Halloween Memories
Tales of dressing up, meeting friends, and heading out into the night.
Halloween is the one night of the year we’re encouraged to venture outside and walk through our neighborhoods after dark. And we’re rewarded with candy — lots of candy. What’s not to love? As we approach the big night, Odyssey staffers look back at memorable events and gatherings from years past.
Surprise Trick-or-Treat
Christopher Davis, senior: “After coming home from a church party with my family, I thought the night was over. My dad came home from work later that night, however, and asked me if I wanted to go trick or treating with him. I had never gone door-to-door before, but if it was with my dad, I knew it would be a blast. I threw on an old costume, grabbed my pillow case, and we were off.
“He started the engine and rolled over to the first house. I knocked on the door, recited the words “Trick-or-Treat” and was rewarded with a big handful of candy. What a fantastic concept! I jumped into the bed of the truck and we zoomed onto the next supplier. House after house, door after door, my dad and I drove throughout the whole neighborhood by the end of the night. When we returned from our collecting, I dumped the spoils onto the kitchen table and counted up over 300 pieces, including several kingisized candy bars and even a bottle of Pepsi that someone pitied me with because they had run out of candy. That was the best Halloween ever!”
Biker Girls
Paige VanHulten, senior: “Last year, I got together with two of my best friends, and we dressed up as “biker girls.” We wore Harley Davidson shirts that one of my friends mom made, bandanas, and a few other things to pull the costume together. After getting ready, we started off by handing out candy for a little bit. Then, we ate some food and took some pictures together. Afterwards, we started to just drive around neighborhoods for a while, listening to music and hanging out. Finally, we got back to the house and just chilled watching scary movies until the night was officially over. It may not sound like much, but overall it was a pretty fun night.”
Halloween Pets
Jewel Lynn Morales, freshman: “One of my favorite memories during Halloween was when we went to trick-or-treat in a big church, and it was decent, until we ended up winning two goldfish! These fish are now no longer here, but they helped me transition into owning these pets again. We now have three goldfish who are going to be two years old next month. Their names are Comet, Lightning, and Thunder. I love them dearly, but I will always give remember Pumpkin and Carnival, the fish that convinced me to personally care for animals again!”
First Halloween
Priscilla Lopez, senior: “I have very few memories of Halloween because my family wouldn’t celebrate the holiday until my freshman year. That year, me and two of my friends, Tatum and Katrina, decided to dress up like the movie The Purge, with oversized white shirts cut up and with blood stains on them. For our faces, we went for a deadly clown look. We were all freezing while trick or treating, and it was just us three without parents, which made it fun, and we got a good amount of candy. Afterwards, we went to Tatum’s grandmother’s house, and they had a little Halloween party. I tried chili for the first time, and it was delicious.
Brotherly Love
Landen Ilagan, senior: “When I was about thirteen, we would always go out as a family — my brothers, sister, and cousins. We would always open the trunk while my mom and uncle drove the car. My oldest brother Luke would always be the first one out of the car all the time. No matter what, he was always first out the car, first to the door, and first back in the car. I saw how he was getting out of the car. Right before the car would come to a complete stop, he would jump out and run. I wanted to try it out, but the car was still going a little too fast, and I jumped out, pulling my other brother out with me and landing on him. Of course it hurt, but I couldn’t say that because we were already in trouble. So I just blamed my brother, and he took the fall for me.”
Late Night Memories
Vanessa Ozburn, senior: “In 2018, I just remember having such a fun night: I remember taking my dad’s truck and having my friends all piled into the back. I remember us all jumping out at every house we hit and taking all the candy for ourselves. I remember staying out until at least one in the morning, messing around anywhere and everywhere. It was the first time I had really been allowed to go out trick or treating with friends on my own. I still have a group photo of us in our crappy $5 costumes from Walmart. Somedays I really miss that night because of how many familiar faces we came across and all of the memories we made all night.”
Haunted Houses and Basketball
Ava Martinez, freshman: “About three years ago, my friend and I all went to a couple haunted houses. We got so much candy. Then we went into this alley and played hide and seek. It was kind of scary, but it was really fun. Then we went and played tag in the street and helped hand out candy at his house. We all went inside, his mom made us dinner, and then we made candy apples. After awhile, we went outside to play basketball and some guy came up to us with his daughter and challenged my friend to a game of one-on-one. The dad won, but it was really funny. After that, we just all hung out and talked for hours.”
Haunted House Creators
Savannah Blair, senior: “For about four years, my family decked out our yard, porch, and the lower floor of our house as a spooky haunted house. We made decorations like drapes, scary portraits, and coffins. One year, we even had a stuffed person on the porch for weeks beforehand, then our friend replaced it that night to jump-scare people. However, these are not my favorite memories. After all this work and crazy fun, the best part wasn’t until the day after when we cleaned up and found all the accessories people dropped in fright when someone jumped out or the spooky music got louder. It was satisfying to know we’d succeeded in making a scary haunted house.”
A Minor Head Injury
Genise Jimenez, freshman: “When I was eight or nine years old, my mom allowed me to spend Halloween with my dad’s side of the family. The night was young, and I was getting dressed, waiting for my Nana and cousins to come pick me up. As I was putting on my witch hat, I heard a honk outside my bedroom window. I went to open the curtain to find my Nana honking, telling me to hurry up before she left without me. As I got in the car, I was looking for my cousins, but could not find them. A moment later, they popped out from the back seat. I jumped up and hit my head on the roof of the car. We spent the rest of the night trick-or-treating, then we got home and stuffed our bellies with candy while watching a movie.”
Done with Trick-or-Treating?
Abigail Aubuchon, senior: “Halloween my freshman year was supposed to be uneventful. I felt trick-or-treating was behind me, and besides trick-or-treating, I never liked the holiday. Ever since I was little, I hated being scared. During scary movies, waiting for the jump scare always left me trembling. It also didn’t help that I had an over-imaginative brain and would create what-if scenarios of how Dracula would break in and chase me around my house.
“My plan for no Halloween ended when my friends showed up at my place for candy, however. They all begged me to join them, and while I tried to argue that I didn’t have a costume, my mom’s urging had me out the door in less than thirty minutes. It ended up being really fun going around with my friends on Halloween. Even if I didn’t have a costume, hanging out with them and getting candy was just as fun as it had been when I was younger. I guess you never can really grow out of it.”
