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Participants in an escape room at Breakout Games try to unlock a room as part of their effort to "escape" the room. Escape rooms have become popular on Halloween.(Photo: Breakout Games)
Want to hear something scary?
OK, so maybe it's more eye-opening than scary. Either way, it might make you scream – in surprise.
Halloween spending this year is expected to total $ 9 billion, according to the National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual survey. That's "billion" with a "b," as in "boo."
It 's a lot of money to spend for a good scare.
Whether Halloween is actually the second most popular U.S. holiday, as widely touted, is open to debate. In fact, in dollars and cents, it definitely is not. A closer look at NRF statistics reveals that Americans actually spend more on a variety of holidays – Easter, Valentine 's Day, Mother' s Day, Father 's Day, even the Super Bowl – than Halloween. And all of them are dwarfed by the winner-for-life Christmas season and other winter holidays.
Decorating for Halloween can be fun for the family and affordable. (Photo: Getty Images / iStockphoto)
Still, Halloween is big business and continues to grow in terms of how much people are willing to spend. This year's estimated $ 9 trillion was down slightly last year's record $ 9.1 trillion, NRF goal tracking shows spending at least $ 6.9 trillion each year since 2012.
So with all these scary-big numbers being tossed about, what exactly are people spending it on? Obviously, there are costumes, candy, parties. But how are they spending their time – and money – to celebrate?
We will not recap the various local events that will help you get your spook on. Writer Bob Mehr already did that, and you can get the full rundown in his story at commercialappeal.com.
Instead, we offer a look at some Halloween facts and trends – where do you go from here?
Escape your fears
A twist to the traditional haunted house, escape rooms are gaining popularity in a destination for groups seeking a bit of a challenge with a thrown into the mix.
"Everybody has kind of caught the bug," says Kelly Verdoorn, manager of Breakout Games at 2965 N. Germantown Parkway. "Especially during holidays, when families are together, we are going to have a group of people and we are going to be more socially interactive."
Escape rooms have been on the scene for a number of years, and there are multiple businesses offering the experience in the Memphis metro area. They are typical of a group of people who work together to help them solve their problems.
Breakout offers a dungeon-like room in which participants are blindfolded and handcuffed around. After an audio introduction, blindfolds are removed and participants will be able to work on their own devices.
No one is actually locked in the room – participants can leave their head at any time – and they get clues to nudge them in the right direction on solving puzzles.
"I would say it's more suspenseful than scary," said Verdoorn of the experience, "there are some creepy aspects to the game."
Clues can be adjusted to accommodate different age groups and skill levels, said Verdoorn, adding that the real goal is just to have fun in a setting that promotes interactivity.
It's all about the costume
The most expensive part of Halloween, according to the personal finance website, is costumes. The site says nearly 70 percent of Americans will spend $ 3.2 billion on them.
These are not just the cheap, pre-packaged costumes with a rubber-band mask that many adults wore as kids. Adults also spend big bucks on elaborate party costumes that can quickly become costly.
The most popular costumes?
For adults, 2018 are witches, vampires, zombies, pirates and Avengers characters.
For children, the top choices are princess, superhero, Batman, Star Wars and a witch.
But those are just the generic costumes. Pop culture is always reflected in Halloween as well, with newsy events from the year sure to pop up at parties.
In that spirit, a sampling of costumes that elitedaily.com says you can expect to see, if you have not already, at parties
- MEGHAN MARKLE AND PRINCE HARRY: Royal weddings always inspire imitation in the form of Halloween costumes, and this one will be no exception. Expect to see plenty of couples.
- TONYA HARDING: The gift that keeps on giving, figure skater Tonya Harding is a blast from the past who is sure to reappear this Halloween season, thanks to the 2017 movie "I, Tonya."
- BLACK PANTHER: What is there to say? The hit movie "Black Panther" was a sure-fire candidate from the get-go for imitation in the form of Halloween costumes this year.
Well-dressed pets
Costumes for pets is a big thing, especially among Millennials. (Photo: Robin Zielinski / Sun-News)
And then there's the dog, cat or other pet. They have to be well-dressed for the holiday also.
The Balance says 20 percent of Americans – up from 16 percent in 2017 – will buy suits for their pets. Millennials are most likely to dress Fluffy or Mr. Bojangles.
The top pet costumes are: Pumpkin, hot dog, bee bumble, devil and (for dogs) a cat. No word on whether or not they are so excited about dressing up a dog.
The bottom line
What's the real takeaway from all this? Any real meaning beyond some holiday fun? Well, yes. When dollars and cents are involved, there's always a tangible bottom line.
The Balance notes that halloween spending is An important indicator of how much retailers will be in the future, which is roughly 20 percent of annual retail sales.
And it's about 5.9 percent of its total from the retail industry.
"Strong retail sales make it more likely that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates," the website notes. The Federal Open Market Committee is always looking for signs of a healthy economy.
"Record-setting retail sales are a critical component."
HALLOWEEN MOVIES: All of the 'Halloween' movies, ranked (where new Jamie Lee Curtis sequel)
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