Man: It is the spirit of houdini
we wish to contact.
Houdini, are you here?
Narrator: But the
great houdini was silent.
For 10 years, bess tried
to reach her beloved husband.
In 1936, she tried one last time
atop the knickerbocker hotel
in hollywood, california.
Man: Mrs. Houdini,
the 10 years are up.
Have you reached a decision?
Yes.
Houdini did not come through.
I do not believe that houdini
can come back to me
or to anyone.
Good night, harry.
♪♪
Narrator: Since then,
others have tried diligently
to contact the famous magician,
especially around Halloween.
[ ghostly whispering ]
morton: Every year,
houdini's descendants
and his family members
still hold the seances.
And of course, there are
other groups that continue
to try to contact houdini
every Halloween, as well.
Narrator: Perhaps the great
houdini is still out there,
waiting for the right time
to reach across the veil
and touch
the world of the living.
♪♪
No one can be sure how active
the spirit world is
on all hallow's eve.
But one thing is certain.
Some of our most cherished
Halloween traditions
are rooted in the paranormal.
For our ancestors,
the spirit world was very real.
Morton: They were celebrating it
with a lot of
fortunetelling games,
and some of those
were incredibly macabre.
They were calling on the devil
to reveal the name
of their future husband or wife,
or calling on various
sort of spirits and so forth
to help them discern the future.
[ growling ]
♪♪
Narrator:
The face of Halloween itself,
the jack-o'-lantern,
once had a paranormal purpose.
The first jack-o'-lanterns
were far scarier
and carved into turnips.
Thompson: You would hollow these
little scary-looking faces out
and put candles in them and
put them in front of your door
to scare away
the spirits of the dead
so that they wouldn't be
coming in your house.
Narrator: We don't carve turnips
anymore, but pumpkins,
something irish immigrants
brought to america.
Pumpkin-carving has lost its
spiritual meaning,
but it's become so much more.
♪♪
During Halloween, my family
would always... we'd always go
to a pumpkin patch,
and we pick out our pumpkins
and go home and we carve them.
Of course,
I would try to make mine
either really funny
or really scary.
Never really worked out.
[ laughs ]
I'm not very good at it.
Kaza: I had this friend
in elementary school.
Her father is a farmer,
and every Halloween,
he would have a massive display
of pumpkin carvings.
But they were
elaborate, amazing.
So we would drive out
to the farm, and there would be
hundreds of pumpkins
lined up along the road.
They were just amazing carvings.
So that's one thing I really
found special about Halloween.
Narrator: Pumpkin carvings
attract onlookers and artists.
But the pumpkin itself can be
an invitation for mischief.
Smashing pumpkins was
a big thing when I was a kid
on Halloween, but looking back,
now that I, you know,
have a house and kids,
if anybody smashed a pumpkin
in my driveway, I'd be pissed,
you know, I mean, 'cause then
I got to clean it up.
So you know, I regret, sort of,
the mayhem that I caused
when I was a teenager, I think.
♪♪
Narrator: Halloween traditions
are thought of now
as harmless fun
despite their origins.
But for millions
of religious americans,
this is cause for alarm.
Evil is very real to them.
♪♪
And celebrating it only
empowers the forces of darkness.
[ woman chanting ]
for them, Halloween is a night
that belongs to the devil.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: Does Halloween mark
the return of restless spirits?
Or something far more sinister?
Are satanic forces
at work on Halloween?
♪♪
♪♪
Spratt: For me, Halloween
has always been tricky.
My mother has been
a pastor of a church
since I was in the third grade,
so I'm talking about
nondenominational christian
speaking in tongues, shouting,
holy ghost catching
southern church.
So we didn't
celebrate Halloween.
My mother would never
let me trick or treat.
She would never let me dress up,
never decorated anything.
Halloween would be in church
praising the lord
and not glorify
what they thought
was the devil in Halloween.
Mass: I think for me,
in my upbringing,
you didn't mess with
the demonic energies,
you didn't mess with goes,
you didn't mess with spirits.
Pittman: We would shy away
from the name Halloween
because of me growing up
in a religious household.
And we were always told
it's demonic.
♪♪
Narrator: Religious fears of
devil worship at Halloween
are centuries old.
In scotland around
the 1500s and 1600s,
they were extremely obsessed
with witchcraft and witches.
