Lee Suckling: The rise of Halloween in NZ

A stream of teen horror films whet our impressionable palates for all things frightful, writes Lee Suckling. Photo / 123RF

It wasn't easy growing up in New Zealand in the early 90s and trying to trick-or-treat. At seven or eight years old we were keen as jelly beans to dress up in sheets and Spiderman costumes, and knock on the doors that surrounded our houses with candy requests. Our neighbours, however, were never so enthused. "We don't believe in Halloween" was the most common phase to hear as we door knocked on 31 October. "It's a silly American thing."

Silly - we didn't think so. But American, yes. And that's why we yearned for Halloween. Many will agree, at least partially, than New Zealand was a very unexciting place to be a child in the 80s and most of the 90s. Sure, it was safe, and we could climb trees and swim in lakes and ride our bikes 'til dark. But that's not what made it somewhat dull: it was seeing American life presented to us on the small screen, and feeling a world away from it. It was prom kings and beauty queens, football teams and red convertibles at 16: the aspects of McAmerican culture that seemed so unattainably cool.

Halloween was at the top of the list for American cultural realities we wanted replicated in New Zealand. We wanted to carve pumpkins. We wanted to see our streets kitted out with haunted house garb. We wanted scary movie nights with popcorn and orange and black M&Ms.

Much of this was brought on by The Simpsons' Halloween specials. Known, I am told, as the Treehouse of Horror series, these Simpsons episodes were an annual event from 1990 onwards, and spawned a whole merchandised world - from a figurines and video games to even a special Treehouse of Horror Monopoly set. Characters such as Vampire Burns and the Devil-Flanders became revered, and so did our (blood) thirst for a yearly celebration of all things ghoulish; complete with full pomp and ceremony.

This was one of the problems with growing up as the VCR generation. Right up until our teenage years, we'd find TV shows and films that represented our ideal way of life, and force our parents to let us continually watch the home-recorded tapes, month after month, so we could "re-live" idealised American culture. Taped Simpsons Halloween specials from various years took up sizable real estate in my family's TV cabinet, for sure; and there was always a tantrum when someone recorded over one of them.

Save for a few oddities at The Warehouse, Halloween costumes were hard to come by in New Zealand until the late 1990s. Only after a stream of teen horror films (which whet our impressionable palates for all things frightful) did the market catch on, realising there was money to be made in New Zealand in the lead up to 31 October.

Scream masks. Fisherman's hooks. Leatherfaces. Thanks to the popularity of Jennifer Love Hewitt and co., Halloween paraphernalia was not just something from the silver screen. We could buy it down the Red Shed and have teenage gatherings in full spooky getup.

Though not nearly to the extent of our American dreams, Halloween has proliferated in New Zealand since the millennium. It has continually evolved, too. The release of Mean Girls in 2004 taught us that Halloween costumes could not just be scary, but slutty, too. It became acceptable - even expected - for at least one friend to go full-Amityville on their house and host a proper party; complete with invitations for multiple cross-dressing attempts à la Frank-N-Furter. A generation of Halloween-keen parents, now, are even dressing up their little gremlins as actual little gremlins. We've gone off our heads for Halloween.

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Recently, though, Halloween antics have started to become distasteful. The torture-porn popularisation brought on by the Saw franchise has seen costumes trend away from the cute and slightly scary, and closer to the macabre; even unsightly. Anyone who has seen bloody zipper face make-up will see how realistic at-home costuming has become, and how genuinely frightening it is for those who aren't participating in Halloween (particularly children, which seems counter-productive as this whole celebration is so kids can have a bit of fun dressing up).

Likewise, as our world seemingly becomes a darker place, there are ethics around certain costume choices. It seems wrong to maim or be-head yourself for the purpose of dress-ups, as public beheadings by terrorists groups are actually making the news right now. TIME magazine has even reported surging popularity in Ebola-themed Halloween costumes, which is nothing but foul taste considering the epidemic has killed almost 5000 people of late.

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We're a culture that loves hysteria, and Halloween is a great vehicle for which people can go nuts. Is it an important celebration? Absolutely not. But if it brings communities and friends together, most of us are all for it. That will be, of course, until we see Islamic State costumes come out.