Halloween Decorations:Spirits of the season or monstrosities?

By Shannon Carey

On September 22, 2007 my mother did what any caring mother would do – she began putting up Halloween decorations. Yeah, I know, it wasn’t even really Fall yet, but who’s keeping track?

The month leading up to Halloween is a great time of year (if you’re me, or my mom, or the neighbors who enjoy seeing gravestones, coffins, cages and skeletons when you look out your window). The whole house is decorated, inside and out.
Yes, we have a copious amount of decorations for all to see. Yes, we leave them up for over a month. And yes, the police occasionally drive by when they mistake our fog machine for smoke or fire.
We’re not hurting anyone. We don’t hold animal sacrifices or anything illegal. Yet, some people aren’t as enthusiastic about (dare I say “hate”?) Halloween.
I don’t mind it if people don’t celebrate what I find is one of the most entertaining holidays of the year; I don’t mind other people celebrating holidays that I don’t partake in.
However, I get the feeling that our bountiful decorations anger some of our fellow Dridgers (those who live in Moundridge).
“My mommy says those are ugly!” was a comment made by one of our neighbor’s children, which I can only assume means that the mother is not a big supporter of All Hallows Eve.
Most responses are positive, though. Year after year when children come to our house to trick or treat we receive comments like, “This is the best house ever! Mommy, why didn’t we decorate like this?” Comments like that warm my frigid heart.
Some places severely limit the amount or types of seasonal decorations that homeowners are allowed to display. I agree that some limit is necessary. The genius that is Gail Stucky just informed me that she read in the news that some man spent up to six figures on Halloween decorations.
And I’ve seen some houses just overloaded with “inflatable decorations” that oftentimes have no connection to one another except for the holiday they represent (like having an inflatable Homer Simpson dressed as a skeleton and having an inflatable carriage being driven by the headless horseman and having an inflatable Casper the Friendly Ghost).
But how much is too much? A law restricting seasonal decorations isn’t going to please all parties concerned, but neither is just letting people do what they want.
In my opinion, as long as the decorations aren’t offensive or causing any safety hazards, Halloween fans can allow themselves to get into the spirit (pun intended).
The best part of Halloween 2007 has to have been dressing up our cat (Bear) into a prison inmate outfit – don’t worry, he enjoyed it as much as we did.
Shannon Carey is a senior from Moundridge, where the children don’t have a morbid enough sense of humor.