Halloween is coming up, guys! It’s time to get your costumes, eat a ton of candy and get up to some mayhem.
Okay, not really that last part, but there are some fun things you can go do.
Here is a (partially) complete guide on how to do Halloween right.
First, you need to get a pumpkin to carve. You can’t have kids coming to knock on your door without a jack-o-lantern outside.
Get either an obnoxiously large or teeny tiny pumpkin from a pumpkin patch. You’re going to use a sharp object to carve with so you’re basically going to struggle the whole time trying to not cut off one of your fingers.
After you’ve managed to carve it and not yourself, get a candle to put in it. Don’t forget to take it outside though because fire indoors during Halloween mayhem isn’t the best idea.
Now you need some super cliché costume to wear this year. You just have to get something from pop culture that happened this year. (Cough, Suicide Squad is a big one.)
Or you could try to be original and come up with some ridiculous pun that no one understands until you have to explain it to them.
Either way, get your costume, but make sure you don’t perform the ultimate sin of cultural appropriation. This is especially true if you are a child (or have one) that wants to dress up as their favorite princess Pocahontas or Moana from the new Disney movie.
If you’re going as some female character that looks scantily clad in her movie or show, make sure you are equally as scandalous. Apparently Halloween is the only time of the year where this is acceptable.
If you pick any kind of costume that requires face paint, you’re going to regret it. Face paint is the devil’s work. It gets everywhere and runs with even the slightest amount of sweat. You’ll hate every minute of it.
After you’ve figured out your costume you’re going to want to throw a party or just attend someone else’s. This is only so you can show off what a great costume you have.
Speaking of going places, there’s a couple of things you and some friends can do to have a good time during Halloween weekend.
You could go to one of those “haunted” attractions that pop up all over town. For some reason they only pop up during this one time of year though.
Make sure you go in a group with at least one person who is super easy to scare and another who acts like they aren’t afraid of anything. This is the best way to get the highest amount of thrills and scares from the actors at the attractions.
There is some science behind this, too, before you start questioning me.
If you have someone who acts like they don’t care and doesn’t get scared easy, the actors will try even harder to actually scare them. This will in turn cause the scaredy cat of the group to get even more frightened. That leads to the actors getting excited and scaring you even more!
Another thing you could do for some Halloween fun is to go out ghost hunting. If you want to be politically correct though, you’d call it paranormal investigating.
I don’t believe in ghosties, so this is something I would probably do to make me a “believer.” If you do believe in ghosties, then take me along and show me where they’re all hiding at.
Based on the few TV shows I’ve seen, you definitely want to make sure you go at night, and doubly make sure it’s at a place you could probably get arrested for trespassing unless you have permission to be there.
Every time you see or hear something tell everyone in the group it was an entity doing it. (It was probably just the wind or some other natural occurrence though.)
Now, last but not least, the most important part… Candy!
You’re probably going to want to find a child to take with you when you go trick or treating. Most states frown upon adults just going out to strangers’ houses and asking for candy. It is kind of creepy to be honest with you.
After you’ve taken a kid with you, make sure you sort through the candy.
Don’t let the kids eat any of the half-wrapped or sketchy looking pieces, but you sure can.
You’re an adult, remember? You can do what you want! Eat all the potentially-poisoned candy you want.
If you do go out this Halloween, just remember to be safe and follow the buddy system. It doesn’t matter if you’re out trick or treating, bar hopping or just having a party at home, take care of each other.
Brittany Fletcher
Designer/Intern