Fall is a festive time of year. The green leaves turn to red and yellow confetti, celebrating the change of seasons, the coming of Thanksgiving feasts, and festivals as far as the eye can see. The cool breezes blow, and they aren’t the only thing sending a chill.

Halloween is right around the corner!

Halloween has been a household holiday for well over a century now.

What we now know as Trick-or-Treating was once ‘Souling,’ a tradition where the lower class would receive ‘soul cakes’ from the wealthy in exchange for well wishes of their past relatives.

The practice soon became popular among children, who began going door to door looking for small gifts. 

Halloween has since evolved to be entirely different from its ancestor, becoming popular with people of all ages.

It’s a source of fond memories for teens and adults alike, dressing up in extravagant costumes hoping to get their favorite candies.

Intricate hand-crafted designs, mass produced replications of fan-favorite characters, creations straight from the closet, or a simple shirt and a mask.

It’s a night to be creative, to be anyone but who you are every single day.

To most, that sounds like fun, but is there an underlying danger to the anonymity? 

If you’re a parent, your answer may very well be ‘yes,’ and you have every reason to be wary.

Even in the most cliché of horror movies, we see the criminal wearing a mask. It’s there that Halloween starts to become a true representation of our worst fear: other people. 

In an interview, Haleigh Marriott,a teacher here at West, remarked that her greatest fear on Halloween was “Kidnappers. Maybe that’s just the way I was raised, but the thought of anyone snatching my girl and never seeing her again terrifies me.”

A reasonable fear that most parents can attest to worrying over.

With all the current unrest in the world, this has become more of a fear than ever.

Parents are trying desperately to take more safety measures, such as keeping tabs on their children’s location or sending them with trusted friends.

Marriott jokes that she would even send her child with an airtag if it meant she knew her daughter was safe.

Despite the lightheartedness of this comment, there was certainly a clear message underlying: “I would do anything to keep my child safe.” 

Marriott isn’t the only parent here at West.

In fact, most teachers employed here currently have or are expecting children. In another interview with Dawn Harp, she states, “(My fears for) their safety are mainly their potential exposure to drug laced candy and kidnapping. Be honest, you wanna’ get away with something, you wear a mask. It’s the easiest time to commit crimes.”

Harp has extremely interesting takes on Halloween, and many times speaks on the differences in the norms from her generation compared to now.

Her children are now 30 and 35 respectively, and she says there are a few things she might do differently if she had a child now. 

“I started trick or treating alone around 8, and stopped around 13,” She reminisced. “Back then, it was frowned upon to trick or treat as an older teen. Adults would shame you.

 “I think at age 13 you have to give some level of independence to your child, but in today’s world, they should always have another person with them. You have to trust them, but not at the expense of their safety. I’d never dream of letting an 8 year old go out alone in today’s age,” She continued.

These fears have led many parents to resort to a concept called “trunk-or-treating.”

“Trunk or Treating” is an alternative method to the traditional “trick or treating,” where participants meet at a parking lot (usually of a church or other organization) to move from car-to-car, instead of home-to-home.

Some parents are even switching entirely from trick or treating, viewing it as a safer opportunity to let their kids dress up and get candy, and to be closer to the community.

Ms. Harp says she believes branching out to different neighborhoods helps get an even broader sense of connection. 

The conversation about generational differences proved to be a rich one, and stories about Ms. Harp’s childhood started to be shared. 

“In today’s world, you never give a homemade item, but in my day, my parents would make these homemade caramel popcorn balls. For as long as I can remember it was the hit of the town, and people would come around just to get those caramel corn balls, and I always thought it was so cool we were the family everyone wanted to come to,” Harp shared.

Harp thinks back to her tight-knit community several times, noting how even with it’s flaws, it was always a fun time of year, and she thinks back fondly. 

When asked about the tradition, both Harp and Marriott agreed it would dwindle in future years. However, West teacher Brenna Vogel has a much more optimistic view. 

“I hope it doesn’t go away!” Mrs. Vogel said, “I love Halloween. I love taking my son out, too. One of my favorite memories is this absolutely beautiful princess dress I had one year.”

Our holidays are ever-changing, and so are the traditions that come with them.

In 50 years, trick or treating has already changed so much.

Who knows what will be new in another 50, or 100?

The future of Halloween will be different for each and every person, but one thing is for sure, the holiday will always be remembered fondly kids and parents alike.