Halloween Costumes Then and Now

It’s official; the spooky season has begun. As the leaves fall, brisk chills fill the air, sweater-wearing becomes the norm, and we all anxiously await the big day: Halloween. The holiday- allows anyone to transform into anything for one night and one night only.

Whether one decides to take on the persona of a feline or paint their whole body green in hopes of channeling their inner Hulk, the costume possibilities are endless.

There are many quintessential Halloween activities, including carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating and attending Halloween parties, and students feel this spirit every year as the holiday approaches.

Grades three through six have the opportunity to dress up for the Halloween Parade every year, and Lower School Head Liz Dover said she has “been hearing chatter about [many students dressing as] K-Pop Demon Hunters.” Two third graders, Anya Nagaraj and Sydney Perkins, verified that the trending costume at the moment is indeed “K-Pop Demon Hunters” in the Lower School. In fact, Perkins said she will be dressing as a character from the film.

Dover also remarked that her favorite type of kid costumes are ones that “show originality... and clearly have a lot of meaning to the [student].” Nagaraj reflected that the costume that stuck with her the most was from when she was three and she and her “whole family dressed as someone from 'Frozen.'”

In the Upper School, students are excited about celebrating Halloween. Lauren Mitchell '29 said she likes “dressing up” and thinks “it’s a fun way to express herself.”

Dasha Hill '28 said that even though “[she doesn’t] go trick-or-treating anymore,” she still enjoys “dressing up for Halloween."

Gabby Burashe '27 and Chase Herwig '27 reflected on their child- hood costumes, which showed a love of characters from kids' TV shows and movies. Burashe recalled that she “once dressed up as Hello Kitty” and “loved the outfit” so much that she “wanted to keep wearing it to school” even after the day passed. Herwig, similarly, said that Elsa took the spot for being her favorite Halloween costume “because [she] loved the wig and her dress.”

Co-president of PUNCH Betty Rose Bean '26 feels that on Halloween she can be more “whimsical” and impressively stated that her favor- ite costume was her freshman year clown costume because she “sewed the full [thing].”

Rose Sussman '26 and Lisa Maitland '26 also voiced their love for dressing up. Specifically, Maitland said that no one is ever “too old to throw on a costume.” Sussman, on that same note, emphasized how she and her friends are still thinking long and hard about their costumes:“ladybug, butterfly and bumblebee, or kiss, marry, kill?” The community will see on the 31st.