If I had to pinpoint the period of time when Halloween loses its innocence, I'd say middle school. It's around that time that Disney princess costumes are shortened into minidresses and boys realize that dressing up like sleazy men has a surprisingly effective lure on the ladies. With all of these tweens dressing up as baby Cisco Adlers and PG-13 Snow Whites, it's only natural that by the time they hit high school, the kids are emulating Roman Polanski or Britney Spears getting out of a car. Read more...

Photo: Performers dressed as characters from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” for Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood talk with a staffer on Oct. 2. (Left) An actor dresses as Dr. Frank-N-Furter ““ a definite do this Halloween.