It was October 31st. I was 5 years old when my dad decided to bring me to the Haunted House at the State Fair. 2 minutes in and I was being carried out of the house by my father, sobbing and forever traumatized.
My experience, like others, completely scarred me and left me with sleepless nights. Every year when October approaches I am left with the lingering feeling of pure fear that was imposed on me that one fateful night. I am not the only one who is traumatized their childhood Halloweens. Studies done by Life Science say that “Halloween has been scaring kids for centuries.”
Halloween has only been getting scarier. In the beginning, decorations consisted of jack-o’-lanterns and bedsheet ghosts; now, it’s death and blood. Movies that used to be about magic are now about getting murdered. Weapons like knives and swords are everywhere in decorations. When did this change happen? And what does this mean for the children seeing these decorations?
Children from 0-5 should NOT be seeing these Halloween decorations. As someone who was scared senseless at 5 years old, I wish I could go back in time and unsee those scary sights. Children’s minds cannot separate fact from fiction. If they see a ghost, they will believe that it’s real, which is not only terrifying but something that will carry with them into their teenage years.
Not only do the decorations need to stop, but so do the scary costumes. Children should not have to see blood scenes and scary goblins while they are out trick or treating. They should be able to get their candy in peace without worrying about seeing a bunch of monsters roaming the streets.
One mom from the What’s Up Moms blog posted about how Halloween has scared her daughter enough to where her daughter was diagnosed with anxiety. “Can we avoid the whole street — maybe change our route to school until November — so we can steer clear of those god-awful horror faces in the trees?” expressed this mom.
This horror must stop. Do we want to raise our children in a world of fear? We should go back to our roots of fun and excitement around Halloween, a time to carve pumpkins and spend time in the fall breeze WITHOUT the gruesome scenes of today. Boo!
