Picture this: a beautiful, sunny, 65-degree day in October. The autumn leaves glisten with kaleidoscopes of red, orange and yellow, beautifully contrasting with a brilliant blue sky and the occasional emerald of evergreen trees. The air is crisp. The leaves are crunchy, and the smell of pumpkin spice wafts through every corner one turns. Despite your soul-crushing midterms, you’re the happiest you’ve felt in weeks. Everything is perfect, everything is calm and everything is pretty.
Then, BOOM. You walk by a house that has the most intricate, undead, straight-out-of-a-horror-movie display you’ve ever seen in your life. Life-sized skeletons, grim reapers, possessed children and blood-stained zombies overtake your once delightful vision. The combinations of white, black, gray, blood-red and neon green contrast horrifically with the incredible mosaic of colors you were seeing beforehand. You know you’re not really scared, but somehow, you don’t fully believe yourself. Also, you really don’t feel like looking at something ugly right now. Your day is ruined, and you walk home in utter disgust. October is so pretty. Why would anyone want to interfere with that?
As such, no one wants to see these ugly and horrifying displays outside people’s houses. Well, I can’t exactly say no one. I’m sure there are some people who enjoy these displays for whatever reason. But if you’re a sensible, normal person, there’s no way you would enjoy looking at these ridiculous displays.
“I was walking off-campus the other day,” sophomore Isabella Ruzzo said. “And some of my friends and I walked by a house with tons of Halloween decorations outside. It’s safe to say we immediately felt uncomfortable. One of the neighbors was sitting outside and noticed our uneasiness. And they told us that their neighbors are quite ‘expressive’ people. Was that supposed to make us feel better?”
This is exactly what I mean. Regardless of the fact that these Halloween displays are obviously not actually going to kill you, it still feels like something’s wrong every time you walk by them. You can’t help but feel an eerie panic, immediately wanting to move on and forget the hideousness you just witnessed.
Some students, however, seem to have the opposing opinion.
“I personally like them,” sophomore Sof Quaglia said. “I enjoy holiday whimsy.”
“If you don’t like Halloween decorations, you hate fun,” sophomore Fatima Salman said. “They bring joy and happiness into some of the most dreadful months to exist.”
“It makes my life feel magical, whimsical and fun,” resident Kaitlyn Walker said.
While I’m not sure “whimsical” is the right word to describe the effect of these Halloween decorations, I guess there truly are some people who enjoy looking at extravagantly horrifying Halloween displays. However, as I mentioned earlier, if you’re a sensible, normal person, you wouldn’t actually enjoy looking at abhorrent Halloween displays. Maybe the people who do enjoy them should seek some help – therapy, perhaps?
I’m just kidding, of course. Everyone can like whatever they like, regardless of my opinion. I’m not saying that I’m not going to judge you, but I can’t exactly stop you or assume completely unreasonable things about you. These extreme Halloween displays simply freak me out, and I truly do believe that they ruin the beauty that October has to offer. But to each their own, I guess. That’s what makes the world go ‘round. We truly are all unique in our own ways. Some of us like looking at terrifying displays, and the rest of us have proper judgment and taste. It’s okay, I won’t judge you. I really won’t. Really.
