Halloween costume customization has increased over the years, yet there are those who only want scary designs.
Spooky season is around the corner, which means getting ready for Halloween festivities. Whether it be trick or treating, costume parties, horror movie marathons, etc. The time to let your wicked side shine is approaching, with the best thing being the costumes.
Whether the costumes are bought or handmade, they are usually what are remembered most besides the candy.
Everyone has their own way of celebrating, so why is there a debate about if you should only wear frightening costumes?
Traditional scariness
Arguments have been made to maintain what the holiday originally stood for. The Halloween tradition of dressing in horrifying costumes dates back to the 16th century from imitators paying tribute to Celtic culture.
Blending in with the dead through any grotesque means with face painting originating from Samhain ceremonial campfires. A researcher detailed her insights from her published book on Scottish national festivals on how those customs originated from.
Instead of masks, some of the guisers have blackened faces. This is a relic of the blackening with the ashes of the Druidical bonfire for protection and good fortune.
Florence Marian McNeill
Horror was instrumental in the old traditions during the 18th century, until there was a shift aimed toward community fun. Combining elements from European cultures to create the trick-or-treat culture and expand toward more party-based activities.
A few horror concepts have remained relevant in what people think of for Halloween such as witches, ghouls, vampires, etc. Mainstream properties are very marketable beyond the scary designs. Leading back to the original discourse, why aren’t more people wearing scary costumes?
Scary doesn’t cut it
A discussion I have seen from avid enjoyers of Halloween only being dedicated to horror is that they believe that the holiday has become baby-proofed. Especially with corporations trying to sell low-budget costumes to appeal toward every audience.
Encourage more participation without having to fully commit to being scary by watering down the traditions. This has caused outrage in individuals who blame how sensitive the people have gotten.
Tired of feeling underestimated on how much they can handle because everything has become more child-friendly or toned down. Arguments against corporations’ aquisition of IP brands only being used to profit off consumer’s fantasies.
Their exhaustion with how Halloween has been converted over the years rings some truth, but there are other factors to consider about costumes not feeling as scary. Say that our definition of scary is highly subjective.
Fear is subjective
With horror media expanding and fewer restrictions enforced on consumers, many youth have exposed themselves to explicit media. Even looking back on horror classics, others are likely to call out how cheap the production is. Or with how mainstream the property has become, the initial spark from these classic movies no longer holds up strongly or becomes satirized from sequels or remakes.
You’ve developed your own tolerance toward certain triggering themes more than others. Unsupervised YouTube access allowed me to see explicit topics before I understood their implications, that now I either seek out or remain neutral.
The shoe doesn’t fit all, and the different takes on the horror genre can only attract specific audiences at a time. Horror icons have produced more scary costumes, but it’s success rides on those desiring the terrifying appearances.
Even then costumes as of late have some effort put into them with people going all out on their scary designs and make-up. Those who have been creating their own costumes are the people worth recognizing.
The versatility of hand-made costumes
Homemade costumes have become widely popular as they give people more room for creative freedom and selection of how they design themselves. Usually using resources they have at home or purchasing different elements to put together a costume design.
I have fond memories about making my own costumes because my ideas weren’t in stores or didn’t look as nice. Even the usage of makeup got progressively better by the time I needed a half-melted face.
There are those who can do a lot with the little resources they have and those who just slap something together with little thought put on it. Labeled as “lazy costumes” by wearing regular clothes worn with little connection to who they’re supposed to be.
Inspiration posts with lists of how to assemble a costume design have become widely popular, sparking their own outrage. Specially targeted toward those who aren’t even trying to replicate their characters or are only trying to dress purely sexy.
Yes, an argument can be made in those cases, especially with its growing popularity it’s unfair to clump everyone who dresses that way as just being lazy.
“Lazy costumes” do have benefits
Even if the costumes are pretty basic, there are advantages of not going all out for a costume, such as saving money. Benefiting those who are tighter on money, but still want to participate in the festivities. By using everyday clothes, this ensures that it can have continuous use without taking up too much space.
After Halloween, how many people keep their old costumes to use again or just get rid of it? Wearing regular clothes assures comfortability the whole night and not fearing of ruining their costumes because of stains.
Categorizing specific costumes as “just lazy” undermines how creative people have to be to put together their designs with as few resources as possible. It takes work to construct a costume with what’s on hand, but people enjoy experimenting with all types of themes.
So if different categories of costumes are encouraging more participation and consumption toward Halloween, what’s the problem?
So what’s the harm?
People are wearing costumes beyond being scary, whether childish, sexy, brand, etc. Living out their costumes for one night, whether it be bought or assembled through different materials. No harm is being done; the tradition has just evolved to let people freely decide how they want to dress.
Costumes are still bringing people together, scary or not, because there is an audience for them. Unless it is mildly offensive and inappropriate for topical reasons. Even the ones deemed as lazy are still encouraging creativity in the limited resources can still pull off fun designs that people of all ages can afford to do.
So there’s no point in discouraging others for not celebrating the way that they expect. Just find whatever costumes suit you and make the best of it, the costume is for you, not anyone else.
