Spooky season has arrived and the Bull & Bear couldn’t be more excited! In honour of Halloween approaching, here are some of our editorial board’s favourite Halloween traditions.
Hannah Murray, Executive Editor – Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cups
As a lover of all things chocolate and peanut butter, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups have always occupied the top spot in my complex candy ranking system. A classic Reese’s Cup never fails to satisfy my sweet tooth. However, if there’s one thing better than a classic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, it’s the Halloween-edition Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cups! Their perfectly balanced chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio surpasses even the classic version, and I find myself looking forward to their appearance each fall.
As a kid, I vividly remember being on the lookout for Reese’s Pumpkin Cups while trick-or-treating. Every Halloween, my dad (also a lover of all things chocolate and peanut butter) and I always prioritized Reese’s Cups over every other candy, and this tradition has definitely stuck with me. Although my days of trick-or-treating are largely behind me, I know Halloween is right around the corner when I see Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkin Cups make their grand reappearance in grocery stores by mid-Septemer!
Lydia Atkinson, News Editor – Post-Trick-or-Treat Tradeoffs
As a child, Halloween was more than just a night of spooky fun – it was an annual candy trading extravaganza. My sister and I, always looking for the best way to maximize our sugary loot, would eagerly run back home after our adventures. The night of Halloween was our own personal candy Olympics, and we couldn’t wait to trade our spoils for the best possible assortment. The trading process started the moment we arrived home, our pillowcases overflowing with candy. My dad, acting as the candy games referee, laid down the ground rules (often stipulating that he would get a few Snickers and Heath Bars), and our trading negotiations began.
My sister and I had our strategies. She’d flash a smile while trying to pass off her least-favourite candies as treasures, and I, the younger sister by five years, would use my best puppy-dog eyes to get the upper hand. The negotiations went back and forth, and it wasn’t just the candy itself we were swapping, but also the chance to gloat over who got the better end of the deal. There was always an air of sibling rivalry, as we tried to out-trade each other. As the clock ticked and the candy piles shifted, we’d haggle and barter until we reached a point of equilibrium. Once the trading was done, we’d end up with a new assortment of candies that felt like a carefully curated treasure trove. Halloween candy trading was an intense, competitive, and joyous event that marked the end of our spooky adventure.
Rishi Kohli, Business & Economy Editor – Corn Mazes
Growing up, Halloween wasn’t just about the night itself, but about the entire month of October. One of my favourite traditions was exploring spooky corn mazes – a fantastic way to celebrate the season and add an element of adventure and mystery to the holiday. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to turn “corn-mazing” into an annual tradition:
- Find a Corn Maze: First, locate a nearby corn maze. Many farms and rural areas host these mazes during the fall.
- Gather Your Group: Invite friends and family to join you. Corn mazes are more enjoyable when experienced with others, as you can work together to navigate the maze and enjoy the adventure together.
- Choose a Time: Consider a time in the evening for an extra spooky experience – exploration under moonlight is always a bonus.
- Plan Your Costumes: Since it’s the month of Halloween, encourage everyone to dress in costumes. The corn maze becomes even more fun when everyone is in character.
- Explore the Maze: When you arrive at the corn maze, embark on your adventure. Take your time, enjoy the twists and turns, and embrace the challenge of navigating through the towering corn stalks.
- Create Challenges (my favourite part): Set challenges or games within the maze to make it even more interesting. I always enjoy competing to see who can find their way to the centre the fastest. Scavenger hunts are another fun idea too.
- Add Spooky Elements: It is Halloween, after all, so be prepared for spooky surprises. Many corn mazes incorporate actors, props, and decorations to create a creepy atmosphere. Embrace the Halloween spirit and have fun with it.
- Capture Memories: Don’t forget to take plenty of photos or videos to remember the experience. Documenting your Halloween corn maze tradition can help you relive the fun and share it with others.
- Wrap-Up with Treats: After completing the maze, consider enjoying some hot apple cider, pumpkin pie, or other fall treats offered at the farm or venue. It’s a great way to wind down and celebrate your successful navigation of the maze.
- Reflect and Make Plans: At the end of the evening, take a moment to reflect on your Halloween corn maze adventure. Did you enjoy it? What were the highlights? Consider making plans for next year or making it an annual tradition, like I have.
A Halloween corn maze tradition can be a memorable and exciting way to celebrate the holiday, offering a perfect blend of adventure and spookiness in the autumn season.
Emily Meyran, Opinion Editor – Homemade Halloween Costumes
As a kid, there was a certain pride I felt while wearing a Halloween costume I was sure nobody else had. The satisfaction of trick-or-treating and never encountering a similar costume was a critical component of a successful Halloween night. With time, my dedication to homemade costumes faded but I continue to cherish the memories and embarrassing photos.
One costume stands out in particular. On Halloween Eve in 2009, my sister, dad, and I sat downstairs at the dining room table with an old sewing machine. We had settled on a pumpkin costume for myself and a spider for my little sister. For me, he fashioned a round shape out of orange felt. After somehow getting me inside and then cutting armholes, we were able to stuff it. I felt like the coolest kid on the block that night, but photos prove I more accurately resembled an orange Violet Beauregard post-defective-blueberry-pie-gum. With smudged orange face paint, a hand stitched costume leaking white stuffing, and an old pillow case to collect candy, I was ready to hit the town.
