With Halloween approaching, Seton Hall students shared how they are preparing to celebrate the spookiest holiday of the year amid a global pandemic.
1. Watch Halloween movies
One way to get into the spirit is to watch Halloween movies, whether they are scary or more lighthearted.
“When I was younger, [Halloween] was more about the candy, but now I love it for the costumes and scary movies,” Taylor Patnode, a sophomore business undecided major, said.
Patnode said that her favorite spooky movies are “It,” “Get Out” and “Halloweentown.” She said she loves the plot twists and thrill of scary movies.
However, other students like Kaitlyn D’Addezio, a sophomore communication undecided major, do not enjoy scary movies.
D’Addezio said she hates scary movies because she is a paranoid person in general and does not like anything that involves jumpscares. She said her favorite Halloween movies are “Hocus Pocus” and “Ghostbusters.”
Caroline Cahill, a sophomore social work major, said she also does not like scary movies. Consequently, she added that her favorite lighthearted Halloween movies include “Halloweentown,” the “Twitches” movies and “Addams Family Values.”
2. Go outside
Although COVID-19 has caused some businesses and attractions to close, the majority of fall outdoor activities have been able to go on. Festive outdoor activities students can participate in include apple picking and pumpkin picking.
“I love apple picking,” Patnode said. “I grew up in upstate New York, so every fall I did all of the autumn clichés. I love hayrides and haunted houses too.”
For students that do not want to spend any money, FIRST NAME CLASS D’Addezio said walking around and appreciating the fall foliage is another way to get into the spirit.
“Even just going into nice parks where you get to see the leaves change, it’s super pretty,” D’Addezio said. “I’m big into photography, so just being able to visit different parks and take pictures and spend some time outdoors is nice.”
3. Wear costumes
Even though celebrating is being kept at a minimum this year, it does not mean that students cannot dress up.
Patnode has a metwith the University’s swim team on Halloween where members can wear costumes; Patnode said she is going to dress as a devil.
On the other hand, Cahill said she is not wearing a costume.
“I might try to dress up my dog, but she won’t like it,” Cahill said.
4. Stay home
Because the majority of festivities have been canceled due to the pandemic, many students are planning on staying in for Halloween.
D’Addezio said that she usually gives out candy to the trick-or-treaters, but this year, her family decided not to give out candy “for the sake of everyone’s health.”
She also said she plans on staying at home and studying, but will try to go outside if the weather is nice.
“It’ll probably just be any other typical Saturday,” D’Addezio said.
5. Countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas
Cahill, Patnode and D’Addezio all said that Halloween is not their favorite holiday, so they will be looking ahead to Thanksgiving and Christmas.
“I prefer Thanksgiving and Christmas,” D’Addezio said. “I just never really got into the Halloween spirit, especially as a young kid… Nothing against Halloween, I just didn’t really see the hype about it and never really found much interest in trick-or-treating or the candy or whatnot.”
Victoria Rossi can be reached at victoria.rossi@student.shu.edu.
