How to keep the faith (and the fun) this Halloween

Every October, some Christians wrestle with how to handle the season of ghosts and goblins. The evening before All Hallows’ Day — meant to honor the saints — has long since been hijacked by darker themes.

As the Babylon Bee recently joked, the parental mood this time of year can swing between cautious curiosity and comic dread. Its headline read: “Mom Can’t Decide Between Allowing Her Kids to Dress Up for Halloween or Having Them Get to Heaven.”

Plenty of kids and parents still favor clever over creepy — even if most Halloween events these days lean more toward horror-movie grotesque than good-natured fun.

Halloween may have gone off the rails since my childhood, but families can still enjoy the “scary stuff” without getting cozy with the occult.

Between church services that mark the feast of All Saints and wholesome fall festivities, there’s room for fun without flirting with the demonic. I’ve seen it firsthand.

A nod to more innocent times

When I was growing up in Pittsburgh, my siblings and I spent many happy hours at the Sarah Heinz House, a youth club sponsored by the H.J. Heinz Company. Think of it as a hometown version of the YMCA — a place where kids could swim, play, and learn, without a screen in sight. Sadly, the complex was turned into apartment loft space in the early 2000s after more than a century of serving the community.

Every Halloween, the club hosted a costume party. Back in the mid-1960s, devil horns and fake blood were still frowned upon, so creativity mattered. One year, I cut arm and neck holes in a 13-gallon black trash bag, slipped it on, and topped it with a bamboo rice hat.

I went as a “Chinese Garbage Bag.” Somehow, I won “Most Original Costume.” (No, the prize wasn’t a bottle of Heinz ketchup.) Today, that outfit would probably get me thrown out before I reached the door for “cultural appropriation.”

Even so, the spirit of ingenuity survives. Plenty of kids and parents still favor clever over creepy — even if most Halloween events these days lean more toward horror-movie grotesque than good-natured fun.

Some families simply skip the whole thing. They hand out candy at the door and call it a night. That’s fine too.

New York’s Halloween capital

Here in my current corner of the world — Tarrytown, New York — avoiding Halloween takes real effort. The town goes all in. It’s bigger than Christmas.

Washington Irving, America’s first literary celebrity, rests behind the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, made famous by “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” The story comes alive every October with parades, tours, and re-enactments.

At the end of the annual parade, the Headless Horseman rides through town, pumpkin in hand, to the crowd’s delight. The celebration owes more to folklore than witchcraft — this isn’t Salem, after all — and it gives locals a fun, spooky way to honor a beloved American story.

Not everything hits the right note, though. Some newer attractions in the nearby Rockefeller Preserve have turned too gruesome, especially in 2023, when organizers displayed gore-soaked scenes just weeks after the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. Even Halloween should have limits.

Scary, but silly

For families who prefer their frights with a laugh, I recommend a few old-school classics. Start with Disney’s 1949 animated “Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” narrated by Bing Crosby. It’s a perfect mix of charm and chills.

My personal favorite — any time of year — is “The Ghost and Mr. Chicken” (1966), starring Don Knotts. It’s delightfully corny and just spooky enough. “Atta boy, Luther!”

And if you’re in the mood for something truly obscure but delightful, you can find my own 1992 amateur film “The Chartreuse Goose” in two parts on YouTube. Think of it as my humble homage to Don Knotts, made with more enthusiasm than budget.

RELATED: Vampires, werewolves, and the very real evil stalking our souls

Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Books for the brave

For those who like their autumn reading with a hint of the supernatural, Jonathan Cahn’s “The Avatar” fits the season. It builds on his earlier book “The Return of the Gods” and offers a sobering look at modern spiritual forces disguised as politics.

For little ones wrestling with nighttime fears, my children’s book “Hamster Holmes: Afraid of the Dark?” might be a gentler companion — no ghosts required.

The light beyond the lanterns

Whatever your family’s approach, October doesn’t have to be a tug-of-war between faith and fun. You can honor the saints, roast a few marshmallows, and maybe laugh at Don Knotts along the way.

Then, as Halloween fades and November begins, we move toward the true seasons of joy — Thanksgiving and Christmas — where the light always wins out.

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at American Thinker.