For the scots,
witches were frightening.
They had made a pact
with the devil,
and this was all something
that needed to be eradicated.
So when the scots began
to write about Halloween,
it always had witchcraft in it.
Narrator: Fear of witches
and the diabolical
were burned into american
culture from its earliest days.
No town knows this better
than salem, massachusetts.
♪♪
In the winter of 1692,
this superstitious settlement
of 2,000 souls
nearly destroyed itself
when three women were first
accused of witchcraft.
Tell how you suckle the snake.
Tell.
[ chanting "tell" ]
you are liars.
Narrator: Accusations turned
into mass hysteria,
and 200 people were
accused of witchcraft.
Do the condemned wish to speak?
I'm innocent!
Narrator: 14 women and six men
were ex*cuted.
[ man screams ]
♪♪
Even a dog was k*lled for
being in league with the devil.
The panic ended when the
governor of massachusetts' wife
was accused of being a witch.
♪♪
But the fear of witchcraft
and the devil
is still a potent force,
especially around Halloween.
Many churches are so fearful
of demonic influence,
they've created alternatives
to Halloween.
All over america, children
attend hallelujah nights.
Hallelujah night, for me,
we would get together
with friends,
go to different booths
in, like, a church parking lot,
and pick up some candy
with a bible verse attached
to the trick-or-treat bags.
We'd still get candy. We'd still
hang out with the kids.
They felt like it was
a lot safer to be in church
than it would be on the streets.
[ cheering ]
narrator: Most church groups
provide simple,
family-friendly alternatives
to the holiday.
♪♪
But a few churches have
taken it a step further
and ignited controversy
when they embraced the dark
and deeply offensive.
Anchorman: It's a haunted house,
the likes of which
you've never seen before,
and it's playing
to standing room only.
Narrator: In recent decades,
some churches have opened
hell houses on Halloween.
Anchorman: A pentecostal
congregation in suburban denver
is delivering its version
of a Halloween hell house...
Somebody call
a hospital, please.
...With skits of
an accident scene
caused by a drunk driver,
a bloody ab*rtion scene,
a teen suicide, and a funeral
for an A*DS victim.
Narrator: The hell house plays
on fear of satanic powers
and eternal damnation.
To this day,
hell houses are a fixture
in some parts of the country
around Halloween.
But religious alternatives
to Halloween traditions
have never been
broadly accepted.
And many kids, forbidden
from celebrating,
find creative ways
to bend the rules.
Spratt: The worst part
was going to school
and they would allow kids
in elementary
to dress up
in Halloween costumes,
but then I got smart, and I say
maybe about the fourth, fifth,
sixth grade, the rap group
kris kross came out,
and their whole thing was they
wore their clothes backwards.
So I would leave to go to school
with my jeans on regular
and a baseball jersey.
As soon as I got to school,
I would go in the bathroom
and I would turn my clothes
around backwards.
And when a teacher asked me
who was I, I was kris kross.
It was the only costume
I could get away with.
My mom never knew.
Narrator: Many, denied
Halloween as children,
find new meaning in the holiday
when they become parents.
Growing up the way I did,
our family,
it wasn't in their belief system
to celebrate Halloween.
So growing up without it,
I think I missed it more while
it was happening as a child.
As a grown up, I am reliving it,
and I get to see it all happen
right in front of me
and I get to live it real-time
with my daughter.
Halloween takes on a whole
new meaning for me now
because I have kids.
I allow them to have as much fun
as possible on Halloween.
My parents, on Halloween now,
they ask if my kids
have a good time,
but they always tell me,
"well, remember the underlying
connotations of Halloween
and what you were
taught growing up."
♪♪
Even to this day,
they still hold to the belief
that Halloween could be
dangerous, just celebrating it.
♪♪
Narrator:
Despite the controversies,
the popularity of Halloween
continues to rise.
For many, the lure of
the dark side is irresistible.
Halloween means being able
to be somebody
that you're not normally,
breaking outside of the box.
Narrator: Is the rebellious
reputation of Halloween
powerful enough
to change an entire culture?
Reporter: Have you ever seen
anything like this before?
Never, never in my life.
♪♪
♪♪♪
what's so funny?
Man: [ laughs ] nothing.
Narrator: The Halloween parade
is all about the perfect
photo op for parents...
