The Lowdown on Halloween

The Celtic New Year, the Irish potato famine of 1740 and extortion by little ones all led to Halloween as we know it today.

A few Halloween factoids from Fact Monster...

• 23.8 pounds - Per capita consumption of candy by Americans in 2008.
• $2 billion - Estimated Halloween candy sales this year.
• 36 million - The estimated number of potential trick-or-treaters in 2008—children 5 to 13—across the United States.
• 93% - Percentage of children in the U.S. who go trick or treating.
• 1.1 billion pounds - Total production of pumpkins by major pumpkin-producing states in 2008. Illinois led the country by producing 496 million pounds.

And lastly, if you think the costumes are scary these days check out some of these vintage Halloween photos for a real scare...



Update: One more thing. If you're not hanging out with the ghouls this evening and want to watch a good flick for Halloween, here's a link to the full version of Bram Stoker's Dracula.