While Halloween tends to be a light-hearted holiday characterized by children dressing up in cute costumes and going from house to house asking for candy, it has a dark side.
While the holiday has drastically changed from its origins when the Celts actually celebrated the evils of the world, its modern appearance — the one associated with carved pumpkins and children in costumes — is not as harmless as it seems. Halloween weekend has largely been associated with increased crime rates and this past Halloweekend was no exception.
According to an article by the LA Times, authorities reported 11 dead, with over 70 more injured in shootings taking place across the nation at Halloween outings.
The pairing of Halloween and crime is no new fad – unfortunately, the Halloween season is one often accompanied by an increase in gun violence, theft and driving under the influence. With the festivities starting during what some call Halloweekend, which kicked off this Friday, so did the violence with various shootings taking place across the country.
That includes a mass shooting outside a bar in Tampa, Florida. A Halloween house party in San Antonio, Texas turned violent leaving a couple dead and their 13-year-old injured. As of now, 11 are confirmed dead and an estimated 70 more are injured from shootings related directly to Halloween parties.
Jayce Woodward, a sophomore communications major at USC, echoed some of the fears of those who were hoping to go out and enjoy the festivities.
“I feel like if I went out now, if it was like a big place, I would definitely be scared,” Woodward said. “And honestly, maybe [I will] not even go. It depends what it is. I would have to see relative size, but definitely pepper spray always.”
Ella Rae Peterchak, a USC sophomore studying global geodesign, said she plans accordingly knowing the risks.
“I definitely make sure to go with a group of people and also make sure that we have each other’s locations and have a plan before we go out,” Peterchak said.
Halloween night hasn’t even taken place yet, and that’s when Halloween-related crime is expected to reach its height. According to data by Travelers insurance, on average crime-related insurance claims increase by 24% on Halloween, which is the highest of any individual day of the year.
USC public safety Chief David L. Carlisle had some advice for students who still want to join in on the fun while remaining safe.
“If you’re going to go out, go with a group, take advantage of the free Lyft rides offered to our students,” Carlisle said. “Not walking alone after dark is good advice in any big city. It’s not unique to USC. If you’re going to go to a social event where alcohol is served, don’t drink from a source that you didn’t see… Don’t drink and drive, which fortunately due to the free Lyft is not a problem here at USC. But I would just say make smart decisions.”
Another scary part about Halloween is its future environmental impact.
Halloween is one of the largest waste-contributing holidays. According to a study conducted by Hubbub, 83% of Halloween costumes used non-recyclable oil-based plastics which means they had no choice but to end up in landfills.
The 5.4 million kilograms of textile waste that results from the throwing away of Halloween costumes does not even take into account the waste from the millions of dollars of individually-plastic-wrapped candy that also piles up in these landfills.
The even scarier truth — that costume you bought in 2022 might still be around to haunt your ancestors in 2200 as it can take up to 200 years for some of these polyester costumes to fully decompose.
Peterchak is one student trying to enjoy the holiday festivities while limiting the negative impact she has.
“Sometimes I’ll scrounge something up from what I have already,” Peterchak said. “And then sometimes I’ll also buy a few things, but I try to limit the things I buy. The new clothing costume items that I wouldn’t really use another time. Or if I do get new stuff, I try to buy something that I think I would wear again.”
Future disaster is not the only concern as Halloween directly impacts not only people in these environments but also animals. From fake cobwebs to floating ghosts, while most decorations don’t give most people a scare, they can be life threatening for our nonhuman neighbors.
Specifically the fake spiderwebs that can be found in most neighborhoods draped over trees and hedges can be a real threat to wildlife as creatures can easily become stuck in these sticky thick webs.
Almost all types of small critters are at risk, but birds are at an especially high risk. While animal services has been called in to rescue trapped animals such as a screech owl found in a Novato family’s front yard decorations a couple years ago, most animals aren’t as lucky as they are unable to escape. Many die from starvation.
“Any time you’re putting something that is plastic and not a natural fiber in any shape or form ... into the environment, you are going to get animals tangled up in it,” Alison Hermance told LA Times reporters.
Hermance works for WildCare, a wildlife hospital and educational organization in the Bay Area. She noted that of all the holiday decorations, fake webs and string lights are the most perilous to wildlife and said the safest bet is to just avoid them altogether as they are also not easily reusable.