Raise time.
Man: Okay, next time
we check in,
we'll see frankenstein.
Narrator:
...A way to show off kids
and make that perfect
social-media post.
Do I look like frankenstein?
Man: You look just like him.
Like the monster?
Every year,
millions of people take part
in some kind of
Halloween parade.
Bye, dad!
Man: There's frankenstein.
Woman: Frank. Yeah.
[ laughs ]
narrator: But there's a deeper
meaning to the tradition.
♪♪
♪♪
Religious processions are
a part of many holidays.
♪♪
But Halloween parades
took a devilish spin
on the ancient practice,
growing in popularity
through the 20th century
as the holiday caught on.
Halloween parades started
in the early 20th century
as a way that the whole town
could enjoy Halloween,
and they've continued in several
cities across the country.
It's a great way of including
everyone in a Halloween parade.
Man: Hey, hey!
When Halloween was seen
as dangerous during the '80s
and '90s, neighborhoods
started throwing
their own Halloween parades
to keep kids on their street
and for the enjoyment
of everybody,
even people who didn't
celebrate Halloween.
So it's a wonderful way
to come together
and be safe together
and exhibit together,
because Halloween is really
an exhibitionist holiday.
♪♪
Narrator: As Halloween evolves,
some see an opportunity.
Could the freewheeling,
rebellious nature of Halloween
be used to ignite changes
in how society views itself
and what is accepted?
Parades were a perfect tool.
Bannatyne:
After the tumultuous '60s
and the second-wave feminism
that happened in the '70s
and a general feeling of freedom
and expression in our culture,
it started to spill out
onto Halloween.
♪♪
Reporter: Have you ever seen
anything like this before?
Never. Never in my life.
g*y men in outrageous costume
kind of pushing the envelope,
which became more
and more popular.
Narrator: Halloween parades were
a way for the g*y community
to be visible in society
at a time when mainstream
culture pushed them
to the margins.
In Halloween parades
that sprouted up
all over the country,
they took the spotlight
and demanded recognition.
Anchorwoman:
This is what happens
when key west lets loose.
What you get is a mardi gras
of the bizarre.
The fantasy fest
Halloween parade
is about as glittery
and flamboyant as you can get.
Thousands of costumed spectators
jammed the streets and tourists
came from as far away
as virginia.
Are you a little shocked
at all by some of this?
Yes, I am.
[ cheering ]
narrator: These parades
may have shocked the
sensibilities of middle america,
but in time,
they helped drive the country
toward greater acceptance
of the lgbtqia community.
♪♪
The widespread
pride parades of today
have their roots in
Halloween parades of the 1980s.
The west hollywood parade
in los angeles
is a famous Halloween parade.
People just fill the streets,
and those costumes are crazy!
They're wild. It's fun.
I mean, you're really
just transported
to another place and time.
I'm completely naked
I feel so under-dressed.
Bannatyne: One of my favorite
memories of Halloween was
when I marched in the greenwich
village Halloween parade.
With 2 million people
on either side of me and 40,000
to 60,000 behind me
in this parade,
I would say it was one
of the highlights of my life.
It was delightful.
♪♪
Narrator: Parades and
street festivals are not
the only destinations
for Halloween revelry.
♪♪
[ screaming ]
sometimes you just need
a good scare.
Why do so many people
look for new and creative ways
to scare themselves senseless
around Halloween?
Dakota: Everyone loves
to get scared.
I don't know why people love it
so much, but even I love it.
It's like this natural
adrenaline rush
that you can't
really get anywhere else.
Here we go.
Narrator:
Next up, haunted houses.
The Halloween attraction
that will scare you to death.
♪♪
Narrator: Halloween traditions
are rooted in
the dark and macabre,
no matter how
family-friendly they become.
[ screaming ]
why are we drawn
to things that scare us?
[ screaming ]
bannatyne: This is something
that's been in our culture,
this delight
in being frightened,
and it has just become more
and more sophisticated
as we do it in our own yards
and we pay to have
ourselves scared.
Psychologists will say
that this is good for you.
When you know it's fake,
it helps you practice
for being frightened
in real situations.
It makes you a warrior.
♪♪
Bruni: In my neighborhood,
when I was growing up,
there were a few houses
that really went all out.
I remember this to this day.
