Candy, costumes . . . and capital

From witches to ghosts and pumpkins to haunted hayrides, Halloween is a lot of fun. It’s also a monstrous money maker. Businesses like Wal-Mart have had Halloween items out on the floor since August, and marketing firms make sure their clients are positioning themselves for a profitable Halloween months in advance through advertisements, catalogs and by simply posing the question “what are you going to be for Halloween this year?” It is estimated that Halloween generated more than $7 billion across the country last year. Wal-Mart alone is expecting customers to spend $4.96 billion, and other companies have jumped on the band wagon. Locally, area CVS and Eckard pharmacies have had aisles lined with Halloween decorations and candy for weeks, and big grocery stores somehow manage to move the food aside and add one or two aisles dedicated to Halloween front and center. At Shop Rite in Stanhope, a huge, inflatable ghoulish green biker carrying pumpkins can be yours for $39.99, or if you wend your way toward the frozen food section, you’ll see a huge “tornado” skull head ball you can get for your lawn for $59.99. As kids, many of us used to get excited when we saw the Halloween candy displays appear - in October. Today, better make that August. Second only to Christmas in consumer spending, Halloween takes up more and more time on the calendar each year. For many, Halloween is a time for guiltless splurging on your child, or if you’re invited to a costume party, yourself. What other time of the year do you have carte blanche to spend an inordinate amount of money on something you’re only going to wear once? And Sussex County farmers aren’t complaining about Halloween. It gives the public complete justification to spend $15 for an overgrown gourd they plan on gutting and leaving outside, probably to be smashed on Halloween night by local teenagers Gary Post, owner of Sussex County Strawberry Farm in Andover, says when his family-owned business started seeing Halloween getting bigger and bigger, they added pumpkins to their business as “something extra.” Now, pumpkin sales account for a third of their profits and they’ve added hayrides. “We have pumpkins in early September,” Post says, “Usually people see them and pick up some small ones then come back for bigger ones as Halloween approaches.” In addition to pumpkins, Post credits the ever-growing commercialization of Halloween to increased mum sales. Some farms, like Sleepy Hills Orchard in Westtown, N.Y., market themselves as a “family tradition” to bring in customers for the season. Others, including Windy Brow, in Newton, draw customers in with weekend wagon rides and special Halloween and seasonal gift baskets. Every October, The New Jersey Halloween Horror Company rents space from The Sussex County Fairgrounds to bring Horrorfest to the county. Celebrating its fifth year, the Kearny-based company’s Horrorfest features “terrifying” costumed actors, vampire, alien and Frankenstein exhibits and promises “you won’t want to sleep with the lights off after riding the Haunted Hayride to Hell.” Heaven Hill Farm in Vernon also runs haunted hayrides. Epitomizing the commercialization of Halloween, owner Tony Scarpa said he expects “several thousand” to attend this year’s Horrorfest. At $15 per person, that’s a lot of money. Scarpa and his partners operate the attraction as a side business, saying, “We all have full-time jobs too.” Bill Ferrante, manager of Shop Rite Liquors in Stanhope, said he’s “sad” about the turn most holidays have taken. “Do people realize why we’re celebrating most of them anymore?” he questioned. But, just as the rest of the commercial sweep, his and other area Shop Rite Liquors in Newton, Franklin and Netcong have jumped on the Halloween band wagon, too, pulling Vampire and Werewolf brand wines to a front end-cap for the season. Seplows, in Newton, has done the same, positioning the Halloween wines just to the right of the checkout counter. When it comes to costumes, you have a choice. You can make your own, you can purchase some and add your own accents, you can buy something economical or you can go crazy and get something outlandish. No matter what your size, costumes are everywhere in stores and online. Bodacious Babes in Ogdensburg has a large stock in all sizes of ready and custom-made costumes and advertise “only one of any costume,” so you won’t see yourself coming and going at the neighborhood party. Regarding costumes and kids, the competition can be all out war to get the “most unique” or “best” costume. Most elementary and middle schools as well as some high schools encourage dressing up. Some parents spend a fortune while others get really creative. Kathie Rohsler, a mother of four who lives in Fredon, refuses to get caught up in Halloween’s commercialism. Over the years, she’s bought some costumes new, but generally she’s a bargain hunter, finding them at garage sales or through catalogs like Lillian Vernon right after Halloween. “Thinking Halloween” has become a year-round pre-occupation for those who want to get a good deal. Fast food chains clean up with Halloween specials. Dunkin’ Donuts, for instance, brings in pumpkin spice donuts, pumpkin muffins topped with streusel, cinnamon coffee, and an apple cider donut topped with cinnamon icing and colorful fall sprinkles for the season. At Clove Brook Market in Wantage, owner Kim Sytsema said she doesn’t over-commercialize Halloween. She agrees businesses “bring out Halloween” earlier and earlier each year, but at Clove Brook, she waits until October to put pumpkin faces on cookies and other baked goods. But by Aug. 31, Clove Brook offers pumpkin muffins and bread and “customers can’t wait until we bring out our cider donuts.” Located in the heart of Sussex County, just outside of Newton, Lentini’s produce creates a 10-acre corn maze each year. The maze is open during the day, but the big attraction is the Halloween twist Lentini’s adds to the maze at night. Kids like Kittatinny Middle School seventh grader Amber Weaver can’t wait to get lost in Lentini’s “creepy” night corn. Every Friday and Saturday night from dusk until 10 p.m., you can bring your own flashlight or rent one for a fee, and try to navigate through the 13-foot tall corn. “It’s commercial, but it’s hard to resist,” said Budd Lake’s Karen Cascella while shopping in the Newton Wal-Mart. “They put out the cute little shirts with the cute Halloween sayings and characters on them and you just have to buy one for your grandchild or yourself.” People have been complaining for years about Christmas taking up a ridiculous amount of the calendar. Christmas slowly infiltrated November with the “door buster” sales the morning after Thanksgiving, then it covered more and more of November until it butted up against Halloween itself. Now Halloween is taking over September and even dipping into August. Ads are all over the papers for Halloween this or that these days. Glossy centerfolds advertise candy sales and decorations of all types. Rag Shop even has an ad showing dogs in costumes and the pattern number you can buy to make a costume for your pooch. It seems the only businesses that have missed the boat by not advertising are the dentists and gyms. With all that candy, it’s surprising they haven’t jumped on the Halloween band wagon.