What Fresh Hell is Halloween?

How has Halloween become a days-long, massively involved and expensive holiday? What happened to the good old days of stumbling around the neighborhood in a Barbie mask you could barely breathe in with a pillowcase full of candy? Here's how Halloween went from just spooky to spooky consumerist.

Amy and Margaret discuss:

• How Halloween has lost its truly spooky nature over the years
• The origins of the Switch Witch
• Their favorite Halloween costumes growing up

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

• Paige Pickett for Kids Out and About: Mom Saves Halloween for her Son with the Switch Witch
• Primary Kids' Costumes
• Melissa Willets for Parents Magazine: Is the Switch Witch Brewing Up Some Controversy This Halloween?
• Maura Judkis for Boston.com: With huge skeletons, the yard-decorating arms race heats up
• Lori Ferraro for LikeTotally80s.com: The Mask Makes It - Halloween Costumes of the 1980s
• National Retail Federation: Halloween Spending to Reach Record $12.2 Billion as Participation Exceeds Pre-Pandemic Levels
• Kurt Andersen: FANTASYLAND - How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History
• Marianna Cerini for CNN Style: From pagan spirits to Wonder Woman: A brief history of the Halloween costume
• Charles Moss for Slate: How Ben Cooper Changed Halloween Forever

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