2020 has already been full of frights, and this year's Halloween is sure to be one of the scariest holidays we've seen yet.
With coronavirus cases rising across the country, the spooky season has taken on a new meaning. The number of daily coronavirus cases in the U.S. reached a record high on Thursday, with 88,521 new cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
The surge in cases has caused officials to reemphasize the need for safety precautions during Halloween festivities in order to limit the spread. Since traditional trick-or-treating during this once-in-a-blue-moon event (literally) is a high-risk activity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging alternatives to traditional candy sharing.
The CDC has identified "one-way trick-or-treating" as a moderate-risk activity, suggesting treats be individually wrapped and "lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance" at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard.
With that in mind, some Halloween revelers have invented creepy contraptions for one-way trick-or-treating and spreading holiday cheer. Here's how some people are getting their ghoul on safely:
Halloween Zipline
Attention parents: this creative invention dispenses a special surprise for you, too. Matt Thompson of Thompson Woodworks constructed a "Halloween Zipline" that runs between his porch and sidewalk to allow visitors access to sweet treats and (adult-approved) spooky spirits.
Reese's Trick-Or-Treat Door
Keep your eyes on the road while walking through your neighborhood and you might just see this robotic door zooming around. Reese's unveiled a nine-foot-tall orange door that dispenses king sizes Reese's Peanut Butter Cups when you say "trick or treat."
"This Halloween is unlike any other, so we've upped the ante on creativity as a result," said Allen Dark, Reese's senior brand manager. "A robotic Reese's dispensing door is just what the world needs right now!" (He's not wrong).
Spooky Slides and Candy Chutes
For those who love to DIY, check out this candy chute to keep monsters more than six feet away. Andrew Beattie created a candy chute with the help of his 6-year-old daughter so that fellow trick-or-treaters can participate in a contactless holiday amid the pandemic. Beattie plans to drop candy down the chute on Halloween night and a sign at the bottom of the tube will show visitors where to hold their bags for the treats to drop into.
"I want our youngins to be able to have some sense of normalcy and maybe a little bit of exercise in all this madness," Beattie wrote on Facebook.
This six-foot-long candy chute allows homeowners to dispense treats to kids from a safe distance.To keep the spirit of Halloween alive, the Kurzendoerfer family of Washington, DC, started building and installing "COVID-safe candy slides" on the railings of homes in their neighborhood for a small fee.
Cautious Costumes
In addition to spooky decor, this year's Halloween is sure to draw some creative 2020-themed costumes. The scariest of all? Probably this one from Greg Dietzenbach, who created this Zoom-inspired costume for his 12-year-old daughter, Ada. Featuring several spooky participants, this costume is sure to scare up some fear among ghosts of muted meetings past.
2020 has been a long year, so everyone deserves some treats this holiday weekend. No matter how you ghoul, make sure to mask up and follow the CDC's guidelines on social distancing because nothing is scarier than a super-spreader event.
