Selling Fear: The Finances of Halloween

It's Halloween today and the business press is enjoying the holiday as much as any kid in a costume. Even the staid folks at Fortune are getting in on the act. They're running a package of articles on the somewhat scary topic of making money from fear. Among the roller-coasters and horror movies, the magazine also offers the scoop on exactly how much profit is to be had in Halloween:

More than 90% of kids will go trick-or-treating this year. Total price tag for all those costumes: $1.8 billion--up 80% since 2004
Greeting card companies love Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. But Halloween is starting to grab their attention, too: This year, Americans will spend more than $310 million on Halloween cards, up a whopping 16% from last year
Tis the season for cauldron-stirring witches, inflatable lawn pumpkins and table-top figurines. Estimated price tag for all those Halloween decorations: $1.4 billion

And if these statistics don't satisfy your desire to revel in the holiday spirit, thecoolhunter.net has discovered some staplers that'll bring spookiness to your desk year round. And Marketwatch.com offers this scary seasonal reminder of the prevalence of bad apples and skeletons in the closet on Wall Street.

(Image of jack-o'-lanterns by photogamer, CC 2.0)

Jessica Stillman

Jessica lives in London where she works as a freelance writer with interests in green business and tech, management, and marketing.

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