Halloween in the Midwest is way better than the South
I’ve always been someone who loves Halloween; every holiday really. One could probably say that I’m brimming with festivity. I love every part of the holidays – the decorations, the events, getting dressed up. But as someone from the South, I’ve noticed something interesting in my past two years here at IWU: Halloween in the North and Midwest is way different than Halloween in the South; and by different, I mean better.
1. The decorations
When it comes to decorations, people in the Midwest really go all out. Even just walking around campus I notice pumpkins and fake cobwebs all over the place. Where I’m from in Texas, Halloween decorations are mostly reserved for people’s front porches and yards. My neighbor’s house is my one source of consistent Halloween cheer except for a local home that runs a free haunted house every year. Unlike the Bloomington area, businesses and other buildings around town are rarely decorated beyond a simple pumpkin or skeleton unless there’s a big event happening. Walking around Bloomington-Normal, I love to see that people take decorating for Halloween much more seriously.
2. Costumes
With most of the Halloween parties I’ve been to back home, I’ve seen a lot of DIY and minimalistic costumes. Up here, everyone likes to get really creative and detailed with their costumes, and everyone always looks amazing. I’ve even upped my costume game myself the past two years.
3. The Halloween Spirit
The past few years, Halloween spirit has really been dwindling, at least where I live. The most prominent example is the lack of trick or treaters. Whether they prefer sitting inside and playing video games, or their parents don’t actively encourage it, kids just aren’t making the most of Halloween anymore. Not in Bloomington, though. I was delighted last year to see that there were way more kids out than just the few handfuls that my parents and I have become accustomed to out and about in search of candy.
With all of the decorations, costumes and Halloween spirit I’ve witnessed, this year is already shaping up to be a great Halloween. For everyone planning on going out this Halloween, remember to be safe, have fun, and eat lots of candy.