Depending on where you live, Halloween is either a holiday for spooky fun or a one-way ticket to the wrong side of the law. Surprisingly, certain parts of the country have Halloween- related laws regulating everything from who can wear a mask to whom you’re allowed to make laugh. Here are a few obscure-but-true laws in the South that, if broken, are scarier than any haunted hayride. THE GREAT MUSTACHIOED PRIEST MENACE If you’re a Halloween reveler in Alabama, be careful with your costume choice — God and the law are watching. Dressing up like a priest, rabbi, nun, or other clergy member on Oct. 31 or any other day of the year could cost you a fine of up to $500 or up to a year behind bars. The law was established to show respect to religious institutions by discouraging citizens from impersonating faith leaders. Additionally, Alabama’s focus on maintaining a sense of decorum in religious practices extends to what citizens do in the presence of actual priests. Naturally, disrupting services by prompting attendees to burst out laughing is bad form, which is why the state prohibits anyone from wearing a fake mustache in church to elicit a chuckle. Was this practice really widespread enough to inspire an actual law? While the law’s historical origins are unclear, it demonstrates the state’s commitment to religious faith and willingness to fine anyone who attempts to mock it. THE DECRIMINALIZED CHILDREN OF DUBLIN Dublin, Georgia, has an odd — and, depending on your age, totally fun — legal perspective concerning facial coverings. Although the city’s rules were loosened temporarily at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, municipal laws prohibit people from “wearing a mask, hood, or other apparel or regalia in such manner as to conceal [their] identity, or in such manner that [their] face is not fully visible, or in such manner that [they] may not be recognized.” However, Dublin makes an annual exception for children under the age of 16 who “may be garbed in the usual or customary children’s Halloween costumes.” While parents or older siblings will face a misdemeanor charge if they’re caught wearing a mask while accompanying their little ones trick-or-treating, at least children in Dublin won’t be deemed juvenile criminals for covering their faces while on the hunt for neighborhood candy. SURPRISING SOUTHERN HALLOWEEN LAWS Clergy, Candy, and Criminal Codes
Halloween has a way of sneaking up on you. One day, it’s back to school, and the next, you’re knee-deep in costume negotiations and candy debates. But here’s the good news: You don’t need an over-the-top haunted house or a monthlong Pinterest board to make the holiday memorable. With a few simple ideas, you can turn Halloween into a tradition your kids look forward to without totally exhausting yourself! GLOW-IN-THE-DARK EGG HUNT Who says egg hunts are just for spring? Fill plastic eggs with small candies, stickers, or tiny trinkets, toss in a glow stick bracelet or glow-in-the-dark sticker, and scatter them in the yard or house. With the lights off and flashlights on, it’s like Halloween hide and seek! Fun, Not Fussy Nail Halloween With Minimal Effort COSTUME CREATION STATION You can forget the overpriced store-bought outfits that tear before dinner on Halloween night. Set up a costume creation corner with old clothes, cardboard boxes, fabric scraps, and safe accessories. Let the kids go wild designing their own characters. These can be superheroes, TV characters, animals, or fun foods. PUMPKIN PAINTING PARTY Carving can be fun, but it’s not always kid-friendly. Painting pumpkins is safer, cleaner, and just as festive. Grab some nontoxic paints, markers, and stickers, and let your kids transform their pumpkins into silly, spooky, or sparkly works of Halloween art. HAUNTED STORY WALK Set up a path around your backyard or hallway with hidden story pages or flashlight stations. Each stop reveals part of a spooky (but age-appropriate) tale. For an extra-special touch, have an older sibling or adult dress up and narrate along the way. SPOOKY SNACK LAB Host a kitchen “lab” where your little monsters whip up their own creepy creations. Think monster trail mix, pretzel broomsticks, mummy-wrapped hot dogs, or bubbling punch with dry ice. The process is half the fun, and the mess is part of the Halloween magic.
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