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Thread: Has Halloween gone too far?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    ...and I live in a hole...
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    783

    Has Halloween gone too far?

    Things have come a long way from the innocent pumpkin lanterns of old. I overheard this in a shop yesterday "Yes those are the last of the severed feet candies we have in stock" You can also buy eyeballs and imitation blood to smear on your door!

    What are we teaching our children? Are we desensitising them to violence and gore? Is it a good thing to get them to knock on doors Trick or Treating, in effect demanding rewards with an implied threat?

    We reap what we sow and I fear we're sowing some poisonous seeds.
    So let the raucous sleigh bells jingle,
    Hail our dear old friend kris kringle,
    Driving his reindeer across the sky.
    Don't stand underneath when they fly by.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    19
    Quote Originally Posted by The Mole View Post
    Things have come a long way from the innocent pumpkin lanterns of old. I overheard this in a shop yesterday "Yes those are the last of the severed feet candies we have in stock" You can also buy eyeballs and imitation blood to smear on your door!

    What are we teaching our children? Are we desensitising them to violence and gore? Is it a good thing to get them to knock on doors Trick or Treating, in effect demanding rewards with an implied threat?

    We reap what we sow and I fear we're sowing some poisonous seeds.
    severed feet candy? yuk!

    my children have taken part in trick or treating, in our neighbourhood there is a rule that you only knock on doors of people who show they are willing to particpate by placing pumpkins or other decoration in the front gardens, and to be honest most of those are families from the locals schools! most of the children are with adults and they are taught to be respectful.

    oh, and i only give normal candies, no halloween specific here!

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    New Jersey
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    199
    Children have grown up through War, Disease, and Violence of every kind .. if they haven't been desensitized yet then I doubt some candy and a can of fake blood is going to do it. Kids, and the community as a whole, have an ever developing taste in what is Creepy, Scary, or Fun.

    A kid in the 1910 may have gotten a thrill out of a Bedsheet hanging from someones tree, but in 2010 with all the technologies and special effects they are exposed to -- its gonna take more than that.

    I wouldn't mind taking my child to a house with blood splattered on the door and what ever -- its Halloween -- its make believe. Halloween is probably one of the most Policed and Safest nights of the year
    "I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys." ~Charles Dickens

  4. #4
    No , halloween not gone too far
    http://www.frightcatalog.com/Halloween-Costumes/

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    South Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
    Posts
    4,368
    Think about TV shows like CSI & Bones. When I was a kid, the graphic stuff in those shows would have only been seen in Rated-R movies!! I agree that we have become more desensitized, but I also have no idea what to do about it. All we do is save our TV watching for when the boys go to bed. It's just a matter of time though, and I won't be able to stop it.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Location
    West Gastonia, NC
    Posts
    156

    Smile

    In our family we keep a more 'vintage' Halloween, don't care for the gore and all that stuff...but for others who enjoy it...party on! lol
    www.carolinapanthercoalition.com

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Back home again in Indiana
    Posts
    4,162
    I decorate for fall, nothing scary at all:


    Quote Originally Posted by Marshmallow World View Post
    I hate ugly, scary stuff and am glad that no one does it on our street. A couple of us decorate for fall. Tonight the trick-or-treaters came and I think we were the only family on our street who passed out candy. One man came with his two boys and we ended up talking. I invited them in and gave the boys homemade cookies. The younger boy noticed that we have birds so I took him over to their cages and his dad and brother followed us. Later, three of our grandchildren came with their parents and a young friend. I had candy and refreshments for them. I really enjoyed the evening.

  8. #8
    GhostTown Guest
    Quote Originally Posted by The Mole View Post
    Things have come a long way from the innocent pumpkin lanterns of old. I overheard this in a shop yesterday "Yes those are the last of the severed feet candies we have in stock" You can also buy eyeballs and imitation blood to smear on your door!

    What are we teaching our children? Are we desensitising them to violence and gore? Is it a good thing to get them to knock on doors Trick or Treating, in effect demanding rewards with an implied threat?

    We reap what we sow and I fear we're sowing some poisonous seeds.
    While I might agree that a vast majority of Halloween merchandise is pure trash, I would also accuse Christmas of being not that much better.

    For instance, have you (and I mean you specifically The Mole) seen the animated inflatable of Santa Claus protruding his head from an out house, complete with toilet paper on the out side? Look no further than your local Wal*Mart or Lowes. Do you have one of those in your front yard? Santa, relieving himself with a smile? How do your children feel about that?

    Trash is every where, during every season, in every corner of the United States. As long as we ask China to make it cheap, cheap Americans will buy it.

    It's not Halloween's fault.
    Last edited by GhostTown; 11-22-2011 at 11:37 AM.

  9. #9
    Hi I have just joined and have been reading through some of the posts about Halloween and I live in England where it isn't very popular I didn't get many trick or treaters I rarely do. I do love Halloween but for a very different reason one that I am not too comfortable sharing right now, but I digress nope it hasn't gone too far, but Christmas definitely has!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Liverpool, UK
    Posts
    542
    i honestly don't think it has gone to far!! its a bit of fun!! it happens once a year!

    kids should have all the fun they can!! things get way to serious once your an adult.
    Steph xx
    So excited for christmas 2012

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