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Plenty of people are into Halloween for the craft making, making your own props and costumes instead of spending insane amounts of money on them, and for the entertainment value.
A lot of Haunted houses I have come across were more for making people laugh at themselves and entertain them, not trying to give people nightmares. They have the ads and tag lines that make them much scarier than they are to lure people in. I know of a lot of people who set up haunted houses and will purposely tone things down for smaller children and skittish people.
Not everyone that sets up a haunted house is a mean person whose goal is to terrify children. I have never, ever seen a child, teen or parent try to 'intimidate' older people into giving them candy. If someone's porch light is on and they are handing out candy, kids go up to the house and say 'trick or treat', get their candy and 9 times out of 10 they say thank you and go on their way.
Plenty of people who aren't into Halloween for religious purposes still know of it's origins and hold a level of reverence for those traditions. Others who started out liking Halloween, learn about it's origins and spread that information on to others.
A lot of kids who were into Halloween have grown up to be effects artists, make up artists and prop makers for major movies, T.V. shows and theater productions.
Haunted houses can be a good opportunity to hone skills in acting, people management, event organization, and general business management. Many haunted houses put up by communities are fundraisers for other community events, like 4th of July fireworks and festivals, or construction of a new city building like a fire house or police station. Community haunted houses are a good way to encourage teens and young adults to volunteer and give to others.
If you look beyond scaring kids and candy you can find a lot of positive aspects to celebrating Halloween.
And yes, if a profit can be made, people will do what they can to make it. Look at New Years, Valentines Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plenty of products are pushed out and you are encouraged to buy them, all because of holiday spirit. Many people don't have the time, or the know how, to make their own stuff for the holiday so they buy what they want instead.
