Less gore for more family-friendly Halloween

IF HALLOWEEN does not seem as spine-tingly scary this year, you are not imagining it.

Retailers selling Halloween costumes and goods say they are consciously trying to lower the scare factor of Halloween to make it more family friendly.

Sam Singh, manager of The Warehouse, Tory St in Wellington, said: ‘‘It’s going away from all the gore. It’s essentially a trade-off, with kids enjoying themselves and not being too frightened to go to sleep that night.’’

That trend was reflected in some of the costumes available this year, with Star Wars storm troopers, giant baby faces and pumpkin pinatas jostling for space with the scary gear.

Singh said adults tended to go for the more traditional options such as monks, vampires, gas masks and grim reapers.

Prisoner, police officer and nurse outfits also lined the racks for those who just want to dress up.

‘‘After school or after work, we see a whole lot of people fooling around trying things on.’’

Retailers have noted the largely American tradition is becoming increasingly popular with Kiwis.

‘‘Every year it grows bigger and bigger,’’ Singh said.

He put it down to savvy marketing and the release of scary movies timed around October 31.

‘‘What’s helping us this year is Halloween falling on a Saturday. People have worked out that you can have parties happening on it.’’

Peter Bunn, owner of the Pete’s Emporium chain in Wellington, agreed that Halloween had a bit of a holiday tinge about it.

‘‘I always think of it as a lead-in to the party season . . . and I think a Halloween’s a good excuse for a themed party.’’

Halloween was a big part of his business, which was known for its costumes. ‘‘We’ve been flat out pretty much all month. The next 10 days will be pretty busy.’’

Hot sellers this year were monster bride outfits for the kids, bloodied nurses and doctors, decorations and life-size skeletons, Bunn said.

‘‘Some people spend a lot of money, they get pretty excited. And we also get quite a lot of Americans through. It’s so big over there, it’s just something they’re used to doing.’’