Full disclosure: I love Halloween. Objectively, it’s a great holiday. What other day do fully grown adults get to play dress up without being police being involved? Well, there’s cosplay, but that’s a different article. Children get candy and mostly from people who they’ve never met. Nevermind the urban legends about tainted treats, getting free stuff from your neighbors is pretty awesome. As a parent of two kids, I’m excited because after they go to bed, I get to pick through their candy stashes (don’t judge me)!
Now, I’ve been in churches in lots of different places and there are always some people who do not care for Halloween. I can understand. There is certainly the macabre side that seeks gross outs and cheap screams. There are the spooky legends, gruesome decorations, and at least a tacit acceptance of aspects of darkness. But I would remind you that we don’t shun Easter because of Peeps and Egg Hunts. And I say let’s not throw out a good holiday for a few rotten pumpkins out there.
Halloween is derived from the Catholic observance of All Hallows’ Eve, which is the day before All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1). All Saints, which we celebrated last Sunday in worship, is the day to remind us that those who have departed before us in the faith are in fact still with us. They have not been obliterated and they, in fact, live. They live with God, through the grace of Jesus Christ. 
It is common to light candles in their honor or remembrance, or even to leave food out for them (because they’re still “alive”). It’s a reminder that those who have passed beyond the veil are still part of the Body of Christ and we are connected to them through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Now, you give any holiday enough time and it will change. A focus on the departed members of the body of Christ turned to ghouls and ghosts. Costumes and grotesque masks were worn to scare away the unwanted spirits, and on it goes. But at its core, Halloween is a Christian holiday, and a good one. I’m no stick in the mud and I’ll dress up with the best of them, but I’ll also take some time to remember those who have gone before me, to remember that I will rejoin them one day. And that will be a true holiday!