America Online Launches the Shop@AOL Gifts & Specialty Halloween Shop and a Special Content Area Featuring Cool Costumes, Creepy Crafts and Spooky Stories

Business Wire, Oct 11, 2000

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2000

Pop Music Stars, Monsters are Top Costumes for Halloween 2000,

According to AOL Member Poll

'Halloween Costumes' the Week's Most Searched for Shopping Item,

According to AOL Data

'Tis the season for ghoulish gourds, candy-packed pillowcases, and haunted house tours, and America Online is heralding the arrival of fright night with a special Halloween shopping area found in Shop@AOL's Gifts and Specialty Shops (AOL Keyword: Halloween Shop).

Visitors will easily find great suggestions for costumes and decorations, as well as a special programming area (AOL Keyword: Halloween) which includes fill-in-the-blanks scary stories, spooked house chats, and Frankenstein-size fun.

According to a recent AOL kids' costume poll, music celebs and ghoulish monsters are expected to rule the night on October 31, with 21% saying they plan to dress as monsters and 20% saying they will dress as Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake or another pop star.

In an AOL women's costume poll, the seasonal she-devil (with 33% of the vote) is neck and neck with Britney Spears (32%), surpassing Brittany from "Big Brother" (7%) and several other selections as the top costume choice.

Wrestling superstar "The Rock" leads the pack in the men's costume poll with 20% of the vote, where options run the gamut from the frightfully-favorite ghost costume (11%) to monochromatically-dressed money man Regis Philbin (7%).

A One-Click Connection to Creative Costumes

More and more consumers are turning to the Internet for Halloween costumes. In the week ending October 8, "Halloween Costumes" ranked No. 1 on the list of top 20 searched for shopping items according to AOL data on AOL, CompuServe and Netscape.

Whether you are looking to buy or make your Halloween costume from scratch, AOL offers a one-stop destination for all of a consumer's fright night needs. If you'd rather shop than cut cardboard, Shop@AOL (AOL Keyword: Halloween Shop) gives consumers one-click access to cute, cuddly, funny and frightening costumes.

From an adorable bunny for your baby to a ferocious tiger for your toddler, parents can avoid the mad scramble at the store and conveniently shop from home.

If you prefer to create your own costume, AOL's special Halloween content area (AOL Keyword: Halloween) offers hundreds of creative costume ideas in the following categories:

-- Preschool and Younger--How about a Baked Potato or Beautiful Butterfly?

-- Elementary School--Ash from Pokemon, anyone? or Angelica from Rugrats?

-- Middle School--Baby Boomer or Bill Gates?

-- High School and Beyond--Care for a 70s Cher costume or Chinese Food Carton?

Want a frugal, yet fun costume for your child? Check out "10 Inexpensive Costume Ideas," which include easy-to-make get-ups ranging from a baby "greaser" to a M&M candy made out of poster board. For those with serious sewing-machine aversions, don't despair; this article contains many costumes that (big relief sigh) don't require any sewing or gluing.

Halloween Happenings and Spooky Special Content

Additional Halloween-themed content and features throughout the AOL Service and its family of brands includes:

-- Halloween Around Town: Every city has its selection of local

haunts, but finding the best ones can be a trick. AOL's

Digital City and MapQuest.com can point you in the right

direction. Digital City (www.digitalcity.com or AOL Keyword:

Local) offers suggestions for which local attractions to see

and which ones to hide from this season, including

celebrations for kids and adults in more than 200 markets

coast to coast. MapQuest's driving directions make getting to

costume shops, Halloween craft stores, haunted house tours,

pumpkin patches and other frightfully fun events easy and

convenient.

-- Safety Tips for Trick-or-Treaters and Devilish Drivers: Before

your little Pikachu, Madeline, or Power Puff Girl takes to the

sidewalks in search of sweet loot, check out AOL's "Enjoy a

Safe Halloween" special (AOL Keyword: Halloween). The United

States Consumer Products Safety Commission has recorded three

major safety injuries each Halloween: 1) eye abrasions from

sharp objects, 2) skin irritations or rashes from decorative

face paints and 3) burns from flammable costumes. This area

also includes important reminders about neighborhood safety.

For example, children should always carry a flashlight, walk

on sidewalks and driveways, cross only at corners, and always

remove masks before crossing streets. And, MapQuest.com offers

additional Halloween tips on driving safely around all those

little monsters haunting the neighborhood

(www.mapquest.com/halloweensafety).

-- Fun and Games for Little Goblins: AOL's Kids Only Channel

offers its own special array of Halloween goodies and

activities (AOL Keyword: KO Halloween). Among the treats kids

can find here are spooky interactive games, creepy e-greetings

they can send to friends, frightening goodies like printable

decorations and comics, and fun things to do like making scary

Halloween sounds at home.