Dressing to Impress

October: the month of change and natural awe; leaves are turning, the air goes crisp, and every sign points to approaching autumn. Once, October was revered as a time that legend claims supernatural for souls to walk the earth again. Dressing up for the holiday wasn’t for fun, but for protection: evil lurked in the shadows of Halloween, waiting to snatch unsuspecting innocents. In the myths of Samhain, costumes prevented evil souls from seeing the true human underneath and thus saving the soul for another year.

Now, October does not come without that supernatural element, the wonder and awe regarding the unknown- but more importantly, we enjoy the anticipation of Halloween. This is the month for the strange kids who want to watch horror movies in the middle of the day, the time for 31 Days of Halloween, cobwebs on bushes, skeleton decorations, marathons of invincible serial killers and bags (bags, pillowcases!) of candy.

For Frostburg, October means brisk days and colder nights-but it means even more for the University. As Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year, Saturday was the main event; all over campus, students braved the weather in polyester getup and cheap wigs.

Yet I can tell you, the brightest part of the weekend was the trick-or-treating; unfamiliarly young shrieks echoed around campus. When I ventured outside I was met by endless, laughing chatter; a 3-foot Captain America sprinted past me followed by a toddling Snow White. Tiny witches pantomimed riding their broomsticks. Bags waiting for candy, kids raced through the dorms on campus to collect treats handed out by the RAs. These adorable miniature humans dressed to impress swarmed not only the dorms, but Edgewood as well. “In Annapolis and Cumberland there are a bunch of activities like mask making, mummy wraps and games. And some of the rooms passed out candy. At Edgewood, we handed out candy in the main lounge,” Brittany McDowney (an Edgewood RA) told me, “They were extremely well behaved and adorable.”

Kelsey, 3 (dressed as a witch) & her sister
 Mackenzie, 6 (dressed as a kitten) are all set to collect candy!

Many aren’t aware of the fact, but trick-or-treating the way we all experienced just can’t be done in college towns. For safety reasons, children are instead encouraged to come on campus and receive candy that way. Of course, the kids look forward to it (hey, free candy) with the same amount of enthusiasm. As Snow White chirped “Chick or cheat!”, her mother laughed, “They really love getting free candy. All this morning all I heard was, ‘Mommy are we trick-or-treating? Mommy, we have to go before all the candy’s gone!’ Cap over there tried convincing me, ‘America needs me! We gotta go!’ I’m glad the University does this for us.”

I still remember the rules of Trick-or Treating that Frostburg children will never learn, but at least they looked darling- and got tons of candy!