"Jack (John Francis) Santino", Ph.D. is an academic folklorist.

More Jack Santino on Wikipedia.

Generally speaking, the whole point of adult masquerades is that you get to do something that you don't normally do.

In some parts of Europe, they'd look for bears.

People might want to shy away from being the ax murderer. Gore is still seen as unacceptable. Adults are hoping to break the rules and do a little wish fulfillment.