|  🎃 A spine-chilling morning to you. Earlier this week, we asked Brew readers how they plan to celebrate Halloween this very strange year. The results?
39% have no plans
20% are going to a small house party
16% are trick-or-treating in person
7% are attending a virtual event
And a smattering of other things that make this poll add up to 100% Now, as promised, we present...Witches' Brew: The Halloween Issue. | | | |  | NASDAQ | 10,911.59 | - 2.45% | | | | S&P | 3,270.14 | - 1.21% | | | | DJIA | 26,503.57 | - 0.58% | |  | GOLD | 1,878.90 | + 0.58% | | | | 10-YR | 0.868% | + 4.10 bps | | | | OIL | 35.59 | - 1.60% | | | *As of market close | - Economy: U.S. household spending rose 1.4% in September, the fifth straight monthly increase. The question now is—with coronavirus cases rising broadly across the country—how will American consumers respond?
- Markets: Stocks closed out their worst week since March. Anxiety is ruling the day on Wall Street with the collision of the pandemic and the upcoming election.
| |  Francis Scialabba | Haunted houses represent a mainstay of Halloween and the horror/mystery genre, from The Shining to Scooby, Velma, and Shaggy's exploits. But they also represent a horrific, and very real, headache for realtors. Believe it or not, hauntedness is a legal designation in the real estate industry. If a structure is haunted, it's considered "stigmatized," which means that while there are no material defects, the home "elicits an emotional response," writes Curbed. So how do you sell a haunted house? Depends on the state In New York, if the seller has "claimed to the public at large" that the house is haunted, he or she must disclose the spooky status to buyers. But, if you keep the ghost in the attic to yourself, you don't have to say anything to a prospective buyer. - In California, sellers have to disclose to buyers if there's been a death on the property within three years. In Alaska, it's one year.
Every now and then, a creepy vibe can be a selling point. Spokane, WA, realtor Marianne Bornhoft told Curbed she thought chilling rumors about a place called the Polly Judd house helped her sell it. - In the '60s and '70s, Polly Judd took in veterans and troubled people. Several suicides and deaths took place in the house and later owners seemed bedeviled by bad luck, shrouding the place in mystery.
- Bornhoft said "the house was so iconic that I think that's what attracted the people to [it]."
That seems to be the exception to rule, because haunted houses are typically not an easy sell. In fact, the presence of haunted houses has been shown to depress the value of homes in the surrounding neighborhood. One recent study of the Hong Kong housing market found that "prices drop on average 20% for units that become haunted, 10% for units on the same floor, 7% for units in the same block, and 1% for units in the same estate." + Are you looking for a spooky spot? You're in luck. Both Lynnewood Hall (dubbed the world's largest haunted house) in Elkins Park, PA, and the house from The Silence of the Lambs are on the market. | |  Ben McCanna/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images | Every year, pop-up Halloween stores rise from the underworld to possess empty storefronts vacated by mortal retailers. Typically, this non-traditional leasing model means seasonal pop-ups perform well when the rest of retail flounders. But even with 2020 laying out a feast of fresh retail corpses, are spooky stores immune to the pandemic? Let's check in with two retail reanimaters: - Spirit Halloween is the host with the most. It actually opened more stores this year (1,400+) than last year, and its CEO said last month the company is "anticipating a Halloween on par with last year."
- Party City was far less bullish, opening 91% fewer of its Halloween City locations this year. With just 25 stores across the U.S., these days it's more like a Halloween Town.
Zoom out: Halloween City was showing zombie-like symptoms even before the pandemic. Last year, sales per store declined nearly 21% annually—a major problem for parent Party City considering Halloween sales account for a fifth of its total U.S. retail revenue. | |  Giphy | The pandemic has put a bigger damper on trick-or-treating than your neighbor who only hands out bags of pretzels. But even with more families staying home this year, candy sales have remained surprisingly resilient. As of Oct. 4, Halloween chocolate and candy sales were up 8.6% annually, according to the National Confectioners Association. Sales at brick-and-mortar locations are up 26% (it helps that supplies hit shelves starting in July). Those mini Crunch bars are big business Shoppers spend $4.6 billion on Halloween treats, about 13% of the U.S.' annual candy sales. Hershey's, Ferrero, and Mars Wrigley typically prepare their Halloween selection months in advance, but the pandemic forced them to "rethink how they produce, distribute, and sell their offerings to retailers and consumers, upending decades of conventional wisdom in the holiday staple category," Food Dive reports. - This year, Hershey's traded jumbo-packs for snack sizes and small bags of assorted candies. It also toned down its Halloween branding to avoid discounting inventory come Nov. 1.
