[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Halloween has become the high holy day for many. It gets almost as much attention as Christmas.

Some people go hog wild with goofy decorations. I see that as harmless fun.

The trend that concerns me is the trend toward goriness in the paper stores and transient Halloween stores. Some of the stuff is very morbid and gruesome.

Goriness has always had an appeal to a segment of society. Some people like the shock value, but other people seem to have a perverse liking for it. I've lived for a while, and I've noticed a rapid and disturbing increase in interest.

I see it as more of a reflection of our culture's declining spiritual state, rather than a cause of it.

[fwdude]

True. Halloween costumes used to be cartoon-ish, very unreal and decidedly fantasy. Nowadays, they try to replicate the gore in a shockingly realistic manner.