Dress up as a "dementor", screw up your soul forever
While looking for something completely different, I just bumped into some of the halloween costumes for the upcoming All Hallow's Eve celebration this year (it's only two months away!)
Along with the usual pirate, fairy and princess costumes are some Harry Potter theme costumes, including one that just left my mouth hanging open. Yes, you could dress you child up as a dementor from the Harry Potter universe.
Not a fan of the books? Let me explain what a dementor is, and show you a picture, from Target, of all companies...
I should admit that I am a fan of the Harry Potter series and have faithfully bought and listened to each of the first six books in audio form. I'm about 75% through the last book (and no, I don't know who dies. And don't want to know until I get there in the book). Nonetheless, it is unquestionably a dark and forbidding story rife with evil characters, malicious people and much darkness. Perhaps no character more represents the utter darkness of Rowling's world than the dementors, however.
According to Scholastic's official Web site glossary, a dementor is "a creature who feeds on the happy emotions of humans. Dementors are employed as guards at Azkaban. The kiss of a Dementor will suck out a human's soul, leaving an emotionless shell."
Target.com's Dementor Costume for Halloween
Now you can see the costume and have a sense of the dark, dismal character and its role as the harbinger of evil in the book series. So tell me, even on a day that's traditionally been about warding off bad spirits and mischief-making, why on Earth would any parent want their child dressed up as a dementor?
But maybe I'm wrong. I liked to dress up as a pirate, policeman, cowboy or soldier when I was a boy (heck, I still like dressing up, but that's another story :-) and my children tend to dress up as fun positive-energy characters that inspire their own imaginations. Did the dark, scary, evil stuff just pass us by?
Would you dress up as a dementor or allow your child to dress up as one?
Posted by Dave Taylor at August 23, 2007 9:39 PM
Halloween is a big one here, we dress up all the time for no reason at all, and I am all for letting kids read most anything that will catch their attention as long as it is appropriate, but who wants to see their child running around as a mystical being that causes depression and heartache? How horrible! The rule in our house is you can be anything you want for halloween, but I try my hardest to lead them toward something positive. As my 6 year old put it one day, " Mama, why do they wanna be so UGLY?!"
I remember my brother wanting to be a Zombie..
And the rush of giggles after booing someone in the Dark. i still sneak up on hubby and boo him. I haven't out grown it.. I honestly think there is instinct to pounce like a cat out at people. Halloween is a night where people say trick or treat... Some people are the treat part and some are the trick part... I honestly would hope that the age level would be brought into consideration and that they aren't making them for 4 yr olds.. but then again I saw the michael and jason costumes and those about people who went crazy over some mythilogical creature..which isn't as real...
My kids love to dress up, as most kids do. But they don't like scary stuff. They're little kids!
They recognize the latest Harry Potter book because they saw us reading it, but they won't be reading anything like that for many, many years.
I could see a teen dressing as a dementor, but little kids need to be in a beautiful, magical, funny world, not a scary one.
When I was a kid we very often dressed up as scary things. It was empowering for us, and alot of fun besides. I think there is nothing wrong with being scary on Halloween; and besides, the scarier YOU appear to be the less likely the spirits roaming around on that night will want bother you. lol As a child the scary stuff was ghosts, or zombies, mummies, and spiders. Today with Harry Potter being such an icon the Dementor is the ultimate scary thing.
I for one would be thrilled to dress up as a Dementor and I would certainly allow my child to dress up as one too.
Kids love to explore and learn and feel new things. They might dress and behave differently because they just want to know how it feels and what type of reaction they will get. Perfect parenting is not easy or even possible, but we try our best.
I'd like it much better than those open mouthed creatures from the "scream" movies. grin. But then I live in Huntsville aka... Prison city and I just DO NOT relate prison guards with evil. Yes, the dementors are scary, just like seeing a cop car on the highway makes EVERYONE slow down (whether they are speeding or not). Having one behind me always makes my heart jump, and they they are here to protect us. To me I see dementors as the prison guards that protects the rest of the Harry Potter world from the TRUELY evil who are housed in Azkaban. Guarding people from the most evil takes a big scary thing. *shrug* Heck, even our prison guards have guns, and they may not suck your soul, but they can end your life. Just imagine what could happen withOUT dementors......shiver. That's a scary thought.
I don't see anything wrong with it. When I was young Halloween was about scary things (I've been a witch, zombie and ghost). Now everyday life scares people and Halloween seems to have turned into lady bugs and spiderman. I did not dress up my dd until she was old enough to pick out what she wanted to wear. If she wanted to be a Dementor I would let her ( so far she always wants to be a princess or fairy or fireman).
Letting your kid select his/her own costume is a benign way of letting him/her express themselves. Perhaps a short conversation that reiterates these are fictional characters might be in order if the kid seems overly excited about his/her choice or wants to continue wearing the costume long after the holiday is over. I'm more concerned about the kid the older kid that wants to dress up as Adolf Hitler (didn't Prince Harry do this) or Osama bin Laden or the like.
Unfortunately this is the goal of Harry Potter books to capture and captivate the attention to the demonic side of beings and names. I mean who knows the names of the angels that surround heaven??? Cherubim? and the names of those who guard and will fight to protect heaven? Seraphim? The emphasis has been placed in the wrong spot to give the dark side satisfaction in knowing that they are keeping people from knowing about God and the "light" side which is just as captivating and doesn't drain your soul, it fills you up.
i actually support the fact because it shows that kids are not afraid of the sadness and depression in the world
