Article by Jin Wen Xie '24
Photography by Zachary Lutzky '24
Halloween?
As pumpkin season finally arrives with pumpkin spice flavor everything, one crucial holiday is drastically different this year: Halloween. For as long as everyone can remember, celebrating Halloween included time-old traditions such as trick-or-treating around Williamsburg and going out dressed in your finest costumes. With social distancing and health guidelines this year, Halloween celebrations look quite different. Social gathering limits and the lack of the usual trick-or-treating crowd are to be expected. But that doesn’t mean Halloween still can’t be celebrated. Celebrating Halloween can still be possible, albeit in different ways compared to traditional methods everyone is familiar with.
Trick-Or-Treating Alternatives
Although the sharing of candy and other Halloween treats can’t occur in the traditional sense of participating in trick-or-treating, the sharing of candy can still happen on smaller scales. Hallmates can choose to leave out candy in the front of their doorways (but make sure you quarantine it for the appropriate amount of time). Small-scale distribution of pre-packaged candies and treats should be handled with care and best given out with the following: chopsticks, tongs, or candy scoops to avoid unwanted physical contact. Even Zoom get-togethers can act as a substitute form of Halloween parties. Speaking of Zoom get-togethers, here’s some ideas on how to conduct fun virtual Halloween parties.
Set up a playlist of classic Halloween music and films. Below is some inspiration for your playlist:
Classic Halloween Songs
“This is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas soundtrack
“Thriller” by Michael Jackson
“Monster Mash” by Bobby Pickett
“I Put A Spell On You” from The Hocus Pocus soundtrack
“Oogie Boogie” by Toby Parkinson
“Ghostbusters” theme song
Unconventional Halloween Songs
“Howl” by Florence + The Machine
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Lorde
“Once Upon A Dream” by Lana Del Rey from the Maleficent soundtrack
“Guillotine” by John Bellion ft. Travis Mendes
“Grave Digger” by Matt Maeson
“Disturbia” by Rihanna
“Black Widow” by Iggy Azalea ft. Rita Ora
“Heads Will Roll” by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
Or check out our conveniently pre-assembled Halloween Spotify playlist below:
Classic Films
Ghostbusters
Hocus Pocus
Beetlejuice
Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sleepy Hollow
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Corpse Bride
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Zoom party-goers can come dressed in their respective Halloween costumes, be it DIYed or simply bought, while munching on as much candy as their heart (and health of course) can withstand. Organize common party activities such as pumpkin carving, costume competitions, and video game sessions (ex: Among Us but with Halloween hats)—anything to get into the spirit of Halloween!
Some of the song and film suggestions made by DSJ staff writers.