[addtoany]

Halloween is my most favorite time of the year. And clearly I am not alone in this obsession: NPR recently reported on some interesting statistics from the National Retail Federation, which affirm that around 75 million adults will don costumes for the holiday.

Rather than go out tomorrow night amidst the costumed madness, I will be home watching scary movies and, pending I can actually find one (curse you, Target), playing a Ouija board.

We don’t get many trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, which is a good thing because I’ve already eaten all the candy. But from the looks of it, those who do expect pint-sized candy beggars at their front door tomorrow night will likely see an onslaught of Elsas and Olafs from Disney’s Frozen. (Or perhaps this sexy Olaf. Yes that’s real. And it sold out.) Frozen-themed ensembles are this year’s hottest costumes, garnering about 1,192,000 searches on the Internet according to Forbes.

Back in the pre-Frozen days, children dressed up…in well, rather terrifying masks and clown costumes. Flipping through these various snapshots, I’m actually thankful for Frozen. Look for yourself…if you dare. (*Ominous laugh*)

Kids all decked out for All Hallows’ Eve at West Seattle’s High Point circa 1943

Children in costumes at Rainier Beach, no date given; Courtesy of the Seattle Municpal Archives

Children with “rattle boxes” preparing to collect money and treats on Fastelavn, which is sometimes described as the Nordic Halloween

And now for a few snapshots that are a little less terrifying:

Courtesy of MOHAI

Occupy protesters carve their message into pumpkins, circa 2011; photo by John Henderson

Ghosts, circa 2011; Credit: Daniel Spils