Halloween carries wonderful childhood memories of candy, fun costumes and scary movies, but
it can be a bit hard to celebrate away from home. To combat this, some students have found a
way to make their dorms and campus spaces feel like home for the fall by adding halloween
decorations.
Thesis-student Mershon Moore recalled her childhood experiences with her mother
during Halloween. The two would often bond over decorations and watching Halloween staple
movies.
“My mom really goes all out for Halloween so having a smidgen of our Halloween
decorations makes it feel homey in the dorm,” Moore said. “I love the lights that I have hanging
because they create a really cool low light when I turn the main dorm lights off. A lot of these
decorations come from my mom so it really feels like Halloween at home, on a lesser scale
though.”
Moore spoke of Halloween as her favorite holiday, saying that she really enjoyed the
collective celebration of wacky things such as Bobby Picket’s “Monster Mash.”
“[Halloween is] a really fun mix of spooky scary things and the general fall aesthetic that
I love,” Moore said. “I think that atmosphere is in part what distinguishes Halloween from other
holidays. I feel like dressing up is also a big part too.”
First-year and Catalyst staff writer Chris Marie De Felipe described her plan for her dorm
decorations, saying, “I’m making a Skele-Snoop (Doggy Dogg) in my balcony but it’s a work in
progress.”
De Felipe also spoke of her love for Halloween, and the feeling of fall around the holiday
season, her favorite parts being the more aesthetic aspects of Halloween.
“Halloween is just the best holiday,” De Felipe stated. “In Fall the world is just more
bearable. It’s chilly, there are good flavored drinks and depending on where you live the world is
kind of dying, so it’s still a little dramatic.”
Regarding her ‘Skele-Snoop’ endeavor, De Felipe said, “I like Halloween decor that
makes my dorm look stupid and [makes] my friends laugh.”
Second-year Alexandra Conte took on the task of decorating the Writing Resource Center
(WRC), and called it her ‘second home.’
“My favorite thing about Halloween is the change in atmosphere everywhere,” Conte
shared. “Pumpkin muffins come back into season and TV shows I grew up watching come back
on.”
Like Moore’s experience, Conte also celebrated Halloween with her mother as a child,
and found it to be a very pleasant bonding experience.
“I usually go a little crazy on Halloween because it reminds me of home,” Conte
explained. “My mom’s favorite holiday is also Halloween so she decorated the house every year and filled it with pumpkin spice scented products and we would watch Rocky Horror Picture
Show together.”
Furthermore, Halloween holds a familial sense for Conte.
“Growing up, Halloween meant family and friends to me,” Conte said. “Being an only
child, all my family would come over to help me dress up, and every year we had a Halloween
party. We spent time together watching movies and making decor. Also the movie selection is
much better than other holidays.”
When decorating the WRC, Conte tried to keep the theme as neutral as possible so more
people would appreciate it.
“I love Halloween and think it can be super fun, but I am aware that some people are
really scared of the gory or macabre aspects of spooky season,” Conte stated. “I try to be
conscious of that and generally stick with things that I know people will feel comfortable
around.”