Growing up, Halloween was a very different Holiday for me than it was for my friends. My parents, particularly my mom, was very suspicious of this day. While my parents did take me “Trick or Treating” a few times, they didn’t like what Halloween represented. I myself didn’t really like it all that much either. I wasn’t into horror movies, going to haunted houses, or anything else except for getting candy from other peoples houses. Most of my Halloween’s consisted of my staying at home and watching movies. But even in midst of Halloween and everything scary that comes with it, I always thought that there was a sort of magic in it. Halloween looks very different this year because of the Corona Virus. How are we supposed to celebrate during a pandemic? There will be no Halloween Horror nights to make us feel like our hearts stopped, no random haunted houses, or even “Trick or Treating.” This has changed the entire way we envisioned Halloween especially because it’s on a Saturday. All of the planning has gone out the window. Now we have to come up with a new way to celebrate this year that involves being without each other. Just because we won’t be with each other doesn’t mean the magic is gone. There are still so many things we can do together because of technology. Maybe this years Halloween asks something of us that’s different than all of the previous ones. What if this Halloween were supposed to see each other as magic? We can have Zoom Halloween parties and eat dinner together. We can have Halloween movie nights, we can create our own haunted houses using our phones to take our friends through the worlds we built, or we can simply relax with our family and enjoy eating candy for hours. This doesn’t mean that “Trick or Treating” is completely off the table either. We can just put a bucket of candy on our doorstep and have people come by and take a few pieces. This may not be what we wanted but it still requires our participation in our communities. This is the type of magic we can create. It’s not about not having anywhere to go but rather what we do with what we have. Two of my favorite Halloween movies are John Krasinki’s A Quiet Place and Halloweentown High, a Disney Channel movie. Both of these movies I highly recommend for Halloween. The reason I bring both of this movies up is because they both offer more than just horror or the typical point of Halloween. First, I want to address A Quiet Place. Directed by John Krasinki from “The Office” it tells the story of a family living in a post-apocalyptic world where monsters who are blind hunt only by sound. Sound is used interchangeably to convey intimacy and terror. In addition, it’s all about survival and the love that a family has for one another. While it is scary at some points, it beautifully addresses that there is no greater love than a parent loving their children. The second movie Halloweentown High is also a great movie to watch with family and friends during Halloween. It tells the story of Marnie Piper, a witch, who lives between two worlds. The mortal world and the world of Halloweentown. The story addresses the demarcation of both worlds and trying to mend them together. Within the context of the story this means bringing creatures from Halloweentown to the mortal world to attend high school. The story deals with the problem of segregation, integration, and the beautiful reconciliation between two worlds. Both movies bring about a magic that generates love. Within the context of our world maybe these movies can teach us what it means to love when something that’s outside of ourselves like the Corona Virus attacks or can bring us together no matter what we look like.
So Halloween may not be what we want this year and that’s okay. Participate in the magic of who you are and bring magic to others. Whether you dress up or not, you’re beautiful just the way you are and that’s where magic truly lives. Don’t stop being creative just because we’re in a pandemic. Continue to love and bring joy to others.