Halloween Hype
As the end of October draws near, Seabury spookiness ramps up into full swing. Perhaps you yourself have felt the tug of the Halloween spirit while seeing all the decorations manifesting across town, or feeling the chill in the air as summer fades in the rear view mirror. At Seabury, traditions such as the carnival, haunted house, pumpkin contest and costume wearing comprise the Halloween festivities.
“I like the haunted house,” says faculty member Leslie McCaffrey. “I think it’s the scariest one in the area because there’s no real parameters on what happens when you get in that room so you could honestly get like, damaged. And the people in there are not like employees.” Perhaps McCaffrey is referring to the infamous incident several years back, where a certain window was shattered.
Regardless, the haunted house has remained a favorite among students and teachers alike. “It’s just great, it’s like the only good haunted house that I can ever find,” says seventh grader Grant Bryan.
Senior Matthew Ellis will experience his first Seabury haunted house this year: “Being a part of [a haunted house,] I feel like will desensitize the horror aspect of it, and I’m just really excited to pull something together with the senior class and just get to bond together by making people pee their pants.”
Some people are less excited for the carnival and haunted house, with junior Malcolm Maude saying, “The pumpkins are the only part of Halloween at Seabury. The carnival is boring.” The pumpkin contest is a contentious subject, as many advisings shell out time and money in the hopes of having their pumpkin-creation deemed superior. Maude adds that he wishes the school “didn’t rig the pumpkin contest in favor of Mrs. Bryan every year.”
On the other hand, faculty member Cris Bryan says, “My favorite part is winning the pumpkin contest.” She also says, “There should be cash prizes for the pumpkin contest.” Mrs. Bryan’s advising has somewhat of a reputation for pumpkin contest success.
Seventh grader Spencer Timkar says, “[Ms. Bryan’s advising] just goes really all out with it.” Regarding his own advising group, Timkar also says, “Mrs. Lawrence would like to take [the pumpkin contest] more seriously, but no one really wants to.” This year, the prize system has changed, which has brought mixed reactions.
“I like that we have changed it to first, second, third, fourth and fifth instead of the categories,” says McCaffrey. “Now when someone like Ms. Barbour says ‘oh you didn’t beat me because we’re in a different category,’ no one can say that. When we get first, we get first. It’s not like in a category. When you win you win.”
On the contrary, senior Isabel Warden says, “I’m really sad because our advising actually had a chance with certain categories, but now that it’s first, second and third there’s no way that’s going to happen.”
Aside from competing against the pumpkins of other advising groups and visiting the carnival and haunted house, students are allowed to dress up on Halloween day if they choose to. Seventh grader Grant Bryan says, “I enjoy seeing all the costumes and the competition for them.” He also adds, “I wish we could be let out early so that we have more time to prepare for the actual night, if it’s on a school day.”
This year, Halloween falls on a Wednesday, which means students that wish to stay out late trick-or-treating or at parties will have to return to school the following day. While many students likely deem themselves too old for trick-or-treating on Halloween night, they still participate in dressing up in costumes for the school day. “At school, I can do costumes that are a little bit out there, but not like extremely out there. For example, last year I was a life alert, and I got carry around Paige, who was dressed as a grandma that had fallen on the floor and couldn’t get up,” says Warden, well known for her extravagant costumes.
Seabury’s close-knit culture allows for playful competition amongst students, and the Halloween events at the school are a great way for students to get involved and enjoy the spooky season.
