Haunted houses and trick-or-treating. Costumes and candy fill store shelves. The scent of pumpkin-flavored everything in the air. This can only mean one thing: October is here, and with it comes Halloween.
There are so many fun activities that celebrate Halloween. First on the list is pumpkin carving—a Halloween classic that has no age restrictions. Whether it be a silly or scary face, it’s a glowing work of squashy art. As for haunted houses, there are some local favorites like Freddy’s Haunts, the Scare House, Cheeseman’s and who could forget Kennywood’s Phantom Fright Nights? Although Kennywood isn’t exactly a haunted house, it still brings the same amount of Halloween fun. Maybe you’re more into Halloween parties with costume contests and sweets that look gruesomely delicious, because who doesn’t love dressing up? You get to reinvent yourself for a night where your only limit is your own creativity.
According to Senior Jordan Kester, his favorite thing about Halloween is the creativity. “Halloween really seems to bring out the creativity in some people. I enjoy seeing the thought and effort put into things like Halloween costumes,” Kester said.
Maybe you’re reading this and you’re thinking, “I’m just not the partying type.” Don’t forget that there are always Halloween movies, too. It’s so easy to flip channels and find different horror movies or cartoon Halloween specials. Gather with some friends for a movie marathon, throw in a bowl of snacks or some pumpkin spice lattes and just chill out for a night.
Halloween is fantastically fun as is, but it is even more fun if you are safe about it. If you’re heading out to check out a haunted house, make sure you drive safely and follow rules or instructions given by the people running the haunted house. Maybe you’re not going trick-or-treating, but if you’re going to be out on the road during trick-or-treat hours, be sure to be cautious of pedestrians. Small children in crazy costumes all hyped up on candy and Halloween spirit can be highly unpredictable, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.
Also, if you or your younger siblings are going trick-or-treating, make sure you are cautious and travel in groups with flashlights readily available, and also check the candy before eating it as fast as you can (as reckless and fun as that sounds). And by check it, I don’t mean just check for gross excuses for treats like crackers or a box of raisins, look for anything that may have been tampered with or opened. If you find something like that, just be proactive and throw it away.
If you’re one of those people that gets their Halloween kicks from putting firecrackers in their decaying jack-o-lanterns on the first day of November, just be safe and try not to get pumpkin guts everywhere. Other than that, have a Happy Halloween!