Halloween

I grew up in a kinder and gentler world (and I’m not that old) where I remember roaming the streets of the various towns I lived in wearing my Halloween costume and ringing the doorbells of strangers for my “Trick or Treat.” I’ve got a particularly warm and fuzzy memory of being a fifth grader when we lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and being dropped off in a posh neighborhood so I could collect great swag from the nice houses there.

Boy, those days are gone! No sane parent would expose their child to the mercies of strangers in these times, and as a result, Halloween has turned into a series of safe, bland events where parties are given and candy collecting is tightly monitored. Instead, over the course of the last decade or so, Halloween has become a holiday that caters to adults more than kids. I think deprivation may lay behind this trend; at heart, we all want to be young again and go get goodies that make our teeth rot and give us sugar shock.

The Library is the place to learn about the historical and contemporary trends to the holiday. Whether it’s tracking the All Soul’s aspect of Halloween, or discerning a postmodern influence, publications abound from the encyclopedic to the pictorial. You can read about the origins of Greenwich Village’s famed event, or treat yourself to an academic survey of the holiday’s development over the centuries.

But, most of all, I want to know if others feel the nostalgia I do, and if they think that there’s something behind the adult-ification of Halloween? Since the old-time American door-to-door Trick or Treat ritual has been replaced by less satisfactory options, are holiday celebrations really that relevant? Or are we merely readjusting to a changing world, and jettisoning something that was never really that germane to our culture?

As a professional librarian at the main reference desk, I do whatever it takes to respond to a particular question, and I never become judgmental about the quality of that question. That’s Library School 101. I will admit, however, to wondering sometimes where certain questions come from, or what it might mean for the culture at large when a number of people start asking the same question at the same time. For instance, what should I make of the fact that there have been several requests lately--by New Yorkers, no less!-- for books about vampires? Is it because Halloween is coming? Are they folklorists, horror literature fans, or just people who are trying to distract themselves from the terrifying facts of real life, such as the possible results of the upcoming election?  read more »