Halloween is back with its familiar traditions in the Upper School, and students were asked about their favorite movies and candy around this time of year.
Halloween is just around the corner, and the time for fall activities is here. This year, students are planning what costumes to wear, hoping for an opportunity to dress up as something different from last year. For fall teams that means participating in group costumes, however, many teams are still undecided on what to wear. The Upper School has already started getting in the spirit by setting up house decorations (some even decorating as early as September!). While Washington seems to fall behind on the more extravagant embellishments, Alcott Day has not stopped short of its spirit, with faux cobwebs spreading across the lockers, streamers hanging from the ceiling, and stuffed figures displayed all around the house space.
The annual Halloween parade is coming up on October 29th, a time for the entire school to come together and show off individual and group costumes on the quad. As I write this, autumn seems nowhere in sight with temperatures in the 80s, yet leaves are beginning to fall, and traditions are underway.
I asked students what their favorite movies are to watch at this time of year. Of course, there are the classics, never failing to get a scare or scream from their audience. Beetlejuice, Ghostbusters, The Shining, and The Silence of the Lambs are just a few movies that never get old. For Allison Eichsteadt ’25, watching Hocus Pocus is a tradition every Halloween. Winston Sun ’25 hates horror movies, so conversely, he enjoys watching Christmas movies around Halloween. He says that his favorite candy is Nerds because “sugar covered in sugar is literally perfection.” For me, scary movies are not in fact ‘entertaining’, but rather stressful and unpleasant to watch “just for fun.” Some may argue differently, but Halloween is the only time of year that I bring myself to watch an hour or two of horror. My all-time favorite is Psycho, perhaps because it is an iconic movie of the 60s and knowing the plot beforehand makes the movie a lot easier to watch. Scary movies are also just better to watch when I’m with my friends.
Hopefully, this Halloween will feel more normal in contrast to last year. With trick-or-treating as a possible activity, and school being fully in person again, GA’s familiar traditions and spirit of fall is back.
