Malls to spread Halloween spirit
Halloween has been traditionally celebrated for years up and down deadly dark neighborhoods, with children disguised as shocking witches and nightmarish members of the undead, but a different trend has arisen that is slightly less treacherous for parents to comprehend.
Malls transform themselves according to the seasons, celebrating a large scope of holidays.
Many expect the Shops of Mission Viejo to be saturated with boisterous children.
“I expect to see a lot of people there on Halloween,” said International Patrol Corporation guard Brett Vasquez. “The reason why parents bring their children is it is safe and there is a lot of stuff there for little kids.”
Parents think that malls are less spooky than pitch-black neighborhoods.
The mall is an attraction designated more for younger children than teenagers. But teenagers show up as well on Halloween.”The mall closes at 9 p.m.” Express employee Rebecca Woods, 18, broadcast journalism said. “Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been to the mall on Halloween. People can wear costumes, but no masks. I think there’s an area with candy and prizes for little kids, but there will be no mazes.”
Meanwhile at the Irvine Spectrum, there will not be any frivolity on Halloween.
“There isn’t anything at the Irvine Spectrum this year for Halloween,” said Guest Services employee Bora Titizer. “In previous years, we had a haunted house. I don’t know if any stores or anyone will have candy for trick-or-treaters.”
But this lack of celebration at the Irvine Spectrum will not be proudly supported by the Laguna Hills Mall, which had a Halloween craft event a couple of weeks ago and is anticipating many stores to pass out candy on Halloween day.
“A lot of our stores, about 25, are going to hand out candy,” said Marketing assistant Mikala Gluckman. “The craft event was put on by the marketing office. It had nothing to do with the stores in the mall.”
The Laguna Hills Mall is not actually forcing the stores to participate on Halloween.
“Some [stores] will pass out candy all day, some only in the evening,” Gluckman said. “It’s their call. We’re not making any store pass out candy.”
The Laguna Hills Mall will be open until 9 p.m. on Oct. 31. To find out more information on which stores will be distributing candy, their website can be reached through www.simon.com and clicking on Laguna Hills Mall.
The Shops of Mission Viejo will be open until 9 p.m. on Oct. 31 as well since they are both under the Simon umbrella.
The Irvine Spectrum is open on weekdays until 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
However, there are no Halloween-related events.