Opinion: Halloween is a time for good-natured, spooky fun

It’s the spookiest time of the year.

OK, Oct. 31 in Chapel Hill may be more silly than spooky, but regardless, it is a fun time for all.

But just because it is Halloween does not mean the omnipresent financial and social burdens many students face disappear like the headless horseman after Ichabod crossed the bridge.

Picking a costume and laying out Halloween plans can be daunting even for seniors. A lot of hype surrounds Halloween in Chapel Hill, so don’t get overwhelmed.

First, a good costume is an ethical costume. There are plenty of thrift stores in the area, like Goodwill or PTA, that engage in community work, based off the proceeds and donations they receive.

Shopping at stores like these can be an easy way to get a spook-tastic costume while helping the community. When you’re done with the outfit, consider donating it along with any clothes you might not need.

Sure, this costume shopping may not be as convenient as Party City, but it also means you can avoid purchasing ones named “adult sexy shark” or the “adult hey amigo.”

The most important thing is to be creative. The “hey amigo” is a poncho, sombrero and donkey. Culturally insensitive costumes like this are not unique or creative; they’re rude and unimaginative. The students of UNC can do better.

Once you have a costume to rival that of any Broadway production, it is time to show it to the world.

Make more plans than just Franklin Street. It is a lot of fun seeing the other people’s costumes, but it can get old quick. If drinking is the way you choose to have fun, try putting more effort into it than just Everclear and Gatorade. A real challenge is incorporating real pumpkin into your party juice. And remember drinking is not your only option to have a graveyard smash. Nowhere in the song “Monster Mash” does it say the monster was drunk.

Fun activities can include Halloweentown marathon marathons (marathon-watching marathons) or baking a pumpkin pie from scratch in your dorm room kitchen.

Or gather around and share ghost stories. Some suggestions: the ghost of James K. Polk unlawfully invading your dorm, having four midterms in a week or seeing a bunch of white people wearing sombreros and shouting “hey, amigos.”

That last one may be too real to be spooky, but hopefully not.

The point of all this is to say there is no reason not to have your brand of fun and creativity on Halloween.

Be the best spookster you can be, but don’t be a monster.