Sam’s Side: Artificial intelligence makes Halloween scarier than ever

Fall has finally arrived in Athens after a gruesome Midwest heatwave, and the time has come to enjoy a spooky October. Temperatures are dropping, leaves are falling and Oct. 31 is creeping closer. But in 2026, technology is upsetting the Halloween we know and love, this time promoting shortcuts for a smoother holiday season while sacrificing personal creativity. Artificial intelligence is taking over our lives, but let us not allow it to take over Halloween.

About 75% of Americans plan to celebrate the Halloween season, but less are intending to participate in traditional Halloween activities, such as pumpkin carving or yard decorating to prepare for trick-or-treaters. These fun, festive and comforting celebrations of fall are no longer fitting into a modern Halloween, one that is too focused on tech and not enough on embracing the creativity Halloween is built on.

This fall, 47% of consumers chose to generate ideas and shop for costumes through AI platforms. For something as personal and unique as a costume mirroring one’s own humor, interests and style, it is depressing to see many people opt for AI as a shortcut to completely bypass individual creativity.

Choosing a niche costume and doing a grand reveal at school was my favorite part of Halloween as a kid. My sister and I would come up with options well before summer was over, waiting rather impatiently for the day the local Spirit Halloween was open for the season. When the time came, I would wander the aisles and contemplate the endless character options and even brainstorm homemade versions of unique, overpriced costume kits. Spending my afternoon indecisively walking circles around the store was part of the fun.

I would not dare let AI erase those fun memories from my childhood for the sake of ease. Frankly, shopping online in this way cuts out the fun part of preparing a costume for Halloween.

The same goes with party planning, with AI playing a role in designing and shopping for festive events. From asking AI to plan an event within a certain budget to prompting a specific set of materials to come up with a costume, AI is encroaching on creative celebrations that make Halloween what it is.

In a recent study, 12% of participants relied on AI platforms to purchase, reorder and make future purchases automatically. For many, AI is doing the Halloween shopping process for them. Although this is expected with the dominance of platforms like ChatGPT and its competitors, it is still frightening.

Relying heavily on AI to generate a tasteful Halloween has major flaws beyond a lack of creativity. It matches the general attitude toward technology. Pew Research Center noted 13% of surveyed Americans let artificial intelligence assist them a lot compared to the 73% of individuals who were OK with a little assistance, such as providing feedback on a drafted project or concept generation to get ideas flowing.

Spookiness aside, the only real way to stop modern Halloween from entering a downward spiral is to promote genuine creativity this fall season. Carve some pumpkins based on what you love and not AI’s bland suggestions. Craft some homemade decorations, such as banners, instead of looking to Amazon for uninspiring plastic junk destined for the landfill. Try to shop secondhand or thrift costumes because everything you could possibly need already exists. Most importantly though, put ChatGPT down and take time to enjoy spooky season offline.

Sam Tatum is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Sam about his column? Email him at st682625@ohio.edu.