Ah yes, Halloween. A time to go from house to house and get free candy while wearing a silly costume just for the heck of it. For once, you can express yourself and not get poked fun at for doing so.

Have you ever thought back to the times when you were little? When you were wearing your little bumblebee costume and dancing around like a red carpet model? Now look at yourself! In a more serious outfit than before, I bet. Maybe a princess, or a soldier or even a vampire. Whatever it is, it’s a big leap from what
you were wearing 10 years ago, now isn’t it?

What I believe is that there are different “stages” for Halloween costumes. There are your first few years of trick-or-treating when your parents pick out your costumes or heavily influence them. Most go for an innocent costume, like a fire truck, dog or horse. You think to yourself “Woo, let’s go trick or treating
and get some candy.” Then you are on your merry way, collecting candy from complete strangers, having the time of your life. You think that you will do the exact same thing over and over again for the rest of your life, right?

That’s when you hit a growth spurt. Nothing feels right, and every shirt you loved dearly is now too small. Halloween comes around again, like it seems to every year, and you don’t have anything to wear because you can’t fit in your old cat costume. So what do you do? Find another costume? Of course you do but this time you get something a little more serious. A vampire for example, or a werewolf or zombie. You really don’t want to but you eventually do. In the end, it was actually better than the one you had in the first place, now wasn’t it?

Over the years, your interest in Halloween has probably begun to fade. The kids walking around in silly costumes seem so unreal now don’t they? Well, they may to you, but the parents in costumes with their little Buzz Lightyear think differently. They usually have on classic or funny costumes, like Yogi Bear or the “Killer B”, a letter B wielding a fake butcher knife. That way, they can blend into the throngs of masked crusaders and blaster wielders who go house to house for a sweet treat without being noticed and/or criticized.

Unless you’re still wearing that old mummy costume that doesn’t fit anymore, which is pretty disturbing, your Halloween costume preferences have changed over the years from more light-hearted attire to more sinister outfits. Nevertheless, Halloween can still be enjoyed by anyone from 5 to 105 no matter what they dress as.