Halloween began in the 1700s when the Celtic people would put on scary costumes to ward off evil. They would often go door to door and say a prayer or do something to scare off any spirits, with a huge emphasis on the costumes. Today, Halloween is seen as a fun holiday where people go door to door in hopes of receiving candy. But some things never change, with the biggest part still being dressing up, and considering that the tradition has been around for about 300 years, there have been plenty of costumes. But let’s be real here: a lot of the costumes feel overused. 

In fact, many people have reported that they feel they see the same costumes EVERY YEAR. The originality has seemingly fled the scene, as if theres a shortage of creativity. With Halloween right around the corner, it seemed fitting to ask around and see what people thought about this crisis. So who better to ask than our own students of Liberty? 

There was a wide variety of answers in terms of what costumes would be nice to see this year. Some people like to go for a more spooky, “on theme” look for the holiday, such as eleventh grader Kayla Gabay. “Ooh, I would love to see some plague doctor, Eldridge horror-type costumes this year. I feel like it really emulates the whole mood.” Meanwhile, others are looking for a more “cute” look, says Lexi. She noted that costumes don’t have to be characters necessarily, but maybe even celebrities, such as, “Chappel Roan or Sabrina Carpenter. I think those are easily recognizable and can definitely be creative. Something new, for sure.”

Mrs. Bearden Sprieitzer, an English Teacher, head of the Journalism program, and Halloween enthusiast, believes that you truly can’t go wrong with a video game character. “ So for me personally, every year I do video game characters. I think it’s original and it’s a really cool conversation starter. Because then people are like, ‘Wow, I didn’t know you liked that game’ and it also just gives you an excuse to geek out.” Adding on to originality, An anonymous being suggested the idea of adding a twist to some classic costumes. “I think that we all see the classic cat or cheetah costume every year. And while that costume is cute, it’s just so basic. Instead, I would honestly love to see people do other exotic animals. I think a zebra, or a giraffe, or a snake kind of look for Halloween would be sick. Especially since no one ever does it.” 

Now for the better question: What costumes do people NOT want to see this year? The answers were all somewhat similar. Kayla Gabay and Kole Jones, both eleventh graders, agreed that they didn’t want to see any more inflatable costumes. “Literally anything but the inflatable costumes, “ said Jones. “I don’t care people need to be more creative. Personally, I’m going to be Deadpool for Halloween.” 

“I’m so sick of the inflatable costumes. Oh, and if I see one skibidi toilet costume I’m going to cry.” 

“Honestly, none of those Wednesday costumes. Saw that last year, I don’t need to see it again this year,” said Nicole. 

One of the biggest answers we got though were animal costumes. Specifically cats. Why you ask? Well according to Mrs. Bearden Spreitzer, they’re just too generic. “I guess less generic, so I don’t want to see cheetahs, cats, or witches. I guess cheerleaders, too. We see them every year and half the time the costume is just cat ears and a black dot on their nose.” Adding on to that idea, our anonymous interviewee mentioned that the black cat is just far too overused. However, they did not some ways that the basic costume could be amped up. “ “If you ARE going to do an animal look, like a cat or bunny or something like that, PLEASE don’t just draw a black dot on your nose and get ears. I’m so sick of people dressing up like animls but the most they’ll do is put on the ears. It’s just not enough and the costume would be way cooler if there were extra details.”

Essentially, the people want new and (possibly) improved costumes this year. They want to see things that haven’t been displayed before. And who could blame them? With the surge of the “Halloween Costume Depression” these past few years, we’re desperately in need of something fun, which is what Halloween is all about. So what are you going to be for Halloween. Let us know at Liberty Central or on our Instagram (@Liberty_Central). Happy Halloween!