My Irish forebearers did a wonderful thing spreading Halloween to America. Who doesn’t remember the costumes and a night of trick-or-treating, spilling the bag on the living room rug and sorting through all the sweet treats. Our parents cringed at the sugar intake, but they gave us a pass for one night a year.
When we marched randomly from door to door, we never passed elaborate displays of skulls, skeletons, spiders, haunted houses, mummies, vampires, jack-o-lanterns, witches, ghosts, grim reapers, zombies, coffins, gravestones, Frankensteins and killer clowns. Did I leave out slashers?
It’s no Nightmare on Elm Street for the Halloween industry. The National Retail Federation expects U.S. consumers to spend a record $13.1 billion. They’ll spend more on decorations than candy.
Ogdensburg doesn’t have an Elm Street; it also doesn’t have a shortage of decorations.
Two of the biggest decorators live only a few miles apart. Paul Haley transforms his expansive front lawn on Richardson Road while Jordan Gladle and Brittany Baker entertain their neighbors at 416 Patterson Street.
“The neighbors and local community always seem to get a kick out of the decorations,’’ Gladle said. “We see people stop and check them out with their children all the time.’’
Baker does most of the decorating, but together they have assembled a cast of figurines that include a Chucky doll, robed skeleton, Michael Myers slasher, killer clown, ax-wielding leprechaun and an arch of demonic jack-o-lanterns.
“We get the majority of our decorations from local stores like Lowe’s and Home Depot,’’ Gladle said.
They’ve had their lighter moments too.
“A funny story of our decorations was when we got the Mike Myers,’’ Gladle recalled. “We left it in our oldest son’s room and surprised him. It made him almost run right out of the room.’’
On Richardson Road, Haley displays a showcase of figurines, but the centerpiece is an inflatable giant spider that shimmies and shakes in the breeze.
“We can’t remember how we got started,’’ said Haley, retired from the local Social Security Administration office. “It grew over a 30-year period. We found that we enjoyed shopping for new items, being out in the fresh air and receiving the compliments.’’
“My wife enjoyed the challenge of coming up with new scenarios while adding small, additional items each year.’’
For the Haleys, Halloween is a mere warmup for Christmas.
“We have a 30-foot spruce tree which we light up with over two thousand lights.’’ Haley said. “We have six large, lit deer pulling Santa in a sleigh with a red-nosed Rudolph leading.’’
The Haleys say they are motivated by the excitement of children.
“The house is all lit and we have many more things,’ he said. “We have been recognized by many groups, but the little ones bring the joy.’’
Christmas might be No. 1 for the Haleys, but American consumers are trending differently. Consumer research shows that spending on Christmas has grown 14 percent over the past 15 years, Halloween spending has increased by 60 percent. Coincidentally, Christmas is recognized as a holiday; Halloween is not.
Credit the Irish for these tricks and treats. The ancient Celts and their educated elite, the Druids, honored gods during their Samhaim festival by lighting bonfires and leaving out food called “soul cakes’’ to ward off evil spirits.
Meanwhile, Catholics were observing All Saints Day on November 1st. The evening before was called All Hallows Eve, which morphed into Halloween. Scots and Irish children held a tradition of “guising,’’ dressing up in costumes and begging neighbors for treats. The Irish and Scots brought these traditions with them to America, then trick-or-treating mushroomed after World War II.
This all explains why I come from a family of sweettooths. Erin Go Bragh, but first pass the candy dish.
Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitwrite.com/blog/
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