What happened to Halloween?

I have such fond memories of Halloween growing up in a town much like Westfield. I remember running home from school to get dressed in my scare crow costume and spending hours and hours trying to fill my pillow case up with treats. It was a child centered day where neighbors greeted families and generously provided them with treats. Some of my neighbors made homemade candy for the kids on the block making us feel lucky to have such thoughtful and special people as neighbors. People took much pride in their homes decorating them with mums, pumpkins and the occasional casper the ghost hanging from the porch.
As Halloween approaches I noticed that there are an increasing number of homes that are choosing to take a much darker approach to decorating. Decapitated heads, bloody appendages, dead corpses and tombstones are strewn across front yards depicted what looks like a mass murder scene. Call me old fashioned or nostalgic but I long for the days where Halloween was more innocent and more child centered instead of so doom and gloom. I mean who exactly is the intended audience for these scary scenes? Teenagers have been exposed to this type of gore from video games and the internet. That leaves the poor little preschoolers and grammar school kids. My nephew, a couple of years ago at the age of three went trick or treating with his mom. He approached a home to be greeted by a doll painted black with bright yellow glowing eyes. As he walked towards it, its head spun around and it let out a blood curdling scream. My nephew ran for home and spent the rest of the night under the covers. He is still not fully recovered. Although I know its all in good fun I still don't see the reason for making a day geared towards kids so dark and morbid.