Remember the Halloween nights from your childhood?  The marvelous costumes, illuminated jack-o-lanterns lining almost every driveway, and massive groups of children skipping with excitement from door to door, their pillowcases getting heavier by the minute. Halloween once held a stronger significance, bringing together families, friends, and communities.

Over the years the holiday took a dramatic turn. Money hungry corporations and businesses have made the holiday their own by robbing Halloween of its originality and advertising expensive alternatives. The imaginative home-made costumes were replaced with cheaply made yet pricey store bought costumes. The hand carved jack-o-lanterns that had previously decrated houses have been replaced by massive inflatables, lights, noise makers, and more.

“I could argue that Halloween has become bigger and scarier with the new technologies and effects but I don’t really think anything can actually beat the old ways of doing things for the holiday,” says senior James Hill.

Another change to the holiday is the approach that schools take. Many schools limit or restrict what students are allowed to wear or bring in because they don’t want to offend anyone, or because it might be considered “dangerous.” Nikita Joshi, VHS senior said “I’m in between on the restrictions the school sets. On one hand the limits are a good thing because I don’t want to see vulgar costumes, but I think they take the limits a little bit too far. I think we should be allowed to wear masks and stuff like that.”

Schools around the nation are taking away parades and even the privilege to dress up anymore.  Senior Jessica Bruso said “What’s the point of having a holiday where you can dress up and be what you want when the school takes that away from you? It’s not fair. I’m frustrated that I can’t be a simple ghost because we aren’t allowed to wear sheets over our heads. What’s the harm in that?”

Not only are schools and businesses making the holiday more difficult to enjoy, but the world of trick-or-treating has changed.  Kids are taught to fear the world around them, and parents have been led to believe there have never been more pedophiles, kidnappers, and other harmful people preying on their innocent, unknowing children.  Parents fear for their children on Halloween night, making taking away form the innocence and fun intended for the night.

The “original spirit” of Halloween is in fact dead. Children once used their imagination to home-make their costumes; families bonded while sitting around the table carving pumpkin; schools once had no rules regarding costumes, communities came together, and parents did not fear the dangers of their children going door to door in the innocent search for candy. Halloween has lost its original spirit, is it possible to revive this once-beloved holiday before it becomes as dead as the zombies who once haunted it?