Halloween allows children to embrace fear

At Halloween, children can transform into whatever they want, often choosing to dress as vampires, zombies, ghosts, or monsters instead of traditional costumes like princesses or superheroes. This choice can sometimes surprise parents, especially when a child who is usually sensitive to scary stories suddenly demands a particularly frightening costume.

Halloween provides a safe space for fear

Halloween offers a unique and real framework where monsters and terrifying creatures are allowed to go out on the street and knock on doors to ask for candy. This day allows children to play with what usually worries them, while being protected by their costume and the playful nature of the celebration.

Psychologists see Halloween costumes as a way to feel powerful

For Ariane Calvo, a psychologist, the choice of a monstrous character can be particularly linked to a desire to feel stronger. "Dressing up as a scary character for Halloween is a way to feel powerful and have control over your environment," she explains.

Halloween allows children to reverse roles

Once the costume is on, the child is no longer the one who is afraid, but becomes the one who can cause fear in others. This inversion is particularly interesting from a psychological perspective. "Scaring others puts you in a position of power and the other in a position of vulnerability because they are scared," Ariane Calvo continues.

Halloween costumes let children explore identity

Dressing up is also entering into the skin of someone else for a certain period of time. It is forgetting one's uniqueness, one's story, to create another identity. The costume allows the exploration of different roles and especially stimulates the child's imagination.