Is Halloween dead?

The iconic image of fall is an adorable one: Tots in princess and superhero threads, pattering from door to door, bags thrust out with shouts of the familiar demand.

But this Halloween, doorsteps in Kootenai County might see scant traces of trick-or-treaters.

Instead of door-to-door action, many kids this weekend are expected to head to organized festivities. They're hitting churches for harvest festivals, or the mall for indoor trick or treating - shindigs some parents prefer for the safe environment while avoiding the predicted showers.

"I think a lot of families are looking for options," said Gay Glasson, events coordinator for the Coeur d'Alene DowntownAssociation.

Look at the downtown trick-or-treating event today, she said.

While still outdoors, the event is in a contained area, has parking, and, lasting from 4 to 6 p.m., is early enough for parents to whip up dinner afterward, she said.

With 1,500 kids attending in past years, she added, many choose that over neighborhood trick-or-treating.

"Families don't have to worry about what their children bring home, and they can turn it into a fun family experience instead of just knocking on strangers' doors," Glasson said, adding that many adults strut in costume with the kids. "And a lot of neighborhoods are dark. Downtown, all the street lights and store lights are on, so it's an easier thing."

Little ones put off by spooky neighborhood decorations turned instead to a cheerier environment at the Hayden Christian Center School's fall festival on Friday, said receptionist Janie Ford.

"I did this with my kids when they were small. We replace everything they gain outside, with candy (provided)," said Ford.

Plus there's just more to do, she said. The festival's face painting, petting zoo and hay maze puts begging for Tootsie Rolls on doorsteps to shame.

Up to 200 have attended in the past, Ford said, because parents find it safer than the streets.

"I think it's better than going door-to-door. You really don't know whose door you're going to," she said.

Church festivals also tend to stave off boredom, which can fester during the monotony of trick-or-treating.

At Candlelight Christian Fellowship's fall festival, planned from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sunday in Silver Lake Mall, kids have options aplenty to burn calories: Trick or treating at stores, playing games, a cake walk, face painting, cookies and ice cream certificates and a free raffle.

"I compare it to when I was a kid trick or treating in the '60s," said Youth Pastor Bryan Varney. "There's probably less candy, but it's a lot more fun."

Varney is preparing for an onslaught of children, he added, which he quantifies by the amount of cupcakes he has to tote.

Nearly 500 this year, he said.

"It's one of our bigger things that we do," Varney said.

Another plus, he added: No weather concerns.

"Even if it snows, our show goes on," he said.

Some families just don't do Halloween, said Emily Sawyer with North Country Chapel in Post Falls. That's why the church's Harvest Festival from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sunday focuses on puppet shows, carnival treats and game booths, she said.

"Halloween generally holds that whole dark, Satanic worshipping thing," she said, adding that 800 to 1,000 are expected at the event. "We know a lot of people in the church want to get the kids out and do something fun, but not be participating along with something that's to do with Halloween."

Lt. Stuart Miller with the Kootenai County Sheriff's Department said more patrol cars will be out watching for trick or treaters on the streets this weekend.

He couldn't say if he has seen fewer crowds hoofing it in recent years.

But he knows what he prefers.

"I'm a house-to-house kind of guy. I enjoy taking my kids and standing in the dark," Miller admitted. "That's the way I was raised. But I'm sure at some point, for other people, their tradition becomes something different."