‘I miss the way Halloween used to be’: KIRO producer says community spirit has vanished

As Seattle winds down from another Halloween celebration full of fun-sized candy, niche costumes, and illuminated pumpkins, “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio questioned whether the holiday has lost its touch since years past.

KIRO producer Andrew Lanier stated he misses the community aspect of Halloween, where neighbors were excited to pass out candy to children in creative costumes, rather than turning the lights off for the night.

“I miss the way Halloween used to be, because it used to be a much more quaint, community-centric, neighborhood-centric event,” Andrew said. “Now, in our neighborhood, there aren’t houses that give away candy anymore. Very few people decorate, and almost no one gives away candy, which is such a reversal from years in the past.”

KIRO host Ursula Reutin shared a specific trick-or-treating experience she had as a kid, similar to many others who participated in Halloween celebrations over the years.

“When I was a kid, Halloween was my favorite because we would get pillow cases and trick-or-treat. We would go for hours and hours until that pillow case was full,” Ursula said. “When I was 13, I still tried to trick-or-treat, and we were told by one of our neighbors that we were too old to trick-or-treat. I felt so ashamed. We were all decked out in cute outfits.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.