Sarah O'Connor

 

Thanksgiving is over and as the last leftovers of turkey slowly depart from our refrigerators, a new holiday is quickly approaching: Halloween.

Yes, Halloween. A night to dwell into the supernatural, to stay up late watching horror movies, to dress-up and be something you're not. It's the one night we allow ourselves to re-kindle those warm feelings of childish glee from Halloween. We stuff our face with chocolate and don’t have to worry when our next exam is due.

But like anything that brings the slightest bit of joy, Halloween comes with a price.

Even D.O.T. Patio and Home have gotten into the spirit of Halloween by selling costumes and accessories for that haunted evening. And as I've wandered through that store on lazy afternoons, I can't help but notice one thing - the price of the costumes.

The price range for most women's Halloween costumes is between forty to sixty dollars. And let's be honest with ourselves, there isn't much to them. A typical woman's costume is sexy and sparkling with tight-fit tops and skirts that look like belts. A skimpy thing like that for sixty dollars? I don't think so.

On the other hand, the price range for men's costumes is typically between $20 - $40. True, there isn't as much variety as there is for women's costumes, the costumes tend to focus more on pop-culture or being hilarious parodies instead of being sexy. But people seem to care greatly about what they will wear on Halloween night, no matter the price.

It's not just D.O.T., all companies that sell adult Halloween costumes have these prices. We allow companies to commercialize holidays that are dear to our hearts. We empty our pockets on the conviction that by doing so we ensure the greatest night of our lives, when all we really have an over-priced costume hanging in our closets only to be replaced by a new, over-priced costume next year.

We always mourn the commercialization of Christmas but what ever happened to Halloween? What happened to the night of chills and thrills, of fear and excitement? What happened to a holiday about fun? When did money start ruling our lives?

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