Zoom out: You're not alone in buying Costco packs of chocolate for yourself. The pandemic has sent anxious consumers back into the sweet, loving arms of junk food. | |  | It's that time of year again: The leaves have changed, the pumpkins are out, and everyone's worrying about which of their friends' souls has been occupied by an evil spirit. Instead of wasting time and energy on an exorcism, why not buy CARIUMA IBI sneakers? They're so popular that even Hades himself would drop whatever he's doing to get a pair. Last time these crazy comfy, bamboo knit sneakers sold out, 16,000 people signed up for the waitlist. Now they're back in seasonal colorways (stone grey, stone black, navy, and a new hightop version), everyone is sure to ditch their responsibilities and buy some IBIs. So this spooky season, don't panic when an evil demon sets up shop in your friend's body; just put a pair of IBIs in the hallway, and that demon will hightail it out of there for CARIUMA's bamboo sneakers. Before they disappear into the netherworld, snag a pair of the Brew's favorite shoes for 15% off for a limited time only. | |  Giphy | Knott's Berry Farm in California was the first major theme park to host a Halloween celebration back in 1973, kicking off a long tradition of cringy puns with its "Knott's Scary Farm" event. Since then, Halloween has turned into a turkey-leg-at-Disney-World-sized revenue driver for the theme park industry. - According to Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Parks Services, over 900,000 people came to Universal last year just for Halloween.
- And parks from Disney World to Busch Gardens report significant Q4 revenue bumps every year thanks to Halloween celebrations.
But like your ex once told you This year, things are different. Knott's Berry Farm is capping attendance at 10%–15% of capacity, while Universal Studios canceled its iconic "Halloween Horror Nights" at its California and Florida locations. Some parks like Disney World in Orlando have turned to merch sales to offset the lack of visitors, but not every operator has the benefit of Disney's cast of iconic characters. Zoom out: As the pandemic drags on into the winter months, theme parks risk losing more of the tentpole events they've historically relied on to support their bottom lines. | |  Google Trends | The hottest Halloween trend of 2020? Haunted car washes. Let's be honest—car washes have always been a bit scary. But this year, they're adding blood, guts, and performers to the whirling pom pom barrage (don't worry, the cars are cleaned at the end). What other Halloween trends are we watching this year? Decor in general, but especially this 12-foot-tall skeleton that keeps selling out at Home Depot. The National Retail Federation predicts 4% more people plan to decorate their homes this year. Fortnitemares: Every online videogame seems to have an in-game event. Fortnite and Minecraft are rolling out themed challenges and collectible items for players, while Animal Crossing lets island residents grow pumpkins and gather in the town square to celebrate. White sheets and black turtlenecks: Last month, TikTokers started donning simple white sheets with eye cutouts to dress up as classic ghosts, and the trend has ballooned since. Another popular fit? Elizabeth Holmes. You can see what costumes are the most popular by exploring Google's Frightgeist site. | | - The CDC allowed its no-sail order to expire, setting the stage for the resumption of cruises with heavy Covid-19 protocols.
- MLB owners approved Steve Cohen's $2.4 billion purchase of the NY Mets.
- Nestlé said it acquired NYC-based healthy meal startup Freshly for up to $1.5 billion.
- That was quick: Walmart is returning firearms and ammunition to its sales floors a day after it said it was removing them over concerns of civil unrest.
- Texas's early voting tally has already topped the entire number of Texans who voted in the 2016 election.
| | SPONSORED BY THE MOTLEY FOOL |  | The perfect time to invest? It doesn't exist. So, with some help from our friends at The Motley Fool, we wrote up a little piece on why investing today is as good a time as any. From setting up a long-term plan to tweaking your strategy when market conditions change, this article is helpful for anyone looking to get their start in the stock market. Read on, right here. | | | Do you believe in ghosts? You should, because three of the following ghost-related headlines are true, while one we made up. Can you spot the fake? - Joe Exotic's 'Tiger King' zoo is rumored to be haunted and 'Ghost Adventures' wants to prove it
- Beloved chain Fatburger makes its Dallas debut via a ghost kitchen
- Tinder's new feature warns users when they're about to be 'ghosted'
- Dunkin' adds Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut to traditional Halloween offerings
| | | Tinder unfortunately can't predict whether you get ghosted or not. | | |
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