Brady Maloof, 4, roamed the aisles of Spirit Halloween in Foxborough last week, rifling through shelves of packaged costumes, examining decorations, and wincing at fake jumping spiders. He eventually landed on a Ghostbusters suit he will wear on Halloween, regardless of how celebrations are slashed this year during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Halloween is one of Brady’s favorite holidays, his mother Lori said. And the family is determined to celebrate, somehow.
“Everything’s been taken away from these kids this last year,” she explained. “They deserve to have this holiday in one way or another.”
As the pandemic endures and new case clusters surface in cities and suburbs, college campuses, and even after weddings, the fate of the spookiest night of the year is uncertain.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued its first guidance for the holiday on its website Monday. In it, the agency urged people to forgo door-to-door trick or treating, costume parties, and public hayrides for lower-risk activities: pumpkin-carving at home, virtual costume contests, and socially distanced scavenger hunts outside.
“Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses,” the agency wrote. “There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween.”
Dozens of local holiday events have been canceled in accordance with city and state safety guidelines.
That includes the city of Salem, widely known as the country’s premier Halloween destination, which is facing a season without many of its traditional ghostly festivities. City officials assume the state will remain in Phase 3 of reopening in October, according to an August statement. That means indoor gatherings are restricted to 25 people or less, and outdoor groups to 100.
Destination Salem executive director Kate Fox said the cancellation of the much of the city’s “Haunted Happenings” series will take an economic and emotional toll. She expects only half the 500,000 people Salem usually sees in October will visit to support local businesses this fall.
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“Usually everything functions together from the visitors, street fairs, and performers to create the ambience and combine into the most fabulous month," she said. “But now, there’s no Grand Parade, no Mayor’s Night Out, no pumpkin walk.”
Still, some households are holding out hope for a festive Halloween.
Eighty percent of people believe they will find a creative way to celebrate this year, compared to just 63 percent who thought so in July, according to data compiled by the National Confectioners Association. Halloween chocolate and candy sales nationwide were stronger in early September than the same period in 2019. Total Halloween candy sales were up 13 percent overall, with chocolate treats leading the way, up 25.3 percent.
“Halloween is happening,” said Christopher Gindlesperger, a spokesman for the association.
But the question remains: Does the 2020 version of the holiday include trick-or-treating?
Lori Maloof said her family plans to stock up on decorations and evaluate whether hoarding candy the traditional way is worth the risk closer to the night in question.
“Most people wear masks and gloves, right?” she asked. “I heard some people talk about using tongs to hand out the candy. It could work.”
Others already are exploring unconventional ways to replicate the experience.
Fall River resident Jordan Pacheco plans to plop buckets of candy around the yard near his towering Halloween decorations. That way, trick-or-treaters can come grab their sweet of choice without coming into close contact with strangers, he said.
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“We might not be able to celebrate in the same way, but people adapt," he said. “Maybe it’ll be more like Christmas in that people drive around and see people’s lights, shelter in their homes, spend time together. I’m doing up the decorations, too, so it feels more normal for the kids.”
Pacheco also hopes to project horror movies onto his garage door for passersby to watch from afar.
Raquel Fornasaro of Newton said she’s already started creating a small network of friends and neighbors whose houses her kids can visit while trick-or-treating. But as an artist by profession, Fornasaro is more focused on creating the family’s annual homemade costumes — possibly with additional features geared for protection against the virus.
“It’s all just such a question mark,” she explained. “That said, Halloween is the perfect time for you to put on a mask that’s not your everyday one and go incognito.”
Kati Sigel of Belmont scrapped her party plans weeks ago. She knows the 40-person throwdown she hosts on “Halloweekend” with platters of themed snacks, a flurry of decor, and loud music is impossible and unsafe.
Instead, she is piecing together an outdoor celebration for her kids and one other family — complete with a movie and backyard camping.
“A makeshift Halloween, if you will,” she said. “Almost a revised version.”
For one Somerville legislator, the holiday is a top priority. City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen of Ward 3 introduced a resolution last week that required the Somerville council to “create safe guidelines for this year’s Halloween so kids can have a safe and spooky holiday.”
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Ewen-Campen said the topic of Halloween frequently surfaces in conversations with his youngest constituents.
“Given how good Somerville has been with hand washing, distancing, staying indoors, there has to be a safe way to do this,” he said. “Trick-or-treating is certainly a possibility, though we don’t have any confirmed measures yet. And the city will still light up the streets and make it a nice, spooky night for all the Somerville kids.”
Diti Kohli can be reached at diti.kohli@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ditikohli_.
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