Halloween, USA — The Halloween Files 3 (B1–B2)

THE HALLOWEEN FILES · LESSON 3 OF 4

Halloween, USA

How did one night in October become a $13 billion party?

Guess the Number

GROUPS

With your group, agree on a guess for each number and write it down. The group with the closest guesses wins.

1

In 2026, how much did Americans plan to spend on Halloween? $____ billion

2

How much of that was for costumes for their pets? $____

3

In which year did the words "trick or treat" first appear in a newspaper? And in which country?

4

What share of all US pumpkins did one state, Illinois, grow in 2024?

5

Salem, Massachusetts, has about 44,500 people. How many visitors came in October 2025?

6

How many people watch New York's Village Halloween Parade, according to its organisers?

From Pranks to Treats

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text. Then tell your partner one fact that surprised you, and check guess 3.

A night of trouble

A hundred years ago, Halloween in the USA wasn't about sweets. For many teenagers, it was a night of pranks. In the Great Depression, things got much worse. In 1933, gangs of young people overturned cars, cut down telephone poles and smashed windows across the country. Some people called

it "Black Halloween".

Treats instead of tricks

Some towns talked about banning Halloween. Many chose fun instead. Families, churches and clubs organised parties, costume parades and door-to-door treats to keep teenagers busy.

CONTINUED

The deal was simple: give us a treat, or we'll play a trick.

A Canadian surprise

The first time the words "trick or treat" appeared in print wasn't in the USA at all. It was in small-town newspapers in Alberta, Canada, in November 1927.

The big boom

During the Second World War,

sugar was rationed, so sweets were hard to find. After the war, candy was back in the shops, and candy companies saw their chance. By the 1950s, trick-or-treating was a normal part of an American childhood, and shop-bought costumes of TV and film characters were replacing homemade ghosts.

Spooky Street, USA

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text. With your partner, find the answers to guesses 1, 2 and 4. Which detail would you most like to see for yourself?

On the porch

In late October, Halloween moves outside. Fake gravestones appear on lawns, cobwebs cover the bushes, and skeletons sit by front doors. Families put decorations on the porch, the covered area by the front door, and leave a bowl of candy ready for knocks at the door.

In the field

Many families drive out to a pumpkin patch, a farm field where you pick your own pumpkin to take home. Here's a surprise: in 2024, Illinois grew about a third of all the pumpkins in the USA. But most of them never get a face. They go to factories and end up in cans, ready for pumpkin pie.

CONTINUED

In the dark

In the 1970s, local clubs built haunted houses to raise money for charity. Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, which opened in 1969, raised the bar. Today, the biggest haunted attractions are serious businesses, with actors who jump out of the dark.

At the till

In 2026, the US National Retail

Federation expected Americans to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween, about $115 per person. Costumes ($4.4 billion), decorations ($4.3 billion) and candy ($4.1 billion) took most of it. About half of the people celebrating planned to wear a costume. The top choice for adults? A witch. Even pets joined in: Americans planned to spend $920 million on pet costumes, and the favourite was a pumpkin.

One Country, Many Halloweens

ON YOUR OWN, THEN PAIRS

Read the text. With your partner, decide which of these three you would most like to try, and why.

New York City: the parade

On the night of 31 October, New York's Village Halloween Parade takes over Sixth Avenue in Manhattan. It began in 1974 as a small puppet walk for local children, created by the puppet-maker Ralph Lee. Today, giant puppets lead the way, and anyone in a costume can join in,

with no ticket needed. The organisers say about two million spectators watch.

Salem, Massachusetts: the witch city

In 1692, Salem was the scene of the famous witch trials: 19 people accused of witchcraft were hanged.

CONTINUED

Today, its tourism office calls Salem the "Halloween Capital of the World". Its festival, Haunted Happenings, began in 1982 as one weekend and now lasts all of October. In October 2025, this city of about 44,500 people welcomed around 1.1 million visitors.

Small towns: the car park

Not every neighbourhood works

for walking door to door. Houses can be far apart, and roads can be busy. Since the 1990s, many churches and schools have held trunk-or-treat events instead. Families park in one car park, decorate the open trunk (the boot) of their car, and hand out sweets from it. It's quick, safe and dry. But some people say it misses the point: meeting your neighbours.

Check Your Guesses

GROUPS

Compare your six guesses with the texts. Which group was closest? Which number surprised your group most, and why?

Our guess

The real number

1. Spending in 2026

2. Pet costumes

3. "Trick or treat" in print

4. Illinois pumpkins

5. Salem visitors

6. Parade spectators

UK v USA

PAIRS

With your partner, complete the USA column from today's texts. Then answer: which country's Halloween would you rather spend, and why?

The UK (from Lesson 2)

The USA

Going door to door

Guising in Scotland: earn your treat with a song, a joke or a funny poem

Lanterns

Turnip lanterns in Scotland and Ireland long ago; today pumpkins are everywhere

The big night out

Bonfire Night (5 November): bonfires and fireworks

In 2024, only 28% of Britons said they would celebrate Halloween (YouGov). In 2026, 74% of Americans planned to (NRF). Why such a big gap?

USEFUL PHRASES

In the UK…, whereas in the USA… · Both countries… · The biggest difference is… · …is much bigger / older / noisier than…

Talk About It

GROUPS

In your group, choose three questions and discuss them. Be ready to share one interesting answer with the class.

