Halloween

On Wednesday night in New York City's Greenwich Village, a record 2 million people -- about 90% of them grown-ups -- are expected to gather for one reason: to act like kids.

The annual event, now in its 39th year, is the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, which will go all night long, filling bars, restaurants and hotels and acting as a $90 million instant stimulus to the city's economy.

This adultification of Halloween is taking place in virtually every city. At bars. At restaurants. At theaters. Even at high-end gift shops. Like treats snatched from a trick-or-treat bag, adults have slowly been stealing Halloween from kids for years. Now it appears, grown-ups own the holiday.

A record $8 billion will be spent by U.S. consumers this Halloween, most by adults, for adults. Seven years ago, when the National Retail Federation asked adults if they planned to celebrate Halloween, 52.5% said yes. This year, it's 71.5%. "I call it Occupying Halloween," says consumer anthropologist Robbie Blinkoff. "My gut tells me that it's bigger than Halloween, and is actually part of our culture. We need to creatively express ourselves to find pure joy."

A decade ago, fewer than three in 10 costumes purchased at Halloweenexpress.com were for adults. Now, it's more than six in 10. It should be no surprise that consumers will spend an average $123 this Halloween, more than twice the average $53 spent a year ago, reports American Express Saving & Spending Tracker.

In the midst of this adult takeover, Halloween has emerged as the No. 2 holiday in consumer spending for decorations, after Christmas. Maybe it's because Halloween is about friends, not family. Or perhaps it's because there are really no gifts to purchase, no religious rituals to observe and rarely any red-eye plane rides involved.

"Halloween has become an adult holiday for the new American family," says Jeanne Fleming, who's been the Greenwich Village parade's producer for years. But it's not a family that you have to fly home to in order to celebrate. "You stay right where you are, and you celebrate with your friends."

Adults seem to relish this cultural joy as much as or more than kids. Social media, from YouTube videos of the wackiest Halloween yard displays to postings of huge, adult-targeted Halloween parades in Greenwich Village and West Hollywood, play a role.

With Celtic roots dating to the mid-1500's, Halloween was originally known as All Hallows Even (Evening), a time to pray for those whose souls had yet to reach heaven. It wasn't a child-focused holiday in the U.S. until the spreading of suburbia in the 1950s, says Lesley Bannatyne, who's written five book on Halloween, such as Halloween Nation: Behind the Scenes of America's Fright Night. As suburban tracks grew, she says, kids carrying pillowcases loaded with candy became a familiar sight.

"But you knew Halloween was changing when Hugh Hefner started throwing big Halloween parties at the Playboy Mansion," says Bannatyne.

Fast-forward to the late 1970s, when teen and adult interest in Halloween exploded, as Hollywood grabbed onto Halloween gore the and never let go. Consider: The Halloween film franchise, now 34 years and 11 films old, recently passed $366 million in worldwide box office receipts.

"I like to think that the Halloween film franchise played a role in adults embracing Halloween," says Malek Akkad, who produced the last two Halloween films, and was but a kid when John Carpenter directed the very first one. "The holiday has grown into something bigger than any of us could have imagined."

But not too big for Jayna Gregory. The 24-year-old tech consultant from Phoenix figures she's spent about $2,000 on Halloween costumes and decorations for herself in the past two years. Halloween also happens to be her birthday. She's already purchased three costumes for three different Halloween parties that she plans to attend. "I do it for my own enjoyment," she says.

As far as Blinkoff is concerned, that "enjoyment" has its roots in a culture of folks desperate to act out their true feelings. "It's a way for people to try to be more themselves," he says. Even as adults in costumes play out fantasies, it's as if they're saying, "I'm behind a mask, but this is really who I am."

This adult infatuation has not gone unnoticed by marketers from alcoholic beverage sellers, costume makers, filmmakers and haunted house and amusement park operators. There's even a massive annual Halloween trade show, which brings together haunted house operators and Halloween-focused retailers from across the country. And here's a turn: You can't get into the Halloween show if you're under 16.

