Ever received a weird vibe from the house on the corner? Always in constant fear of vampires and werewolves? That one part in the horror movie ends up with the popcorn bowl being thrown? Sometimes Halloween can get too scary, and a little bit of joking around is needed. Whatever the tradition is, Halloween does not have to be scary, in fact, it can be funny.

   Some believe a humorous Halloween is more fun, versus a Halloween filled with scares. Carving Jack-O-Lanterns, throwing a Monster Mashin’ Halloween party, doing some pranking, and trick-or-treating are typical non-scary Halloween traditions. Things on Halloween do not need to be scary to be fun. According to students,

  “I didn’t choose scary because humorous to my opinion is more fun,” said Justin Greiner. “I enjoy running around with friends and messing around over the traditional scary Halloween”.

  Trick-or-treating is one of the best Halloween traditions! Trick-or-treating is not a scary activity. Since it is just friends running around the neighborhood to over-the-top decorated houses getting free candy. Some plan their route to miss “that” house or to hit all the houses in the “rich” neighborhood for all the full-sized candy bars. High School students have been interviewed to see if they still trick-or-treat. One student, in particular, responded that she does. 

  “I think people our age should trick-or-treat because it’s a way that we can grow and make memories with each other,” Leigha Pardee said.

  Not only is trick-or-treating about making memories, but it is also about the sugar high and the sugar hangover the next day that you get from those ghoulish delights. If parents want to check the candy for danger, they are really just looking for their favorite candy. A parent’s mouth is not a metal detector but in all seriousness, eat the treats carefully.

  The last thing to address about a humorous Halloween is that some people like the things that go into making something scary but not the scary thing itself. 

  For example, “I do like learning about how they make scary movies like prosthetic and stuff but, watching scary movies, no” Alyssa Shaltry said. 

   Students seem to find it fascinating how Hollywood makeup is done and the process of special effects in horror movies. However, they are less interested in watching the jump scares and music stings in scary movies. Not to mention the character’s decisions in horror movies are kind of dumb. Seriously, following a scary noise is really the best idea? Apparently, the basement is 100% safe? A shortcut through the foggy graveyard during a full moon seems perfectly normal.

  All in all, the grim grinning ghosts of Halloween should be more grinning and less grim. Halloween can be less laughing out of fright and more laughing with delight. Avoid foggy graveyards, stick to well-lit areas, and maybe carry a clove of garlic. Happy trick-or-treating and have a happy Halloween. 

Nights are getting cooler, and leaves are starting to turn bright colors. This is the first sign that spooky season is upon us. The final send-off to spooky season, Halloween, is on its way. 

  Halloween is based on traditions. Hundreds of years ago people would dress up as saints, to fend off ghosts and demons. The traditions of Halloween started with a fear of ghosts and demons and should continue to do so. It seems that a lot of Grand Ledge students agree. From a survey of more than 200 GLHS students, the majority of them preferred a scary Halloween as opposed to a humorous one. 

  Junior Anna Zander says that her favorite Halloween tradition is “Watching horror movies”.

  Horror movies are a staple of Halloween. There is a reason that one of the most infamous horror movies of all time, Halloween, is named after the holiday. In fact, eight individual students said that Halloween is their favorite Halloween movie. 

  “I prefer a scary Halloween. My friend and I have a tradition of going to a different haunted house every Halloween.” stated Junior Brendan Sochay.   Attractions like haunted houses exist to be scary, and who wants to go to a haunted house on Christmas? No one, that’s why they are open in the fall during Halloween. Because Halloween is meant to be scary. 

  When asked about what he dresses up as for Halloween, Sophomore Coby Courter said, “I have grown up wearing scary costumes from zombies to slenderman, I have always gone with scary. In fact this year I plan to go as a skeleton.”

  Halloween isn’t Halloween without the costumes. You can tell the difference between people who prefer a more lighthearted Halloween compared to a Scary Halloween. Because they’ll either wear a morph suit, or a Scream costume. 

  At the end of the day, Halloween is truly about having fun. While hopefully your traditions include getting scared, hopefully everyone also has fun. Have a frightening and devious Halloween!