Hot takes or haunt takes? Unpopular Halloween opinions, explained

As Buddy the Elf declares in the classic movie, “Elf” — candy corn is one of the four main food groups. If you, like me, like the sickeningly sweet taste of Halloween’s most popular candy, it’s likely that you might be a believer in some of Halloween’s most popular controversial opinions.

Candy corn

One thing I have never quite understood is the world’s hatred for candy corn. It’s a delicious candy that is in all aspects a fall-defining flavor, right up there with pumpkin spice lattes and apple cider donuts.

But some people have a strong disliking of the sugar-flavored candy. What’s to dislike, though? The candy is made up of three of the most popular fall colors, and while it might taste like straight corn syrup, that's the entire allure of the candy.

Dressing up as an adult

Take dressing up for another instance of Halloween norms. It’s a ritual that nearly everyone complies with, whether they’re in fourth grade and dressing as a bumblebee for the Halloween parade or 21 years old and going to the local bar crawl. But some people, particularly adults, are concerned with the thought that wearing a costume is for children.

Costumes, though, are what make Halloween the exciting holiday it is. Everyone waits for the 31st of October to dress as anything they could imagine, and they get to play a part for a day. Dressing up, no matter what age you do it at, is a part of the Halloween experience, and it is key to a spook-tacular night.

Sweet versus salty treats

Halloween is all about sweets and treats, right? Wrong. I would be very much excited to receive pretzels in my Halloween candy bag as a kid. It was especially exciting if they were the pretzels shaped like little pumpkins or bats. Those were one of the top spooky seasonal snacks that you could get as a kid. Although some might disagree, pretzels should always be given out to trick-or-treaters. 

Handing out candy

What about choosing between partying or handing out candy to kids trick-or-treating? Now, I lived on a main road my entire childhood, so little kids wandering around looking for candy didn’t exactly occur on my street as much as it did in other areas. But I loved to wait for the ones that would come to ring the doorbell just to hand them a couple of pieces of chocolate or some Sour Patch Kids. They were few and far between, but staying home to do that was always a fun time.

Iconic movies and songs

Then there is debate over which Disney Halloween movies are most iconic. Usually, it's between "Halloweentown" and "Twitches," and honestly, I don’t know if I could choose between the two.

But what happened to the movies nobody talks about anymore? R.L Stine was responsible for producing two of the best Halloween movies out there — “The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It” and “Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out.”

And we can’t forget about “The Haunted Mansion” starring Eddie Murphy. There are plenty of classics beyond the usual Disney favorites. 

Another opinion that might be slightly controversial is what song people consider to be the most classic Halloween tune. Many people might answer this question with the song “Thriller” by Michael Jackson. I would have to disagree.

What about all of the classic Halloween soundtracks? The theme of the movie “Halloween” by John Carpenter is a bop. Then there is always “Somebody’s Watching Me" by Rockwell and the classic “Monster Mash.” Then, there is the obvious but iconic “Calling All the Monsters” by China Anne McClain. To make a long story short, there are a ton of other options when deciding on your Halloween playlist. 

Halloween is an exciting time of year — you can dress up in multiple costumes, you get to eat candy every day for a month afterward and there is always something about the season that will give you a good scare. But some of these controversial opinions might be the scariest part of the season. Don’t worry if anyone disagrees with you, though. At least you can have some candy corn to cheer you up.