By: Derek Olson
The leaves are shifting colors, there is a certain crisp in the air, and pumpkin spice lattes are back on the menu. For all of the fall fanatics: we have made it. My favorite part of fall is October 31st…(pause for suspense,) Halloween!
Fun fact: the now-candy-infested holiday began as the Celtic – a collection of predominantly Irish and British tribes’ – celebration of Samhain. This festival marked the day of the year, as Celtics believed, when the souls of the dead were able to return to Earth; therefore, they set bonfires and wore costumes to fend off any evil spirits.
To prepare you for the festivities, if you choose to celebrate, I will give some tips as to how to best enjoy your 2025 Halloween:
- Trick r’ Treat at Beacon Hill. I understand that Halloween falls on a Friday this year. It may be easy to get caught up in other plans, but there is nothing like going trick or treating on Beacon Hill. The gorgeous cobblestone streets are your path to the passionately decorated homes where you can receive candies galore. Last year, I saw a Star-Wars-themed house where a frozen Han Solo was
positioned outside of the house and an old man dressed as Obi-Wan Kenobi handed out candy. I am nothing short of excited to be going back again this year, and I hope that you consider taking a trip over!
- Find Your Costume at the Garment District. The simple route is to dig whatever you can out of your closet and call it a day. But, going to the Garment District is an experience in and of itself, and you would get a Halloween costume out of it! I highly suggest breaking the crossing-the-river stigma and taking the T over to Cambridge to see what kind of costume you can craft with their collection.
- Take A Trip To Salem, MA. I think it’s a reasonable argument to state that Salem, MA is the Halloween capital of the world. Home to the history of the Salem Witch Trials, you can spend $10 on a weekend commuter pass and take the commuter rail to experience the festivities for yourself. This is a bucket list item of mine that I have yet to experience, but do plan ahead before going since it can get very overwhelming very fast.
- Take a Haunted Ghost Tour of the city. While this is another activity I have not done myself, I have heard great things. A Haunted Ghost Tour of Boston perfectly tows the line between silly, interesting, and scary: costumed hosts take you around the city, by either walking or trolley, as they explain the paranormal history of Boston. This is one of those one-of-a-kind experiences that you can always laugh about with your friends after you have done it.
- Visit the Fourth Floor of Kilachand Hall. If you are not feeling as extravagant about your Halloween celebrations, but still want to be in on the fun, take a trip over to Kilachand Hall in East Campus and visit the fourth floor. This is where acclaimed playwright Eugene O’Neil had lived and then passed away. Since then, residents have described strange occurrences on the fourth floor, like lights flickering, strange scratching sounds, and elevators suddenly stopping at the floor for no reason. Who knows? Maybe you will have a story to tell, as well.
Thank you for taking the time to read through these tips for the Halloween season. Hopefully, you can test out at least one of them to see if it is something you would like to keep doing each year! Have a great rest of your fall semester Terriers, and don’t forget to manage your time well so that you are not stuck finishing homework at 8:00 p.m. on Halloween night.