Oct. 31, the annual tradition ofHalloween has been around for years.  A typical way for families and their children to go door to door dressed in costume asking for candy and taking part in trick-or-treating. But as kids get older, how acceptable is it for high school through college students to continue trick or treating? At what age is too old to stop trick-or-treating? Halloween involves a high demand for candy, pumpkin-flavored treats, scary movies, carving pumpkins and dressing in costumes, as well as many other spooky and fall festivities. 

15 Waynesburg University students were asked what they have been doing during Halloween instead of trick-or-treating. They were also asked when the last time was that they went trick-or-treating. In this poll, all parties said that it had been at least “a few years” since.

Most students were between the ages of 12-15, or around eight or ninth grade when they stopped trick-or-treating. Each student had different memories of trick-or-treating or some form of obtaining candy and were able to share the last time they took part in it. 

Senior Makayla Paules said, “The last time I went trick-or-treating, I was probably around 13, and I went with two of my friends around one of their neighborhoods and we all wore onesies. Mine was Batman.”

Sophomore Matt Serrano shared that although he couldn’t partake in trick-or-treating as a kid, he still experienced Halloween in a slightly different way, “…my church set up an event that taught us about the Gospel, but we could also dress up and get candies from different activities and places.”

All the students interviewed had responses for how they spend their Halloween now in college. As listed before, large numbers of them still do things like going to a pumpkin patch and then carving the pumpkins that they receive afterwards. 

Senior Reggie Branson said, “I spend a good amount of time on stuff for Halloween because I set events up for the school through the eHive like the pumpkin drop.”

He and others still find ways to be involved in Halloween activities, while also enjoying the tradition of dressing up in costumes, although the purpose is just for parties rather than trick-or-treating.

Some students shared that they spend the time watching scary movies or just in good company with friends maybe not even doing anything related to Halloween. Something else commonly said among the poll was going home to help younger loved ones when they go trick-or-treating so that they are still involved and get a little taste of that Halloween spirit.

Junior Dean Shazer said, “The only reason I stopped was due to the perception of classmates, or else I would still be trick-or-treating today, even as a junior in college. There is nothing I love more than free things and a free Snickers Bar is about as good as you can get,” he said.

He also went on to say how he is still big into costumes, but when it comes to Oct. 31, that is just like “any other day” to him because “nothing compares to having a pillowcase full of candy at the end of Halloween night.” 

According to the students polled on campus, college students certainly find a way to spend their time during the holiday with a wide variety of ways to continue with Halloween traditions and take part in other new experiences while being in a new environment. But students also still love candy and dressing up, so does there need to be perceptions made about adults wanting to trick-or-treat? As Shazer said, “it was always a good opportunity for free treats.” A survey from the National Confectioners Association said that “…more than half of parents say they steal from their kids’ Halloween candy stash,” so if they are doing that anyways, does trick-or-treating at an older age need to be seen as wrong? Even as that stands the Holiday that is centered around candy still finds a way to keep college students invested and wanting to make memories relevant to the on-going spooky season.