(2 of 2)
Costume shops have also made quick changes for the late-fall season. Marge Olszewski at the Mar Ray Costume Shop in Palatine, Ill., has buried the sheik's robes and turbans in the back room, while scrambling to locate George Washington or Abraham Lincoln disguises. Says Patti Rogers, rental-costume manager at Norcostco Atlanta Costumes: "We've had an increase in people looking for Uncle Sam or Statue of Liberty costumes." Norcostco has dropped its traditional store-window motif: coffins.
At Cesar Inc., a Manhattan manufacturer specializing in masks of pols and celebs, the most popular icons are George W. Bush, Laura Bush, Colin Powell, Dick Cheney and Bill Clinton. ("Clinton sells every year," says Cesar manager Bruce Braun. "He's going to become the next Nixon.") The sleeper seller this year is the Giuliani, which is getting orders from all over the country. "It's unheard of," Braun says. "Usually, no city wants to wear somebody else's mayor."
The real Giuliani had to consult with security experts before approving this year's Village Halloween Parade, a glitzy, 28-year New York tradition. The theme this year is "Phoenix," a call to the city to rebuild itself. Instead of the usual dancing skeletons, the parade will be led by a 16-ft. phoenix rising out of the ashes of a New York skyline (without the World Trade Center towers) and carried by 10 handlers singing New York, New York.
The holiday's approach has put new dilemmas before parents--not just how much candy to let the kids eat but also what to do if a kid dressed in a haz-mat suit comes to the door. Do you have to explain to your kids what the garb is for? And what if a "terrorist" shows up for trick or treat? "I'd just not open it," says Ann Corrao, a Gwinnett County, Ga., real estate agent and mother of two. "Maybe I'll put up a sign, NO OSAMAS WELCOME!" She's also considering letting her kids go trick-or-treating, then gathering up the candy and throwing it out. "They've got braces anyway, so I wouldn't have to tell them it's because I'm worried about anthrax."
So Americans will dance on the grave of their anxieties by going carefully or patriotically or gaudily into that dark night. They will dress as their new and old heroes, looking for blessings in disguise. Or they will support the U.S. by their decision to put on something hideous and partee! In pretending this is a Halloween like any other, they will find the strength to face this Halloween like no other. Perhaps this will give some kind of release--fake fear, real catharsis--to a lot of people for whom the scariest day of the year is now not Oct. 31 but Sept. 11.
--Reported by Leslie Everton Brice/Atlanta, Desa Philadelphia/New York, Jeffrey Ressner/Los Angeles and other bureaus