Luckily There's Nothing Scarier in the World than a Seven-Year-Old in a Witch Mask

The BBC reports:

Retailers who sell traditional Halloween merchandise, such as scary masks, are creating a "climate of fear", the Bishop of Bolton has said.

I have to interrupt to point out it seems journalistically irresponsible not to mention if this man is the Bishop of John Bolton or of Michael Bolton. If we're going to talk fear, we need to know if it's the "psycho at the UN" kind of fright or the "you call that singing?" scare.

"I am worried that Halloween has the potential to trivialise the realities of evil in the world and that occult practices should not be condoned, even if they are only being presented in a caricatured, light-hearted form."

Rt Rev David Gillett added: "Those in the Church supporting this move towards a more positive approach to the event are not being killjoys, but are simply reflecting the concerns of many parents and teachers across the land. "We want supermarkets to take a responsible position in relation to the products they promote for celebrating the event."

It's good to see the church, whose universal symbol is a man hanging from a cross, wants to spread a more positive image about holidays. I guess trick-or-treaters can always go around dressed as priests, although in many neighborhoods that can be mighty terrifying too.