Zoe Yurman, Managing Editor – Lover of all Things Creepy and Spooky
I have always loved creepy things. I don’t know where it came from – I grew up in a loving home where exposure to murder and ghosts was sparse. Nonetheless, a love of the spine-tingling and bone-chilling has always stirred inside of me. I remember the first time I watched the Thriller music video, I was so delighted by the minutes-long preamble in which Michael Jackson is slowly revealed to be a werewolf that I watched it on repeat – not even the song part, just the beginning. I used to take my family’s Halloween decorations out of storage and use them to decorate my room; I had cobwebs on my windows and a rubber bat on my bedside table. I would walk around the house in a cape and wear fake fangs. Keep in mind, this behaviour was far from relegated to just October – I was like that all year round.
As I’ve gotten older, my love of the frightening has moved away from cape-wearing. Now, I celebrate my passion for scary things every year by watching horror movies, going to Halloween carnivals, and covering myself in fake blood. While there are many aspects of Halloween that I love – the costumes, the candy, trick-or-treating as a kid – my favourite Halloween tradition is indulging in the unsettling and in doing so, capturing the true spirit of the holiday.
Vishwa Srinivasan, Business & Economy Editor – A Neighborhood Halloween Tradition
Halloween, for me, has always been synonymous with my neighbours John and Linda. From as far back as I can remember (and as far back as everyone else on my street can remember), they would host our whole street for a Halloween gathering in their garage. This gathering was much too dignified to be simply called a “party;” it was a convening, a celebration, and a reminder of the importance of community. John and Linda’s Halloween celebrations were fun for all ages. They were an opportunity for us kids to consume buckets upon buckets of candy and for all of our parents to take a much-needed break and catch up with their neighbours. While our parents were busy shooting the breeze, talking about work, the Winnipeg Jets, politics, or whatever else adults talk about, John kept us kids busy by taking us on tours of his haunted garden. The garden was complete with mummies, ghosts, ghouls, and goblins – enough to terrify us into a fit of uncontrollable giggling.
As I’ve grown and moved to Montreal, I can’t help but feel a little homesick when the Friday before Halloween comes around. I’m taken back to a simpler time when my biggest worry was whether my costume would look cool with a jacket underneath it (Winnipeg gets cold in October), and not whether I would be employed or not by the time I graduate. This Halloween, and every Halloween, reminds me that this ghoulish holiday is about spending time with friends, creating lasting memories, and feeling grateful for the beautiful community of people who raised us.
Andy Goldberg, Arts & Culture Editor – The Do-It-Yourself Costume
For years, my signature Halloween tradition has been the creative costume. A staple of my childhood, the do-it-yourself costume has brought me quite a lot of fun over the years. Now, I’m not saying a store-bought costume can’t be entertaining; I’ve seen some pretty good ones over the years. That being said, I have always had a great deal of respect for those who create their own unique costumes. Ever since my trick-or-treating days, I have taken pride in putting together costumes from scratch, often with the help of my parents when I was younger. My passion for sports provided the inspiration for many of these costumes, as I would repeatedly take on the challenge of combining a favourite athlete of mine with a spooky creature or concept, naming costumes with a Halloween-themed pun like “Scarey Price,” the undead version of the legendary former-Montreal Canadiens’ goaltender.
This tradition has given me creative freedom on Halloween each year and has allowed me to infuse personality into my costumes and save money on materials. I also get to avoid the absurd crowds and lines at the seasonal Halloween stores, which is an added bonus. Most recently, I strayed from the spooky athlete route and pieced together a costume based on one of my favourite television shows: Impractical Jokers. I always enjoy getting to explain my costumes to those who ask, and even more so, I enjoy the pleasant surprise of someone instantly understanding the reference I’m making. I would strongly recommend putting together a do-it-yourself costume this Halloween – it’s always a (trick-or) treat.
Bee Fouqueray, Opinion Editor – Bringing Halloween Home
Being French and having grown up in the middle-of-nowhere Switzerland, Halloween wasn’t a holiday on my radar until I attended international school. Every year, when October rolled around, the school would be adorned in hay bales, pumpkins, and spiderwebs; costumes were a must and classes were often superseded by pumpkin carving competitions. After classes, parents even held a ‘trunk or treat’ event in the school parking lot – in short, every effort was made to recreate this beloved North American tradition.
Having just experienced our very first Halloween at school, my sisters and I decided to go trick-or-treating. However, we quickly ran into a problem: no one in our small town had ever heard of Halloween. Though it was huge at our school, Halloween had yet to become a cultural phenomenon within Switzerland. Fortunately, we didn’t let that deter us as we set out in our costumes – lovingly DIYed by my mother – and winter coats together with little baskets and our very limited repertoire of German vocabulary. The latter quickly became an issue when we found ourselves trying to explain to neighbours why we were dressed up as a rabbit, a witch, and a vampire begging for candy on what, to them, was a random October night. Most people scrambled to find anything resembling candy or chocolate from their pantries. One particularly confused neighbour bemusedly grabbed a handful of candy from my basket before thanking us and closing his door; my sisters watched on, holding back laughter, while seven-year-old Bee held back tears. Today, Halloween has firmly made its way across the Atlantic – so much so that my very French parents keep a bowl of candy on hand for potential trick-or-treaters – but I will always cherish the absolute chaos that was my first Halloween experience.
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Graphic by Yuna Ruel
