Halloween's changing face: Spooky costumes yield to mass-market characters

When Marie Chiment was "a poor, starving art student" in the 1970s, she didn't have the wherewithal to create an extravagant Halloween costume. But she had more than enough imagination.

"We were all into black back then, so I got my black dress and put some white tape on it - some full-line and some dotted-line," said the current chair of the Temple University theater department, who is an expert on costume design. "I got a miniature plastic car and taped it on, and suddenly I was a highway."

It wasn't long ago that homemade was standard Halloween fare. There were few off-the-rack offerings, and people who wanted to be something as traditional as a cartoon character still created their own costumes.

But as mass marketers continue to dominate the Halloween scene - think Target, Wal-Mart, and Old Navy - cheap costumes (sometimes as little as $12 each) are an irresistible lure for harried parents who prefer that their child wear something happy, safe, and unintimidating. That protective nature, paired with a powerful media influence, has changed the face, so to speak, of Halloween.

When it comes to children's costumes, goodbye scary bats and ghosts and skeletons. Hello SpongeBob, Dora the Explorer, and Harry Potter.

"There seems to be a growing reluctance on the part of parents and people in schools to have kids don scary personae," said Daniel Cook, director of graduate studies in the department of childhood studies at Rutgers University at Camden, citing children's past preoccupation with ghouls, goblins, and zombies.

Cook said that many parents tend to be more comfortable knowing there is an already established story line associated with characters from sources such as Disney movies and reality TV, even though those costumes convey an inherent lack of creativity.

Target, for instance, offers 75 "classic" costumes in its line, according to spokesperson Tara Schlosser. Yet the most popular ones are hardly classics. Instead, they spring from recent movies: Toy Story 3, Princess and the Frog, Avatar, and Iron Man.

Ella Hashimoto of Mount Laurel was looking with her mother, Monica, for a Snow White costume at Spirit Halloween in Marlton.

"I think at this age, she might be a little bit afraid of being a ghost," Hashimoto said of her 3-year-old. "I think most of the moms are gravitating toward the Disney characters."

Yet when you take away the scary stuff, you remove the opportunity for children to deal with some life-and-death issues in a playful environment. "Psychologists would say that is a good thing, a way to encounter death without really encountering it," said Cook, "but there seems to be an aversion to that now."

Children also won't be as inclined to create an original character with unique motivations: What about a genius zombie satiated only by eating computer programmers?

"It [has become] less about transgressing into an alter ego and more about just mimicking something that is already here," Cook said. "The idea was that you were creative for a day in being something else and then were able to revert back. Being Snooki for a day isn't really doing that."

Speaking of Snooki, and who doesn't these days, her Jersey Shore look is anticipated to be among the most popular female choices for pop-culture costumes (the Situation won't have the same pull for males), said Heather Golin, a spokeswoman for Spirit Halloween, a manufacturer and retailer based in Egg Harbor, N.J.

"We sell a lot of Gumby and Pokey, Elmo and Super Mario," said Golin, who believes that young adult men, the type who still dress up, are more into childhood nostalgia than current characters. Golin also expected Toy Story 3 and Iron Man to be the most popular costumes for kids. Lady Gaga will likely get nods from women.

Despite the lively tenor of the political debate, Spirit Halloween is not stocking many costumes reflecting politicians, Golin said. On a recent shopping trip at the large Cherry Hill store, there was only one Sarah Palin mask and a few Barack Obamas - no Glenn Becks or Jon Stewarts in sight.

But what child wants to be a politician - especially in a less-than-exciting midterm-election year - when the Disney Channel, Disney stores, and Disney online make the company's characters so appealing, abundant, and cheap?

Besides, that easy access also takes the pressure off time-starved parents to create a costume from scratch. The bar is lower - but that's OK.

"It is not a horrible decision," said Cook. "No one is going to get hurt by it. At least they are doing something on the holiday."

Henri David, best known for hosting Philadelphia's most prominent Halloween party for 42 years, believes that making an honest effort to dress up can transform a person - at least for a day.

"I find people who go all out really enjoy it, and they don't have to spend a lot of money. Just invest a little time and effort," said David. "I think Halloween is the time for the person's real soul to come out. You get to experience the world from the other side."

For Brandon Callahan of Marlton, Harry Potter will be his "other" ego this year.

"This is what his friends are doing," said his father, Jeff. "Besides, at 8, what is cooler than being Harry Potter?"