Harger: Your 1980s Halloween costume would get you fired today
Oct 31, 2025, 7:57 AM | Updated: 3:18 pm
Children in costume trick-or-treat at a house on Halloween. (Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
(Photo: Brandon Bell, Getty Images)
And if anyone from KIRO HR is reading this, now would be a great time to switch over to Seattle Sports. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
When I was a kid in the ’70s and early ’80s, Halloween costumes were … simpler. By “simpler,” I mean problematic.
We didn’t buy them at Target or Spirit Halloween. We raided Dad’s closet, stole Mom’s eyeliner, and hoped for the best.
One year, I went as a “hobo.” Twice, actually. I didn’t even know what that word meant. I just knew it involved rumpled old dirty clothes, charcoal smudged on my cheeks, and a stick with a red handkerchief on the end.
That was just what kids did back then. You dressed as a train-hopping drifter and went door-to-door asking for candy.
Another year, I went as a ghost. White sheet. Two holes for eyes.
Today? Yeah, that’s a hard no.
More than a few kids had paper feather headbands and plastic tomahawks. Bows and arrows. Can you imagine that today?
And every year, someone’s dad showed up in a giant sombrero and a fake mustache with a plastic six-shooter on their hip. Back then, it got laughs. Today, it would get a meeting with HR.
It was a different time.
For us kids, we didn’t think in terms of “problematic.” We thought in terms of “cheap.”
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What are the costumes today that, 40 years from now, will make people cringe?
Maybe the kid dressed as a “social media influencer” who carries a selfie ring light and a fake sponsorship deal.
Or the “AI robot” costume, which will seem really offensive once the machines are running the planet.
Or the “tech billionaire” outfit: hoodie, sneakers, emotional detachment. An easy costume now, a scandal later.
Still, I love Halloween. I love that for one night, everyone steps outside themselves. Just some more literally than others.
And I especially love seeing the kids who come to our door.
We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, but I made myself a promise back then: When it was my turn to hand out candy, I’d do it right. No fun-size nonsense. Full-size bars.
And tonight, I’m keeping that promise. We’ve got the big Snickers. The big M&M’s. The full-size 100 Grand bars.
So have fun tonight, get a designated driver, and may your costume, whatever it is, still be socially acceptable in 40 years.
That’s the commentary for Oct. 31. Text us at (888) 973-5476 or leave a comment at MyNorthwest.
Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here.
