Halloween at St. Lawrence University- you know it’s coming when you see Walmart’s thorough display of wigs and cheap superhero costumes, two dozen Kit Kat wrappers in the trash can from your roommate and when the pumpkin that you so carefully carved vanishes from your porch without a trace (is it spooky? Is it mysterious? Or is it just really sad, because you spent two hours carving that pumpkin with a butter knife).
To get into the spirit of things, there’s plenty to do around campus in anticipation for the big night. For example, the Green House is having their Pumpkin Palooza this Saturday, Oct. 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., where there will be pumpkin carving and painting, and a ton of other fun pumpkin things.
There are also Halloween escape rooms in the Winston Room from 2 to 5 p.m. The Hub is also hosting their annual haunted house in two sessions on Saturday, from 1 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
And, of course, the Outing Club’s tent party is this Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. on the Old Java Quad (according to the Facebook page, costumes are more than welcome. And, in typical OC fashion, so is a six-pack if you are 21 or older).
But if you’re more of a laid back, stay-in-the-warmth-of-the-dorm kind of person, there’s still plenty of things to do to get excited for Halloween. You can always cuddle up with your boo (Halloween pun intended; also, I am sorry if you cringed at that as hard as I did) or your pillows and blankets, and browse through Netflix’s Halloween themed section called “Netflix and Chills.”
There is a plethora of other cliché fall activities you can also partake in: gorging on candy bars, apple picking, pie baking, jumping in piles of leaves, making some tasty soup, etc.
To further spread some Halloween excitement, I decided to ask Cooper Nielsen ’21, Jakob Beckwith ’21 and Greta Nystrom ’21 about what their Halloween would be like: “What are you planning on being for Halloween?”
Nielsen: “I’m going to be a box. And my other friends are being a chair and a lamp.”
Beckwith: “I have no idea.”
Nystrom: “I went to Walmart and I bought a baldcap and a mustache and, um, my friend and I are going to be strongmen. I’m going to wear a leotard… tight pants…draw some chest hair… I want to be as unattractive as possible, but attractive, too.”
“What’s your favorite candy?”
Nielsen: “Probably a Kit Kat or Reese’s.”
Beckwith: “Either Sour Patch Kids (watermelon) or a Take Five.”
Nystrom: “I like Kit Kats and Twix and Reese’s.”
“What SLU activity are you most looking forward to for Halloween?”
Nielsen: “The OC tent gathering.”
Beckwith: “Uhhh.”
Nystrom: “Haunted House!”
“What’s your absolute favorite Halloween ritual/tradition?”
Nielsen: “Trick-or-treating, back in the day.”
Beckwith: “Pranking.”
Nystrom: “Every Halloween I walk outside at exactly 11:59 p.m. When I get out there, I look at the moon. If it’s there, I howl at it (as per usual) and then I do a little turnaround in my place. Then I launch myself onto the grass, and start wriggling my body. And then I just wait for Satan to take me.”
And on that note, happy St. Lawrence Halloween. Eat some candy, carve some ‘kins, watch the first “Halloweentown” movie, and pray that the only thing scary and/or haunting will be this Halloween and not the midterm grades you will be getting back soon.