There were few things more exciting to me as a child than Halloween. What could be better than being able to become your favorite superhero, cartoon character, or animal for the night? Oh that’s right, becoming your favorite superhero, cartoon character, or animal while running from house to house filling up pillowcases of candy that would satisfy your sweet tooth until it was time for Thanksgiving pies and Christmas cookies.
There were also various pre-Halloween activities that set the stage for the big night. Trips to the pumpkin patch, haunted houses, and "Halloweentown" movie marathons were a must on every ‘90s kid’s list. The whole month of October was a whirlwind of excitement and anxiousness leading up to the night of the 31st. Halloween was so magical that not even a melted wonder ball, torn Party City costume or the occasional apple or toothbrush thrown in the candy bag could bring me down. Reflecting on the memories of Halloweens past, I began to think about modern day Halloween. More specifically, I began to think about when and why things went wrong with the holiday.
Fast-forward about 10 or 15 years and Halloween has a whole new look. Oct. 31 is now, thanks to "Mean Girls," the "one night a year when a girl can dress like a total slut and no other girls can say anything about it.” Go to any college campus on Halloween and you will see an array of basic bunnies and cats bopping around from frat house to frat house throughout the night. Instead of looking out for ghosts, goblins, and their evil curses, girls must now watch out for frat boys, the one-night-stand boys, and their “commitment issues." Boos have turned into booze. And the scariest thing about Halloween is the hangover you can expect on Nov. 1.
So what went wrong? Why did Halloween lose its spooky touch? My theory is that we lost our imaginations. We got too caught up in the mundane tasks of adulthood. We don’t have time to brainstorm for hours after school about what costume will win the class costume contest this year. We watch more online lectures than we do Disney Halloween movie classics. Our idea of getting in the holiday spirit is ordering a pumpkin spice latte with three shots of espresso to fuel our all-nighter before a big exam. So technically, it isn’t our fault. Back in high school we were all so concerned with growing up, that we forgot to enjoy being a kid while we could. We were too quick to trade our night of trick-or-treating for a night spent at a house party.
Luckily, Halloween doesn’t have to be just average again this year. The trends of the 90s seem to be reappearing and more popular than ever. Limited Too is making a comeback, "Toystory 4" is in the works, and boy bands are still making girls’ hearts throb. So why not make Halloween 2015 as awesome as Halloween 1999? Maybe add a little creativity to the various costumes you wear this halloweek. Or visit a haunted house. Or buy a variety pack of Wonka’s Nerds and Laffy Taffy to enjoy while having a Halloween movie marathon. We aren’t totally in the real world or complete adults yet, so we might as well simultaneously enjoy our frat parties and childish Halloween traditions while we can.