1. Some people call Halloween "too commercial". Is that fair, or is the spending part of the fun?

2. Trunk-or-treat or door to door: which feels more like a real neighbourhood event? Why?

3. Is there a celebration where you live that a whole town joins in? What happens?

4. Salem turned a dark history into a festival. Is that respectful, or is it a problem?

5. What do people where you live think about Halloween: fun, harmless, or not for them?

Survey the Group

GROUPS

Ask everyone in your group these three questions and note their answers. Then tell the class one answer that surprised you.

1. Which celebration of the year do people where you live spend the most money on? On what?

2. "Dressing up in a costume is fun for adults." What's your number on the scale, and why?

3. The New York parade, Salem in October or a haunted house: which would you choose, and why?

1

2

3

4

5

strongly agree

mostly agree

on the fence

mostly disagree

strongly disagree

Halloween on Maple Street

GROUPS

Your group is the Maple Street committee. Plan one Halloween evening for the street. Spend no more than $600, solve every problem below, and agree on three street rules.

The street: 30 houses, lots of young children, and a busy main road at one end.

THE PROBLEMS

WHAT YOU CAN BUY

• 8 households don't celebrate Halloween, some for religious reasons. They don't want knocks at the door.

• Mr Haddad, aged 84, goes to bed at 8 pm.

• The forecast says rain after 7 pm.

• Some families can't afford costumes.

• Candy for 150 children: $150

• Close the street for three hours (permit and cones): $120

• Trunk-or-treat in the school car park: $60

• Haunted garage with volunteer actors: $200

• Costume swap table: $30

• Costume parade with a small prize: $90

• Indoor party in the community hall: $250

• Pumpkin-carving table with tools: $100

• "Please don't knock" door signs: $20

USEFUL PHRASES

What if we…? · That's over budget. / That's within budget. · I see your point, but… · So, let's go with…

Check Their Plan

GROUPS

Swap plans with another group: read yours aloud or paste it in the chat. Check their plan against the questions below, then give them one thing you like and one fix.

CHECK THE OTHER GROUP'S PLAN

• Does it solve all four problems on the list?

• Does it cost $600 or less? Add it up.

• Are their three street rules clear and fair?

• One thing we like: …

• One fix: …

Word harvest

prank

neighbourhood

costume

decorations

a trick played on someone to make them look silly or to cause trouble

the area around your home and the people who live there

clothes you wear to look like someone or something else

things you put up to make a place look special for a celebration

porch

candy

pumpkin patch

haunted house

a covered area outside the front door of a house

the American word for sweets

a farm field where you can choose and pick your own pumpkin

a building designed to scare visitors, often with actors in it

trunk-or-treat

parade

spectators

an event where children collect sweets from the open boots of parked cars

a large group of people moving along a street to celebrate something

people who watch an event

PAIRS

In pairs, use four of these words to describe the best celebration you've ever been to. It doesn't have to be Halloween.

Homework

HOMEWORK

You are the Maple Street committee. Write an email (80–120 words) to all the neighbours on the street, explaining your group's Halloween plan. Bring it to the next lesson or send it to your teacher. It should take about 20–30 minutes.

Include:

• what is happening, where, and when it starts and ends

• what neighbours who don't celebrate can do (for example, how to say "please don't knock")

• one way the plan keeps everyone safe

Before You Go

Which number from today will you tell someone this week?

NEXT TIME

Grab the Popcorn! The best Halloween films. Come ready to name the scariest film you've ever seen, or the one you're too scared to watch.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (1)

GUESS THE NUMBER settled in the readings; see Check Your Guesses

1 $13.5 billion (National Retail Federation survey, September 2026, a record; 2025 was $13.1 billion).

2 $920 million ($0.92 billion) on pet costumes in 2026. Top pet costume: a pumpkin.

3 1927, in Canada (Alberta newspapers, November 1927). Sources disagree on the very first paper: Blackie (3 Nov) or Lethbridge (4 Nov).

4 About a third (USDA, 2024). Most Illinois pumpkins are grown for canning.

5 Around 1.1 million unique visitors to downtown Salem in October 2025 (Destination Salem, using Placer.ai data); about 1.4 million total visits.

6 About two million spectators (the organisers' own figure).

UK V USA USA column; accept any accurate wording from the texts

• Going door to door: trick-or-treat; from the 1930s, a normal part of childhood by the 1950s; trunk-or-treat in car parks since the 1990s.

• Lanterns: carved pumpkins, picked at a pumpkin patch; Illinois grows the most pumpkins, mostly for cans.

• The big night out: Halloween itself: parades (New York's Village Halloween Parade), haunted houses, Salem's month-long Haunted Happenings.

• The 28% v 74% gap is open. Note that the two polls asked different questions in different years, so it is a talking point, not an exact comparison.

TEACHER'S REFERENCE · SKIP OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key (2)

CHECK THEIR PLAN (one possible plan that works, $590): trunk-or-treat in the school car park ($60), the indoor party in the community hall ($250), candy ($150), costume swap table ($30), pumpkin-carving table in the hall ($100). Trunk-or-treat runs 5:30–6:45 pm, then everyone moves into the hall until 7:45 pm. It solves the rain (outdoors only before 7 pm, then indoors), the main road (no street walking), the non-celebrating households and Mr Haddad (no door knocking; finished early), and costumes (swap table). "Please don't knock" signs ($20) also work in plans that keep door-to-door.