Real fears intrude on Halloween

The FBI debunks a hoax about attacks on malls as shoppers avoid blood-and-gore costume choices.

[Times photo: Daniel Wallace] Dustin Chapman, 4, tries on a mask at Party City in St. Petersburg. His father, Ted, said the family will go trick-or-treating in a mall and neighborhood. "I don't see why not. The kids should enjoy it."

By MIKE BRASSFIELD

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 16, 2001

Halloween may be weirder than usual this year.

Terrorism fears have people on edge, and some aren't in the mood to see masked strangers with toy weapons, even if they are only 3 feet tall. Shoppers are largely avoiding costumes involving blood and death. And an e-mail rumor is circulating on the Internet, warning people of upcoming Halloween terrorist attacks on shopping malls.

In the past week, this particular rumor has become so widespread that the federal government has taken steps to officially debunk it. The FBI says the "mall attack" warning is a hoax.

The e-mail describes a story the author heard from "a friend of a friend" who was dating a man from Afghanistan. The woman's boyfriend stood her up on a date on Sept. 6, and then she found his home completely emptied, the story goes.

The e-mail message says that on Sept. 10, the woman got a letter from her boyfriend begging her not to get on any commercial airlines the next day and not to go to any malls on Halloween. The e-mail goes on to say that, after the Sept. 11 attacks, the woman immediately turned over the letter to the FBI.

In truth, the FBI never received such a letter. Federal investigators have no reason to believe that anyone is planning to attack malls on Halloween.

But the e-mail warning has been forwarded along by so many Internet users, the FBI has been deluged by calls from people wondering whether it is true. The FBI says the e-mail message is "not a credible threat."

Some residents of the Tampa Bay area have heard the rumor and are treating it with a healthy dose of skepticism. They're planning to celebrate Halloween with their families, and they won't let anything stand in their way.

"We're going to take the kids trick-or-treating at the mall and in my wife's mother's neighborhood down on the beach," said Ted Chapman of St. Petersburg. "I don't see why not. The kids should enjoy it. That's what it's all about."

Chapman was shopping for costumes with his wife, Roni, and their two sons, Dustin, 4, and Dakota, 3. They were browsing at Party City, a large costume-and-decorations store on Dr. M.L. King (Ninth) St. N in St. Petersburg.

Party City is open year-round but makes its real money in October. Business was slow earlier this month, and store owner Rusty Levins worried that people weren't in the mood for Halloween. But he reports that sales have picked up sharply in the past few days.

Customers' tastes are different this year, though.

Makeup expert Dana Ashley, who works with horns plastered to his forehead, reported selling "a lot less blood."

"They're definitely staying away from the death theme," Levins said. "Some of the staple items -- the coffins, the cut-off body parts. They're staying away from that."

Halloween, a holiday partly derived from ancient festivals for the dead, is always a strange time of year anyway, even in times of peace.

Animal shelters stop adopting out black cats, fearing they will be sacrificed. Local police routinely get phone calls about Halloween pranks, bizarre behavior, or rumors about drug-laced candy being handed out to trick-or-treaters.

St. Petersburg police spokesman George Kajtsa recalls one group of Halloween revelers, years ago, who were frightening people with their fake Uzis.

"Plastic guns would not be a good thing to carry while trick-or-treating this year, especially the ones that look so real," Kajtsa said.

Many local malls are planning Halloween events. All of the malls have heard the latest Internet rumor, and they're all convinced it is a hoax.

"Halloween night is trick-or-treat night. We give away 5,000 pieces of candy," said Scott Rolston, general manager of Tyrone Square Mall in St. Petersburg. "It's a pretty big night for us."

At Countryside Mall in Clearwater, manager Don Paul is well aware of the rumor.

"We've checked into it," Paul said. "It's a hoax. It's business as usual here."

And the city of Tampa is gearing up for its big Halloween celebration -- with tighter security.

"Guavaween is going on as planned," said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin. "We don't anticipate any problems."

The Internet, with its speed, anonymity and global reach, has become a fertile breeding ground for rumors and misinformation.

In response, a whole new cottage industry has sprung up: Web sites devoted to debunking Internet rumors. These sites include www.snopes.com and www.urbanlegends.com.

Another site, www.about.com, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also maintain growing Web pages devoted to rumor control. The Sept. 11 attacks continue to spawn rumors.

David Emery, who tracks and debunks urban legends for About.com, says e-mail rumors fool otherwise intelligent people by appealing to their fears about contagion and random attacks.

Said Emery, "Some people actually call them "mind viruses.' "

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