Spooky season has arrived! As the weather begins getting colder, it’s time for scary movies and pumpkin cookies to make their way back into peoples’ homes. Lots of children partake in trick-or-treating, but as they get older they start to stray away from it, and leave it as an activity for younger kids to enjoy. 

Trick-or-treating is an exciting activity that most younger children participate in, allowing them to dress up in costumes, and walk around neighborhoods in the evening collecting candy. Most kids stop trick or treating around the time they enter high school. Freshman Mikayla Green claims, “I wanted to trick or treat this year as a 14 year old, but my mom said no because I was too old.” So without trick-or-treating, what other activities are teens doing on October 31?

Some teens decide to host Halloween parties, where they invite friends or family over to celebrate the season. Some parties may include dressing up, baking, scary movie marathons, or other entertaining activities. 

Sophomore Addison Hunter shares that for Halloween she plans to “watch movies, eat candy, and make those really good pillsbury sugar cookies.” Rather than going out or hosting big parties, some teens prefer to stay at home by themselves or with a few friends, having small group hangouts. 

Another common trend in teenagers is going to haunted houses or trails. Many companies will put together a scary place for teens to go, and hire actors to make the houses and trails scary. Actors will dress up in costumes, or put on special effect makeup to emphasize the ‘horror.’ Some teens favorite places to go for a haunted house or trail include Field of Screams, Baltimore Ghosts, The Death Trail, and more. 

In addition to parties or haunted houses, there are many local pumpkin patches and farms around that also have Halloween activities for kids to participate in. Gaver Farm and Summers Farm are two of the favorites near Oakdale, where many students are employed as well. The farms hold pumpkin patches, hay rides, fall treats, and many more activities for people of any age to enjoy!

Overall, most teens stop trick-or-treating around middle school or early high school but that doesn’t stop the fun. Halloween is still an exciting holiday that can be enjoyed for people of all ages. Many teens enjoy activities such as parties, haunted houses or trails, pumpkin carving, and more! What activities do you enjoy during Halloween?