A Patriotic Halloween
Oct. 4, 2001 — -- How's this for scary: Thousands of Rudolph Giuliani clones will be running loose on the streets of America this Halloween.
Ghosts, skeletons and witches are taking a back seat on fright night. Costume sellers say folks are dressing up as Uncle Sam, Lady Liberty, firefighters and rescue workers, riding a wave of patriotism following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Rubber masks of Gary Condit had expected to be a big seller among adults with a wry sense of humor.
These are the same sort of Halloween revelers, who, in recent years might have gone to costume parties as Monica Lewinsky or Bill Clinton. (Remember, the rubber mask of Richard Nixon ranks up there with Frankenstein among all-time, best-selling Halloween attire).
But this year folks want to be Rudy, the feisty New York mayor who's earned international acclaim in the last few weeks for his leadership.
"The 'Mayor' mask had been retired. We weren't going to make anymore. It sold in New York, but not that much elsewhere," said Brenda Sullivan of Disguise Inc., a wholesaler and Internet retailer of costumes, serving stores such stores as Target and K-Mart.
Predictive Power of Rubber Masks
"Now, it's a surprise hit. And we're getting orders from all over the country. Kids and adults want to be the mayor."
Even to a hardcore liberal, that's no surprise. "Rudy has always been a scary character, so there's a place for him on Halloween," said civil rights lawyer and talk-show host Ron Kuby.
As host of a morning radio show on WABC in New York, Kuby is renowned as one of the city's foremost Rudy-haters. But even he has congratulated the mayor on his performance in the crisis.
Of course, there are other ways to honor America than donning the thin-lipped rubber Rudy mask, which comes complete with a Giuliani comb-over. Another costume flying off the shelves is the "Red Hot" sexy firefighter at Halloween Express, a national chain of more than 80 retail stores.
"This mixes patriotism, heroism and sex appeal. That covers a lot of bases," says John Majdoch, company founder. "Of course some ladies would rather be a sexy Statue of Liberty."
Is the Halloween costume any indication of a national trend? "You bet," says Majdoch. He says he has accurately predicted every presidential election since 1980. "Go back and look at my press releases," he says.
"I said at Halloween last year that Bush would win a close election. Slightly more people went wore Bush outfits. I could have saved this country a lot of time and money if only people would listen."
A Tough Time for the Fright Industry
The Sept. 11 attacks couldn't have come at a worse time for the Halloween industry. Commerce drew to an abrupt halt for the next two weeks, when folk traditionally think about fright night.
"There was really no time to react," Majdoch said. "We start thinking about Halloween a year ahead of time."
Some are saying that business is returning to normal, and that trick or treating is the sort of all-American distraction this country needs as folks try to get back to normal. Majdoch spoke with The Wolf Files as he was opening a third Halloween Express store in Milwaukee.
So Halloween will go on, even though people aren't in the mood for pretend shock. You probably won't see as many Grim Reapers knocking on your door, asking for candy.
For the little kids, the hottest costumes are Power Rangers and princesses, according to Disguise Inc.
About 13 percent of girls under 9 years old plan to be princesses this Halloween; 7 percent will dress up as Barbie and 6 percent will be Power Puff Girls. Six percent of boys will dress up as Power Rangers, 5 percent as Pokemon and 4 percent will be pumpkins.
Saddam Hussein: Funny. Osama bin Laden: Not Funny
Some costumes are in exceedingly bad taste. Halloween Express and other stores have traditionally sold gas masks and Arab garb. "That stuff is being downplayed," Majdoch said. "But it's still for sale. If your wife is going to a party as Cleopatra, you want to be a sheik."
Majdoch's gas masks are actual government surplus. They don't work as well as the newer models, but they're functional, he says. "It's incorrect to say we've had a run on them," he says, "even though I see stories like that all the time."
You probably won't find people dressing up as terrorists. No major company is selling an Osama bin Laden outfit, even though Saddam Hussein masks were a big seller, even in the tense months leading up to the Gulf War.
"Oh we had a lot of fun with Saddam back in the Gulf War," said Peter Blum, owner of the Abracadabra costume store in Midtown Manhattan, less than 3 miles from the World Trade Center.
"We sat a Saddam doll in an electric chair right in the front window," Blum said. "People would come by and have their picture taken flicking the switch and giving that guy a jolt. The media ate it up."
But the mood now is much different. Blum says there's no demand to play such games with bin Laden. Maybe it's too soon for such jokes. Maybe his store is just too close to what was the twin towers. Maybe the situation now is just more grave.
"I'll tell you this much," Blum says, "It's been very bad since the attacks, and even before that there was the threat of a recession looming over people's heads.
"Now, it's up to us to prove that some hostile foreign nation can't scare us out of a little Halloween fun." Buck Wolf is entertainment producerat ABCNEWS.com. The Wolf Files ispublished Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you want to receive weekly notice whena new column is published, join the e-maillist.