Halloween is a time of spooky fun and free candy for all. Everyone is welcome to celebrate this holiday like all others, and West High students were no exception. Although, as some students get older, they decide not to attend this trick-or-treat fest. Many choose to stay home and do other things.

Students will sometimes go by themselves, but many choose to go with either their family or a group of friends, maybe even both. One such student, 11th grader Gunnar Petersen, decided to spend the holiday trick-or-treating with his family and a few friends. They went to the popular trick-or-treating neighborhood Turnagain. A very well-known neighborhood, Turnagain is known for its community vibe and popular housing. In this case however, it’s known for its surplus of candy. Interestingly, however, he found a West teacher’s house. “I found Mr. Lynch. I know where he lives now,” Petersen said.

Other students chose to stay home and do other activities, having gotten either bored of the holiday or being busy on Halloween. An 11th grader named Tom Hubbard decided to spend the night at home playing his video games. He is one of the many individuals who have just gotten bored of Halloween. He laid on his bed and played his games, his two cats and two dogs roaming in and out of his room. “I just don’t go anymore,” Hubbard said.

Another student did something similar. 11th grader Wesley Eastham spent his evening playing Space Engineers on his Asus gaming PC. He also worked on some of his Pre-Calculus homework and answered the door for a few groups of trick or treaters, which were usually comprised of “three or four kids.” There were many who were across the street, though. According to him, kids go to the well-lit houses. “My house isn’t that well-lit,” Eastham said.  He was then asked why he didn’t go trick-or-treating. “I haven’t since I was six. It just hasn’t been my thing,” Eastham said.

Examples of West High students (or older kids in general) not celebrating Halloween are much more common than examples of students going trick-or-treating. A contributing factor could be the social construct that once you reach a certain age threshold, you are too old to go trick-or-treating. Another factor could be that some students or just simply busy doing schoolwork or handling other responsibilities. Either way, the older kids get, it seems the less likely they are to participate in trick-or-treating on Halloween.