Welcome to September, the beginning of fall, and the month ushering in what's become one of the biggest holidays of the year: Halloween.

Halloween was once the exclusive world of kids dressed up as their favorite fantasy and cartoon hero/heroine, or whatever Mom could pull together at the last second.

Today Halloween has been largely co-opted by adults, who spend quadrillions of dollars every year on highly detailed costumes and elaborate theme parties. It's as if all those grown kids of yesteryear suddenly find themselves living out the movie “Big”: all the childhood dreams, fueled by adult money. They still dress as their favorite characters, but “fantasy” has acquired whole new dimensions.