I could not have been older
than like 4 or 5,
walking down this really
dark pathway to the door
to ring the doorbell.
[ doorbell rings ]
and this guy was hiding,
and he was reaching out
and grabbing at us
as we walked by.
I had nightmares
about that for so long.
♪♪
[ maniacal laughter ]
narrator: We're so eager to
scare ourselves on Halloween...
[ maniacal laughter ]
we've created entire
attractions designed to throw us
into the most terrifying
encounters imaginable.
♪♪
Haunted houses feed our hunger
for blood-curdling scares.
They can be found
all over the country
and draw in millions
of visitors every year.
♪♪
[ screaming ]
[ screaming ]
schrader: If you go through
a haunted house
and you haven't had a few jumps,
you kind of feel cheated
by the whole situation.
[ screaming ]
narrator:
Commercial haunted houses
have been around
for at least a century.
[ woman screams ]
and they've been refined
to the point
where many would describe them
as the closest thing
they will get to hell.
[ screams ] get away from me!
I investigate haunted houses.
And people are like,
"you like other haunted houses?"
I'm like, "yes,
I love haunted houses."
and if you ever see me
in one of those,
I am like screaming,
holding on to people
'cause I know that I'm
about to get scared.
They are amazing.
They play on your fears.
They make you scream.
You feel alive for a moment.
[ screaming ]
I did not see it coming.
I was like, "aah!"
I almost, like, started crying.
♪♪
Rockett: When poison was
on tour one time,
I went to this haunted house
at a fair that we played at,
and the people recognized me
and said, "hey, you know,
we'll do a private tour."
I said,
"I don't want to do that."
I want to be in
the haunted house.
And they said,
"okay, you've got a job."
so they dressed me up, gave me
a chainsaw, all the stuff.
I spent a couple hours
scaring people.
[ chainsaw buzzing, screaming ]
scary! Horrifying.
Oh, my god.
As our worst nightmares
come to life.
Bannatyne:
Haunted houses are now
multi-million-dollar ventures.
There's somewhere
around 5,000 of them
in the united states
at any given time.
They've become
hollywood sophisticated
in terms of their props
and their animatronics,
and their actors
are gorgeously costumed
and hideously masked.
I'm gonna die tonight!
[ laughs ]
the bar has risen
for the haunted-house industry.
[ shovel scraping ]
[ screams ]
this was the best night
of my life.
[ screaming, metal scraping ]
narrator:
These heart-pounding attractions
are no longer limited
to just haunted houses
and now crop up
almost everywhere.
I grew up in upstate new york,
and so, of course,
we would hit a lot
of the haunted corn mazes.
A haunted corn maze
is a cornfield
that has been cut out
into a maze,
and some of them can become
extremely incredible in size.
You could spend hours
in some of these,
but you just walk around
and you try to figure out
how to get out.
But during the time
you're in there,
there's people dressed
in costumes,
hiding within the maze,
jumping out, startling you.
[ chainsaw buzzing ]
♪♪
Narrator: Creepy corn mazes...
[ laughs ]
...Hellish hay rides...
[ screaming ]
spooky cruise ships...
He's my friend.
[ screaming ]
...Are just a few of the ways
we choose our frights.
And with all of these
attractions,
there is plenty of opportunity
for those who do the scary.
♪♪
My mom would set up
a haunted trail every year
for our neighborhood.
My buddy tanner,
chelsea, and alex,
who are with me doing
the show "destination fear,"
would set up this haunted trail.
There's actually woods
that the whole town
called the boogey woods
because apparently before
we moved in there,
there was satanic rituals
in the woods.
And so my mom was like,
"oh, let's do one hundred trail
in these woods for Halloween."
dakota and chelsea's family,
alex's family, and my family
actually chopped this path
in the woods in their backyard.
We had like
eight different stations,
and everyone had, like,
their, like, thing
they were supposed to do
to just freak everyone out.
[ screaming ]
I had a white mask on,
standing next to a bunch
of dolls in white masks
doing like this, like sleeping.
And then when people walked by,
I would scare them.
Multiple times,
I remember, like,
actually terrifying many people
that would walk by
'cause they're not expecting it.
They see, you know, a dead body
laying on the ground,
or, you know, a fake dead body
laying on the ground.
But then a hand comes out
from behind it.
