By Tanyrea Ward

Photo by Tanyrea Ward

Since I was a kid, I’ve noticed the way people celebrate Halloween has changed over the course of my 15 years. What was once mainly a night for children to dress up and go door-to-door for candy has become a holiday that includes themed events, social media trends, big parties, and more elaborate costumes. You could say that Halloween is becoming increasingly influenced by the Internet. 

Costumes are one of the biggest examples of how Halloween has evolved. In the past, many families created costumes at home, using old clothes, makeup, paint, and whatever materials they had available. Traditional costumes such as witches, ghosts, vampires, skeletons, and superheroes were common. 

“​​A lot of families made costumes at home using clothes, makeup, or whatever they could find,” said Byrianna Jason, a senior in high school. “Kids wore more classic costumes like witches, ghosts, vampires, and skeletons.” 

Today, costumes look very different. Instead of choosing only traditional characters, people often dress as celebrities, fictional characters, memes, or popular Internet trends. 

“When I was younger, costumes seemed simpler and were usually based on characters,”  Breah Ward said. “Now, costumes are often based on Internet trends and current memes.” 

Social media has played a major role in this change. Platforms such as TikTok and Instagram allow people to see thousands of costume ideas before Halloween even arrives. Influencers, celebrities, and viral trends can quickly turn a particular costume into a popular choice. While social media gives people more inspiration, which theoretically would mean a wider range of costumes, it can also cause similar costumes to appear everywhere. So we’re right back where we were to everybody being something predictable, but instead of ghosts, vampires, and witches, now we have the same handful of memes.

The Internet has also changed what people expect from their costumes. Instead of simply wearing something they enjoy, some people who do not want to be in one of the costumes everybody seems to be wearing will put more effort into creating an outfit that stands out at a party or looks good in pictures and videos. Again, pics and videos destined for the Internet.

 “I think costumes have become more about entertainment,” said Brayanne Ford, a Willow parent. “People mostly want their outfits to be recognized and impressive rather than focusing on the traditional meaning.” 

What is that traditional meaning? A brief search, again, using the Internet, will show Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic new year celebration called Samhain. On October 31, “the portal between the realm of the living and the dead opened, allowing lost souls to return to the human-occupied earth.”

In other words, the barrier between the living and the dead was at its weakest, and spirits were thought to roam the earth that night. They wore costumes and made bonfires to keep the spirits at bay, as well as to light the way as they sacrificed crops and animals to their gods to allow the community to survive the oncoming northern European winter. According to Bat Conservation International, the fires attracted mosquitoes and other flying insects, which attracted bats. There are a few different theories as to what started trick-or-treating, but it’s amazing that something that started about 2,000 years ago in northern Europe continues in a largely recognizable way to this day–despite the Internet. 

To get more recent, research from The Maroon & White article “Traditions Then and Now: Halloween Across Generations” describes how neighborhood participation in the trick-or-treating aspect of Halloween has decreased in some communities.  According to the article, Stubbs remembered a time when about 90% to 100% of houses in his neighborhood gave out candy. Today, he estimated that number to be closer to 50% in a good neighborhood. 

Even though some traditions have faded somewhat, Halloween has gained new forms of creativity. People have more freedom to decide what they want to wear and how they want to celebrate. Halloween no longer has to be strictly spooky. It can be funny, creative, imaginative, or inspired by something someone saw online. This definitely does depart from the origins of the holiday.

“​​Halloween is really about having fun, being creative, and dressing up as anything you want, whether it’s spooky or not,” Brayanne Ford said. “So yes, the spooky stuff is still around, but Halloween has become a mix of spooky, silly, and very imaginative.” 

As Halloween continues to change, there is a balance between gaining new traditions and losing some of the old ones. From my perspective, we have gained more creativity and freedom in our costumes. However, we have also lost some of the traditional and historical meanings of Halloween. Halloween may not look the same as it did decades ago, but that does not necessarily mean the holiday has disappeared. Instead, each generation continues to create its own version of Halloween. And even two thousand years later, you are pretty much guaranteed to see witches, ghosts, bats, and goblins on Halloween night. So, whether you decide to go traditional or 2026, get your costume ready, and let’s keep it going for another two thousand years.