Regarding all of my trick or treaters, I live in an affluent suburb but not so affluent that the houses are far apart. Parents from nearby suburbs bring their kids to our neighborhood to trick or treat. We often see minivans pull over and half a dozen kids or more will come spilling out, which is great. I’d say nearly half my trick or treaters are Hispanic, and there aren’t a lot of Hispanic families in my neighborhood. My best guess based on candy-purchased-to-candy-left-over is that we had about 175 kids. Love it. Keeps me young, at least at heart.

There are some distinct benefits to CGI, but I miss the sheer ingenuity and mechanical genius of the Old School effects in the movies.
We all enjoy the Myth Busters’ look at the backgrounds of some of them.

I don’t even aspire to that level!
I worked with a radio engineer many years ago (c. 1978) who put a carved jack-o-lantern outside his door on a swiveling turntable, lit the inside of course, and installed a tiny speaker. He had a very early version of a door camera, rigged by himself.
From inside the house, when the doorbell rang, he would speak into a mic to the kids, swiveling the turntable so the Jack was looking at them directly.
Pretty spooky.

I don’t mind the giant skeletons per se, but I find that yards with every inflatable possible and too much other stuff are over-stimulating, and I can’t really enjoy looking at any of it.

We have a nephew whose family makes a big production of putting all of their skeletons (various sizes) in “coordinated” costumes. One year they did a “career day” exhibit, one year a football field with all the different kinds of players, this year the Oz characters (a bit of serendipity with our Margaret Hamilton bios).

Very clever, and not over-powering.

A transition was made with more adults escorting their children, and then more cars driving around to cover a larger area. The game became a race to acquire more loot. Soon followed by Halloween parties designed to contain and protect the revelers.

My true joy was making elaborate decorations, most of them failed. The simpler suggestions to the imagination were the most effective.

My Brother was a master at designing and building a truly scary scene. One year he’d lined the entrance walk with cornstalks and some custom effects. Parents refused to take their children up the walk away from the street. I’ve never matched that level.

So sorry to hear about your mother having ALS. It is indeed an awful disease.