Halloween is the one night of the year when a dark street, creaking door and stranger in a mask are part of the fun.
For some people, that’s the appeal. For others, the season’s real magic is in the pumpkins, costumes, candy and the chance to make an ordinary October night feel different.
It’s no secret I’m firmly in another group. In a chaotic and scary real world, I find comfort in Christmas — in the lights, music and joy. Halloween makes me wonder: Why do some people like Halloween at all?
The answer may have something to do with control. But first, Halloween’s history helps explain how a night once associated with spirits and the dead became a holiday built around costumes, parties and candy.
Halloween’s roots stretch back centuries
Halloween’s origins are commonly traced to Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead grew thin around Oct. 31, allowing spirits to return. Bonfires and costumes were part of the observance.
The holiday took shape over time as Christian traditions and older seasonal customs blended.
The church established All Saints’ Day on Nov. 1 and All Souls’ Day on Nov. 2.
The night before All Saints’ Day became known as All Hallows’ Eve — eventually shortened to Halloween.
In medieval Europe, “souling” involved people going door to door to offer prayers for the dead in exchange for food. In Ireland and Scotland, “guisers” dressed in disguise and performed songs or poems for treats.
Halloween arrived in the United States with European immigrants, including Irish and Scottish families.
By the 19th century, autumn gatherings and Halloween mischief were becoming more common.
Trick-or-treating, however, is a much more recent tradition. It spread in North America during the 1920s and 1930s, then grew into the familiar neighborhood ritual as postwar suburbs expanded and individually wrapped candy became easier to hand out.
How Halloween became a modern holiday
Today’s Halloween is both a community celebration and a major retail season.
Costumes and decorations have grown beyond children’s parties and front porches: adults dress up, families decorate their homes and yards, and haunted attractions invite visitors to step into elaborate, frightening settings.
Spending reflects the holiday’s expanding reach. The National Retail Federation expects U.S. Halloween spending to reach $13.5 billion in 2026, slightly above the record $13.1 billion estimated for 2025. The average shopper plans to spend about $115.
The holiday is also starting earlier. Nearly half of shoppers surveyed said they planned to begin Halloween shopping in September or earlier.
The share shopping before October has risen from 34% in 2016 to 49% this year, according to the NRF. That helps turn Halloween from a single night into a season of decorating, shopping, parties and events.
Why do people enjoy being scared?
Psychologists say the setting matters.
A haunted house or horror movie can trigger the body’s fear response — a racing heart and a rush of adrenaline — while the person experiencing it knows they are safe.
That switch between fear and relief may be part of the pleasure.
Emory University psychologist Kenneth Carter describes horror as a way to practice being afraid in a controlled environment.
For some people, a scary story also offers emotional release: the chance to feel intense fear, then watch it pass.
People differ in how much of that experience they enjoy, Carter said; some seek out thrills while others, like me, would rather not spend their leisure time bracing for a jump scare.
Horror also reflects the fears of its time. Monsters can stand in for cultural anxieties, giving audiences a way to encounter difficult ideas through fiction.