I was a hangman one year,
where I got in full, like,
climber's gear,
put a rope over a tree branch,
and was just like this hangman
that scared everybody.
There's all sorts of things,
you know, like the standard
gore mask, those scary
pumpkin people.
We had it all.
I don't know.
There's something about it.
When you see someone freak out
and make a face that you've
never seen them make before...
You feel accomplished.
Narrator: For decades,
Halloween has been
a child-friendly holiday
and fun for the whole family.
Grownups today have hijacked
what was supposed to be a nice
and sometimes scary celebration
of childhood fantasies
and turned this
ever-changing holiday
into something
very, very naughty.
♪♪
Happy Halloween!
Child: Trick or treat!
Hey, there.
Woman: Say thank you.
Boy: Thanks.
Narrator: Halloween
used to be the one day
of the year where kids dress up
as their favorite character,
stay up late, and eat
as much candy as they desire.
But something truly scary
happens when those kids grow up.
One of the saddest moments
of my life was realizing
that maybe I'm a little old
to go trick-or-treating.
Maybe there is, like,
an age where you
shouldn't trick or treat.
It's so sad 'cause
you're like, "what?"
I would say keep going until
you get, like, the weird looks.
Happy hallowee...
But at the same time,
I don't really feel like
you should put
an age restriction on it.
Narrator: Denied the joy
of trick-or-treating,
these kids-turned-adults
can't let go of Halloween.
Halloween, to my generation,
was still huge,
and now it's all those kids have
grown up into adults
and we're still partying
for Halloween.
Now we just have to do it
in a different way
because the neighbors
frown on you
knocking on the door at age 50,
asking for candy
and dressed up
as a sexy mermaid.
It just doesn't work as well.
♪♪
Narrator: In recent decades,
adults have turned
a once-homespun holiday
into the biggest, ,
craziest party day of the year.
Thompson: These are the kids
that were brought up
in these very sort of
intensively child-friendly
Halloween parties
and now are young adults,
and they want to continue
with these traditions.
They grew up with Halloween.
Many of them are having kids
of their own.
And so this idea that the adults
should be a part of it,
the adults should have costumes,
this really is reemerging
from these same kids.
Narrator: Grownups take
Halloween far beyond their
childhood dreams,
hosting outlandish parties,
pushing the boundaries of
Halloween to explore a scarier,
sexier side of the holiday.
Thompson: Sex and death, right?
That's the essential
motifs of the world.
And they're both being
really pulled to fruition
and focused on at Halloween.
♪♪
Narrator: Adult parties are
a feast for the eyes,
with costumes just as bloody
and violent as a slasher film.
Bannatyne: Halloween took from
hollywood a lot of its pizzazz.
So the sophisticated,
wonderful special effects
that we see translate
on Halloween into contact lenses
that blot out your eyes,
effects of scars and blood.
And we take from hollywood
into Halloween
and create it for ourselves
and our costumes.
And hollywood also inspires
the style of costume.
♪♪
Narrator: For young adults,
Halloween parties
are the perfect time
to shed their inhibitions
and find that special someone.
There is a correlation
between the adrenaline rush
you get from being scared
and the adrenaline rush
you might get from being excited
at a potential sexual partner.
So here we have this idea of
making Halloween not only scary,
but a part of courtship.
It's like the night where
a person that has to wear
work clothes to work can put on
the most provocative
costume of all time,
and it's totally acceptable.
It's the night
where you're like,
"look at what I've got
to offer."
that's the adult version
of Halloween, in my opinion.
Grown women, they take Halloween
to a whole different...
It's not like disney movies.
It becomes like,
[laughs] "oh, wow.
This is what Halloween
is about."
anchorwoman: 34 percent of
all adults will dress up.
Young adults... 62 percent.
And they want sexy.
Narrator:
Women and men alike are eager
to put themselves
out there on Halloween.
Spratt: I was in college
and we had a Halloween party
in the student center,
but I didn't know
what to be for Halloween,
so I literally got a towel and
I wrapped it around my waist.
And I was towel-man.
I liter... I came out the shower
and I was towel-man.
It was kind of cool
'cause all the girls liked it,
but it was the cheapest costume
[laughs]
that I could come up with.
♪♪
Narrator: As more and more
adults join the fun,
costumes become even more
creative and redefine sexy.
