As elementary schoolers, Halloween was made complete only by the festive school parties and extensive parades around campus.
With students eagerly donning outfits that put them one step closer to being their favorite movie character, while anticipating the evening’s candy haul, October 31 was looked forward to by virtually all. However, in high school, the extravagance of the spooky celebrations became watered down by mundane lessons, assessments, and homework assignments.
For English and theatre teacher Jessi Dykstra, Halloween seems like an under-celebrated event for the high school students she teaches.
“No one is too old for Halloween,” Dykstra said. “No one is too cool for Halloween. Just do it, have fun. Why do we have to be serious year-round?”
As a theatre-enthusiast and creative child, dressing up on Halloween has always been a fixed feature of her October. Specifically, Dykstra DIY-ed many of her outfits, with the most notable being Leonardo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles—a costume spanning multiple years of her childhood.
Similarly, current sophomore and swimmer Ellie Palmer looks forward to dressing up each autumn. As a kid, her favorite Halloween look was one with her sister, where Ellie was a pink princess while her sibling was assigned the role of the fairy tale mouse.
As a high schooler, her 2024 Halloween costume follows a similar pattern, with Ellie planning to dress up as a version of the Disney princess, Ariel, from The Little Mermaid.
“[I think Halloween is] appropriately rated,” Ellie said. “The people who want to have fun with it have fun with it. Everyone should participate because why not?”
While she can’t say she will be wearing her costume to school on Halloween, Ellie has planned post-school festivities to celebrate the holiday.
While FHC undoubtedly has students and teachers who look forward to the scary celebration, there are a fair share who are skeptical about the holiday.
For AP World History and Psychology teacher Danielle Redman, Halloween falls at the bottom of her holiday hierarchy.
“I think that Halloween is the second worst holiday,” Redman said. “The first being New Year’s Eve. I think those are the holidays in which our expectations are the highest. We always think something really special is going to happen—it is going to be the best holiday ever—and the expectations are never met. It always falls too short.”
Even though not the biggest fan as an adult, as a child, Redman appreciated the holiday. Regardless, being a high school teacher, she continues to dress up for Halloween and believes that wearing a costume is a festive way for anyone who feels inclined to participate.
While dressing up is doubtlessly a sizable part of the holiday, scary movies constitute a fair portion of the late-October celebration.
However, the range of what viewers consider to be frightening is a broad spectrum, with varying levels of tolerance. Dykstra—who loves the Disney Channel Original Movie series of Halloweentown—enjoys a range of spooky films.
“I love the scary side of Halloween,” Dykstra said, “but, also, there is the wholesome side. [I don’t like] Tim Burton [films]. I know they’re classic, but the animation freaks me out.”
While claymation might not be the most highly-loved movie genre, horror movies tend to be a more widely accepted Halloween medium.
For Ellie, a fan of Hocus Pocus and disliker of Spookley the Square Pumpkin, horror movies are a entertaining Halloween group activity.
“[I’m] kind-of [a horror movie person],” Ellie said. “Horror movies are good, but only if you’re with people.”
Outside of movie watching, past elementary school, the decision of how to celebrate Halloween becomes more prevalent. In the transition between childhood and adulthood, adolescents are faced with the question of how to appropriately participate in the holiday.
While childhood would undoubtedly bring a night of trick-or-treating and a bag of sweets, as teenagers, the activity is largely one of the past.
“In high school, you get to this weird point where you [think], ‘do I [trick-or-treat]?’” Dykstra said. “I wouldn’t judge high school seniors [or younger] going trick-or-treating. Just make sure you have decorum [on] because I’ve seen plenty of people who get rough and rowdy, and there are little kids out there. As long as you’re respectful, up until you’re 17 or 18 [years old], [you should be good to trick-or-treat].”
Understandably, unless supervising a younger sibling, dressing-up is a key ingredient for a night of candy collecting. However, at a certain point, the activity becomes one that needs to be put to rest, serving as an indicator of growing up.
Redman, who dressed up as a character from the TV show The Bear with her husband last year, emphasizes the importance of trick-or-treating being for younger generations.
“I think there should be an age limit for collecting candy,” Redman said. “That keeps [trick-or-treating] special for childhood. Once you leave the house, and move out into your own place, that is when it’s time for you to start distributing the candy.”
While Halloween night activities are up to personal decision, at school, FHC generally lacks any celebration of the holiday. With a scarce amount of students dressing up in costume, October 31 generally feels like just another school day.
Considering the few, if any, number of classes that do any unique activities, the school lacks any preplanned festivities. While the lack of a colossal celebration is understandable (being that it is in the aftermath of Homecoming Week’s chaos) the total lack of regard for the special day is dispiriting.
However, members of the school community have expressed their interest in some-sort of an autumnal celebration.
“I think it would be interesting if maybe we didn’t focus on Halloween [at FHC], but we focused more on the harvest season,” Redman said. “I know a lot of people are quite religious at our school, and the holiday of Halloween can have some negative connotations, but if we were to expand it into harvest, autumn season, that could be good.”
Accordingly, Dykstra expressed her enthusiasm for a hypothetical corn maze, haunted house, or other fall activity at FHC.
While a massive event is, unfortunately, not in the works for the 2024 Halloween, a festival or party of some sort is a plausible goal for next school year.
Even though FHC doesn’t specifically allocate time for Halloween festivities, the holiday remains easily celebratable. Specifically, students and teachers alike can simply dress up in costume.
“I want to see costumes when I’m here on Halloween-day,” Dykstra said.
