Graphic by Nethan Crew, Managing editor of production By Carter James, Editor in chief
Halloween for a college student is simple: you go to a Halloween party, or you stay in and watch movies. Because of that, it seems like every year the holiday becomes more and more irrelevant.
There used to be magic to the entire month of October. Looking around stores and seeing your favorite characters packaged into a costume set. All your favorite candies in massive bags. The insane decorations that you wished you could take home. All the shows on Disney Channel, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network had special episodes for Halloween and regularly played family-friendly Halloween classics.
The actual day felt surreal. Waking up in the morning and staring down at your costume that you’ll soon parade around the neighborhood in. The special Halloween bowls your parents would set out for candy. Going to school and talking to your friends about your costumes and who will get the most candy that night. Then at night, the whole neighborhood is lit up by inflatables and door lights. The smiling faces of neighbors when they see you in costume as they give you candy. And finally getting home, feeling accomplished with the immense amount of candy you now have.
Halloween used to be a communal experience. It used to feel like an event.
Now, it feels like another irrelevant holiday like Valentine’s Day. One where commercialization feels more important than community. It’s almost as if boxes are being checked off by the stores, TV networks and brands that we all associate Halloween memories with.
I don’t see as many kids in my neighborhood going door to door for candy anymore. It seems as if they hit the trunk or treat circuits and go out of town to more affluent neighborhoods. But Halloween isn’t about glitz and glam and getting jumbo sized candy, it is about the communal experience that every community can have.
There is hope for the future of Halloween though. This year, I’ve seen an immense number of events hosted by organizations all across campus. More students than ever are dressed in all kinds of costumes as general attendance at campus events grows larger.
Now, more than ever, I feel like we need Halloween. Go buy that cheap looking costume from Walmart or that overpriced one at Spirit Halloween. Make that cosplay you’ve been thinking of for weeks. Carve that funny looking face into a pumpkin. Go out to a party. Go to a haunted house. Watch that scary movie or Hocus Pocus for the umpteenth time.
Whatever you end up doing for Halloween, do it with friends, family and loved ones. Being deep into the semester can be isolating, but the Halloween season is a moment where you can slow down and enjoy the community that is around you. Because what’s better than dressing up as a ghost, a goblin or Monkey D. Luffy and eating heavily processed sugar when you are with the people you love?
Carter James is the editor in chief of the Alabamian. He is a senior Mass Communication major with a concentration in broadcast production and minor in digital filmmaking. He is an avid cinephile, the occasional gamer and Batman fanatic in his spare time.