Currently, costumes have
become a lot more satirical
and ironic.
These sexy costumes that in the
beginning of the 21st century
were kind of glamorous,
after the crash of 2008,
they never quite bounced back.
So now when you see
sexy costumes,
it's satirical,
it's kind of meta.
It's like sexy mr. Rogers.
There are comments we make
with our costumes
that work on a number of levels,
and one of them is irony.
♪♪
Narrator: Each new generation
reimagines Halloween
for themselves.
It is ever-changing,
but there is something
that unites us all.
What drives this constant
reinvention of the holiday?
What is the true meaning
of Halloween?
♪♪
Narrator: Halloween was born in
a different, more magical world
where ghosts, ghouls,
and other creatures of the night
stalked our ancestors.
♪♪
But it's become a night
for family and friendship
where memories are made
as we scare ourselves silly.
Why does a holiday inspired by
death and the spirit world
stir so many warm,
nostalgic emotions?
♪♪
For thousands of years,
Halloween has marked
the end of summer
and the beginning of the
dark days of fall and winter.
This haunting,
scary time of year
makes all of us stop and think.
Thompson:
The essence of Halloween
is remembering the dead,
remembering where you came from,
remembering your
great-grandparents,
your ancestors,
the ones who created
the world that you live in.
So maintaining those connections
with the past,
with the dead, are a way of also
maintaining connections
with our own
cultural traditions,
and the reason is to allow us
to move into the future
with some sort of
self-confidence.
Narrator: Through the decades,
we've taken comfort
in the company of those we love.
Halloween is the scariest,
darkest holiday of the year.
Who better to spend it with
than our family and friends?
Gonsalves: The real meaning
of Halloween, or what it was
and is to me, is family
and friends and togetherness.
It's a bonding.
It's fun. It's exciting.
It's something
to look forward to.
Boy: Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh...
Tango: My father is the reason
I even like Halloween.
He would sing his own songs.
He would make up songs
as kids about Halloween.
♪ Do-do-do-do-do-do-do ♪
he would get us
so excited for Halloween.
If it wasn't for him,
honestly, I would not be
this excited
about Halloween to this day.
Hawes: I've got three
daughters and three sons,
and my daughters always...
For 15, 16 years straight,
I had to be the beast every year
because one of them
wanted to be beauty.
It was a great time.
It really was.
And it's one of those days
that we love immensely
in my house.
Woman: Here's our bunny!
Narrator: Beyond family
nostalgia, though,
the true meaning of Halloween is
something unique and personal.
I love to see kids, like,
trick-or-treating.
Like, I love to see parents
taking their kids out
and just kind of, like,
allowing them the opportunity
to just explore their creativity
in putting a costume together.
[ both roar ]
oh, my god, you're so scary.
It definitely changes with age,
but all my friends,
we love to get dressed up
and, like,
you know, it kind of brings
you back to your youth.
You kind of get a little bit
of a jump back in time.
I feel like Halloween's
for everyone.
Man: Do you have your
teeth in, dan?
No.
Put your teeth in. Let's see.
[ speaking gibberish ]
narrator: It's a time to release
our untamed, rebellious spirit
and embrace the darkness.
Kaza: Halloween is a time
where people feel they can
be creative without judgment.
And I think that
that's really liberating
because everybody
is kind of being crazy,
and they're expressing
themselves,
and they're exploring things,
and they're doing it
without being judged so much.
So that's a beautiful thing,
because for some people,
that's the only day of the year
that they truly feel free enough
to be able to do that.
Narrator: Reborn in america,
Halloween carries the torch
of a tradition
that began around a bonfire
in ireland over 2,000 years ago.
Thompson: I don't see Halloween
ending any time soon.
So, I think as our society
changes radically,
it's nice to have
these traditions
that give us a little bit
of something to hold on to,
something we've been doing
for many thousands of years,
and it's still with us today.
Narrator: Each year, the festive
celebration of goblins
and ghosts grows in popularity.
Halloween is
a shadowy reflection
of who we are as people
and our enduring struggle
between the seasons...
Life and death,
the light and the dark.
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01x02 - This is Halloween
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A documentary series that takes a fresh look at true and terrifying tales of paranormal encounters.
A documentary series that takes a fresh look at true and terrifying tales of paranormal encounters.