Halloween spending: Families plan record candy purchases

The National Retail Federation projects total Halloween spending will reach $13.5 billion this year, with $4.1 billion directed toward candy purchases. That estimate lands as residents in Northeast Ohio prepare their yards and shopping lists for the holiday.

Luther Heggs, a retired radio engineer, host and DJ, has spent three decades building a yard display called the Heggs House of Horror. The property is filled with pumpkins, witches and animatronics, many of which he built himself. He said the crowds have changed since his childhood. "It's the spirit of Halloween I grew up in the '60s, and man, hundreds and hundreds of kids would trick or treat every night," Heggs said. "When I started doing this display many years ago, hardly anyone was trick-or-treating, so we started adding one animatronic after another. I started making things by hand, and over 25 years later it turned into this mega event where we'd get 5,000 to 6,000 people."

Heggs said he has not scaled back on candy this year. "Not really. People are amazed that I put on a display like this and I still give out candy," Heggs said. "I go, 'Well, that's what Halloween is about!' You got trick-or-treaters, you want to give them some treats. So we give them lots of candy."

Lindsay Geiser said her neighborhood typically sees between 400 and 500 trick-or-treaters. Higher shelf prices have changed how she shops, not whether she participates. "Honestly, because of the holiday, we kind of just accept it for what it is. Obviously, prices are higher, but we're just going to buy in bulk and hope," Geiser said.

Chris Davisson has skeletons arranged in his yard and said Halloween is his favorite holiday, while his wife prefers Christmas. He plans to add animatronics to the display Saturday. Davisson said he distributed roughly 800 pieces of candy last year and has not reduced that number. "We just started buying earlier," Davisson said.

Heggs, whose yard once drew thousands of visitors, said he is focused on keeping the holiday entertaining for the children who still show up. "We're keeping that spirit alive because the kids are just having a blast. And I have a grandson Jayden, he loves this," Heggs said. "Halloween is meant to be fun and that's what I'm trying to keep alive, just the fun."