People in the Halloween business say it's been a fantastic year for sales despite the swine flu outbreak and a warning by an infectious disease expert to keep the celebrations low key this weekend.
Dr. Donald Low of Mount Sinai Hospital said Friday people might want to stay home tonight and watch scary movies instead of venturing out to crowded parties. But the fact that Halloween falls on a Saturday night this year has made it an ideal night to party and shop for the perfect costume.
Joy Samnski, owner of Joy Theatricals, told ctvtoronto.ca she hasn't noticed a slump in costume rental sales this year.
"We're just as busy as usual," said the Davenport Avenue shopkeeper. "I've been doing this for 29 years and whenever Halloween falls on a Saturday it's always busier."
Samnski said she hasn't even heard her clients mention the H1N1 virus (commonly known as swine flu) or the outbreak that has been dominating the news for the last few weeks.
"I haven't heard anyone talk about toning down the celebrations this year but maybe that's because I don't get a lot of kids who come into my shop," she said. "My clients are going to parties with other adults."
Party decorations, costumes and Halloween candy have also been flying off the shelves at Party Packagers, according to Romina Torre, the company's director of store merchandising.
She said the recession made the past year a tough one for Canadians and now that the economy seems to be recovering, people are anxious to get out and celebrate.
"Our stores are busy and we're not seeing people not buying because of the swine flu," she said, estimating that store sales so far are equal to last year.
"It's not to say that people aren't going to be cautious, they're just going to be more aware of shaking hands and washing their hands."
Dr. Low's warning came at the end of a week of overwhelming crowds at health clinics across the Greater Toronto Area. Inoculation centres in Toronto were forced to close early on both Thursday and Friday because medical staff simply could not meet the demand of those anxiously waiting in line for the flu shot.
Anastasia Velmer said she's not taking her children out trick-or-treating this year because she doesn't want to risk exposing them to people who may be exhibiting some of the symptoms.
Both of her children are under 5 and after six hours at the flu shot clinic on Thursday, she decided to only bring her kids to houses where she knows no one has been sick.
"They're going to my parents' house and my friend's house," she said. "They'll dress up and they'll get candy but we're not going door-to-door.
Ayelet Bercovich, also a mother of two young children, said she's not risking it this year.
"There's no way I'm taking them out," she said. In fact, she's not even going to give out candy this year, she said.
"We're going to dress up, eat candy and stay at home."
Torre said having house parties for friends and family is an ideal way to celebrate Halloween this year rather than heading out to a crowded bar or club where everyone is in close contact all night and there is little air circulation.
Dineen Beaven, spokesperson for Canada's Wonderland, said going to the theme park for Halloween is also a safe and fun way to celebrate.
This is the last weekend Wonderland will be open for the season and Beaven said she hopes Halloween will make it a good one, despite public concern over the swine flu.
"We're an open-air facility so we're hoping it's not going to impact us," she said. "We'll have a better idea after the weekend."
There are outdoor haunted mazes that people can find their way through without coming into close contact with others, she said.
In other haunted houses, staff dress up as ghouls and often jump out and touch people as they're walking by to give them a fright but that won't happen at Wonderland.
"Everyone is told about the no-contact policy," said Beaven. "Our patrons are told not to touch the monsters that are inside the haunted house for safety concerns."
Over at Joy Theatricals, Samnski said the flu outbreak is the scariest thing so far about Halloween this year but pointed to a full moon this weekend as a sign that the Halloween Gods are indeed smiling on business owners who try and turn a profit during this season.