Halloween has another famous franchise: Cassandra Peterson.

If you don't recognize her by that name, perhaps you'll recognize her stage name: Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Halloween has made a multimillionaire out of the former Las Vegas showgirl. who, in 1981, first began appearing as a sexy, vampire-like hostess for a Los Angeles TV station airing spooky evening flicks.

More than 30 years later, she's still making a killing off the Elvira franchise. It's mostly teens and adults who line up for Elvira's autograph.

"How sad to have a holiday you love so much and then grow out of it," says Peterson, whose image decades ago helped turn Halloween into one of the biggest days of the year for Coors beer. "I do have to take some credit for Halloween becoming an adult holiday."

For the wine, beer and booze makers, Halloween is huge, "second to New Year's in parties, liquor and wine purchases," says Steve Wilde, president of Wilde Advertising, which specializes in promotions for the spirits industry. "It a ginormous event."

None of the alcoholic beverage makers contacted (MillerCoors, Diageo, Gallo) would discuss Halloween marketing with USA TODAY.

Wilde says Halloween has become the party event for folks in their 20s and 30s. "If you're 35 or under, the chances of you answering the door and handing out candy on Halloween are slim. You're probably at a party."

Many beer, wine and spirits brands invest in costly supermarket displays that attract attention and goose sales.

Gallo purchased thousands of dollars worth of Halloween-decorated trees, hanging skeletons and giant spiders from Wilde's agency -- just for the states of Washington and Oregon.

Diageo's Captain Morgan brand has mustache and beard kits for Halloween, Wilde says. For spirits companies, Wilde says, "Halloween has become a focal point between the end of summer and Thanksgiving."

For some businesses, there would be no Halloween without adult participation. At Home Depot, the front of every store has huge sections devoted to selling gobs of outdoor Halloween inflatables. One looks like a lighted pirate ship and fetches $179.

Then, there are the specialists:

•Haunted houses. Some 3,000 temporary haunted houses coast-to-coast -- at up to $15 a pop -- will try to lure thrill-seekers. Kids may want to go, but most discourage those under 13 from even entering. The real target: 16- to 21-year-old girls. "Groups of girls love to go in and scream together," says Leonard Pickel, owner of Hauntrepreneuers, which designs and consults for haunted houses.

•Spooky theme parks. The best way to make money at a theme park between mid-September and Halloween: Turn it into an adult-themed haunt. Knott's Berry Farm has done this for 40 years under the name Knott's Scary Farm. "We call it a PG-13 event," says Raffi Kaprelyan, general manager. The park has opened 13 mazes this year, including Jack the Ripper and Dominion of the Dead. Admission to the evening haunt: $38.

•Halloween pop-ups. A record 1,000 Spirit of Halloween pop-up stores opened in and near malls between September and Halloween. The stores sell mostly adult-targeted Halloween merchandise, including $199 ghoulish animatronics.

Where Halloween used to be all about trick-or-treating, "the focus is much more about the party," says CEO Steven Silverstein. Grown-ups have bought in. Ten years ago, there were 150 Spirit locations. This year, it's almost 1,000.

•Costume makers. Adults this year will spend more on costumes for themselves ($1.2 billion) than for their kids ($1 billion) at Rubie's Costume. "Our adult business is growing like crazy," says Howard Beige, executive vice president. "Children go for all the hot licenses (Mattel's Monster High dolls, Batman, Spider-Man). Adults go for zombies."

The West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval attracts upwards of 500,000 spectators and is the Los Angeles area's second-largest annual event next to the Tournament of Roses New Year's Day Parade.

But at four times the size, the grandmother is the Greenwich Village Parade. Not only are adults the vast majority of the onlookers, says Fleming, but so are 90% of participants. People stay in the Village and party all night, making it the biggest annual night for Greenwich Village businesses, she says. For grown-ups, even more than kids, Fleming says, it's all about letting loose.

"It's probably the last night of the year when everyone can come out in G-strings and be in the street."