As Halloween approaches, there seems to be an increasing variety of ways to spend the popular fall holiday. When many people are younger, they go trick or treating with their families. As they age, many begin to dress up by themselves or create fun group costumes with friends. However, as high schoolers, there are now a variety of ways to celebrate this spooky holiday. Some students find themselves at large parties, in costumes that can range from classic films and childhood shows to memes. Others hang out with smaller groups of friends, whether they are simply watching Halloween movies or also dressing up. Halloween is always idolized as a holiday with extravagant or funny costumes, big parties, terrifying movies, and of course tons of candy. Yet many students instead find themselves in a foggy, uncertain environment. Some even appear to be growing out of the holiday and not celebrating entirely. So, the question is, how are people at FLHS spending their Halloween? 

A common idea associated with Halloween are the huge parties with lavish costumes often seen in popular movies and television shows. These parties do happen, and are truly fun activities during the holiday. Many even begin during the weekend leading up to the night. Highschoolers across their respective towns dress up and come together to hang out, usually with a variety of music, candy, movies, and games. However, these parties often feel like the norm, which can in turn make it feel embarrassing to not go to one. But as our polls have shown, most people don’t necessarily celebrate Halloween this way and students carry that essential spooky excitement no matter how they celebrate. 

As highschoolers it can feel taboo to express the want to go trick or treating. Despite this, there is actually a good population who report that they are in fact going this year! The majority of this group are ninth and tenth graders, but a good amount of juniors and seniors also said they would. These students continue with the tradition of trick or treating even if it is not for the whole night, using it both as a way to pass their time with friends and also get free candy. Many  who said they were trick or treating said they planned to go in group costume and/or with friends. Others said they also planned to go to the house of a friend afterward and continue the celebrations with the common rituals of counting and trading candy or watching a scary movie. However, many students said they felt as though there is nothing better to do on Halloween night and find some embarrassment since there is an absence of people mentioning trick or treating. Still, many still have a good time and are actually joined by a good number of their peers.

Many of those who are not trick or treating are instead spending their night with friends. There is an overwhelming amount of students who spend the holiday this way, most often watching movies with them. These students who do not feel the need to spend their night in a party full of masked and unfamiliar faces would much rather spend it with close friends doing fun activities like pumpkin carving, watching movies, making sweets, and just using the holiday as an excuse to have a good time. In high school, Halloween can carry the stigma of needing huge plans in order to take advantage of the night, but it is not any less fun to instead go to a small gathering with a good group of friends. 

However, this loud, somewhat chaotic holiday is not for everyone. Many students reported that they will be staying in their homes this Halloween, either feeling as though it has become overrated and not as enjoyable as it used to be, or simply having too much school work to enjoy the festivities. Others complained that it was too much effort to get dressed up and go out, so they would much rather spend the night inside in the comfort of their home. This is especially common for Freshman and even some Sophomores, who feel as though they are too old to go out trick or treating, and are often considered too young to go to parties. This mix leads to more kids staying inside and not celebrating the holiday at all.  

Nonetheless, the holiday is supposed to be a fun, lighthearted way to enjoy a good scare, represent a truly spooky season, and act as an excuse to eat an excessive amount of candy, no matter how anyone decides to celebrate it.

Regardless of how you are spending this Halloween night, make sure to have fun and stay safe out there, Falcons!