Many people celebrate Halloween in their own unique ways, if they even celebrate it at all. Some use the holiday as a time to dress up and indulge in some free candy, while others love this time of year strictly for the aesthetic. However, as Halloween is deeply rooted in the element of being spooky, many consider it the time of year to be scared. After all, think of all the new horror movies coming to theaters and the plethora of haunted attractions that pop up all over the country. At this point, being scared is practically a business. No matter how you choose to celebrate this time of year, many begin to wonder if there is too much of a good thing? Is there a limit to how much a person can like Halloween?

Halloween can definitely be taken too far in terms of haunted houses and similar experiences. Some people have been traumatized when going through houses. Individuals have experienced things like being taken from the group, tied up, and “tortured,” and it was definitely taken too far. In a fun sense, Halloween might not be taken too far. It’s so fun to spend time with family and friends making memories by carving pumpkins, watching movies, dressing up and eating candy; it’s an excuse to have fun! There’s definitely a sense of merriment when the holidays roll around, and it always boosts the moods of many.

It does depend on if you’re a person who likes to be scared or not. Some things are definitely too much. For example, Field of Screams blackout night can be a lot. Being separated from your group and forced to do certain things can be too much for some people, but on the other hand, scary movies and other horror elements are at their most successful this time of year, so clearly there is an audience for it.

There needs to be some level of consent when it comes to scaring people. When you participate in a haunted house, you kind of know what you’re in for, but scaring little kids when they’re just trying to have fun trick-or-treating is not okay. On the other hand, Halloween can also be taken too far with costumes. Some costumes are too offensive and unsettling. For example, with the new Dahmer show on Netflix, people have been joking about dressing up as Jeffrey Dahmer, which is highly inappropriate.

Deep down it’s important to also remember that the holiday started off as a way to ward off evil spirits, but in doing so people became more likely to justify bad actions on this holiday. We have all read the horror stories of people committing terrible crimes on Halloween. On the flip side, Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) seeks to make peace with the dead and respect family. So loving Halloween should come with the understanding that many cultures have their own views of the holiday, and with any aspect of life, it must all come with respect towards one another. There are those who don’t wish to be scared, and as fun as it may seem to target those individuals, we have to respect that there’s probably a reason they don’t enjoy it in the first place.

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