It was the last thing I expected when I entered Lowe’s on Monday. It was Labor Day. The Halloween displays are up, they are huge, and they stopped me in my tracks.

I guess I’ve been living under a rock. Halloween has become our second biggest holiday. Only Christmas is bigger. All the trappings of spooky day have grown larger, scarier, and more expensive than I ever thought possible.

What got my attention was the 4-year-old squealing at the displays. His mother watched as he pressed the buttons to operate each animatronic creature. The ghouls and skeletons were 8, 10, even 12 feet tall! When the little boy pounced on the big red button for the scarecrow, the creature’s eyes lit up, he moved menacingly, and roared as his head spun and his scythe swept the air. OMG!

My first thought was, Is this hideous thing good for kids? I knew it wasn’t good for me. One terrifying skeleton pirate – or was it a pirate skeleton? – made gruesome noises and threatening gestures. The little boy laughed, jumping up and down with delight. His eyes sparkled above his big grin. This kid was thrilled!

And this white-haired grandmother was flabbergasted.

As I stood there, I couldn’t really tell if I was more blown away by the fact that the preschooler loveda the up-close horror show, or that I was totally in the dark, having missed this cultural phenomenon. Huge, horrendously scary, larger-than-life creatures. This is, I guess, a new form of entertainment. I instantly felt ten years older, out of the loop.

I live in a small town. And I read, always trying to keep up with what is happening in the world. How did I miss this unbelievable assault of the animatrons? Actually, if I hadn’t needed the wood primer I bought today, I might not have experienced the impending Fright Night 2024. Well, maybe in a few weeks, I’d eventually spot a 12-foot Zombie screeching on someone’s lawn.

As I drove home, my mind traveled back to my childhood Halloweens. Nothing really scary happened to me unless someone jumped out of a hedge and yelled, “Boo!” I liked the holiday because we received homemade goodies from neighbors when we went trick-or-treating.

But what really frightened me, and changed my feelings about all things scary, was one particular movie. Regular readers in this space know that I was an every-Saturday movie goer as a kid. I was totally non-discriminating about what was playing any given week. It was just where I went and what I did for almost four hours every weekend.

When I was ten, “The Thing” arrived at the State Theater in my hometown. I knew nothing about it, except that I would be there. No decision. The description I found online today pretty much says it all: “A classic sci-fi horror film about a bloodthirsty alien organism at a remote arctic outpost.” It frightened me beyond words. I was so scared I ran all the way home, desperate for safety. I vowed then and there not to do sci-fi ever again, even if it meant skipping a Saturday. And I kept my promise to my scaredy-cat self – until Star Wars. But that is space adventure sci-fi without the horror show.

Because of that one terrifying day, I don’t watch sci-fi classic movies on television, and I don’t read science fiction. I fell asleep in front of the tube one night, years ago, and woke up in the wee hours during “The Shining.” I never got back to sleep, even after checking the door locks and turning on a few lights. Being petrified is not my idea of fun. And I guess that’s why I was so stunned at this happy little boy being so excited by today’s version of terror.

After I checked the prices, to see what people would pay for this pleasure, I was even more dumbfounded. Lowe’s animatrons appeared to top off around $400. Holy jack-o-lanterns! But googling produced eye-popping prices. I found a Frankenstein monster for $3400, a Banshee for $4000, and a Grumpy Gargoyle for $7800!! With all the bells and whistles. And flashing lights, roars, and shrieks. Yikes.

Roars and shrieks are exactly what I would do if some easily enchanted little person wanted me to buy one of these apparitions. But my older grandchild does love Halloween. She has never met a knife-wielding ghoul she didn’t adore.

I guess I just don’t get it. Kids today have embraced terror as a form of fun. While I cower in the corner. Fuggedaboudit.

Email Marcy O’Brien at moby.32@hotmail.com