Very superstitious
When the month of October arrives, Halloween is on everyone’s minds. Imagine vivid candle-lit pumpkins and piles of bright and sticky candy strewn all across the living room. Down the street, you watch the lights flicker as a black cat jumps across your vision. There’s the all-out creepy and presumably frightening, or the little-kid friendly version to the holiday. If you like to focus on the eerie side, and scare yourself every once in while, scary stories are the way to go. Here’s to you, Grady students sharing Halloween superstitions at their best. When parents decided that it’s still OK to give rules even on Halloween, they warned you about the dangers and made sure you didn’t eat the opened candy. There was a little fright instilled in all of us, but strangely since fear is the theme of Halloween, these dangers also added to the fun. Many agree that Halloween was a much different experience as a child. There was greater build-up and more time to prepare, more time to get excited and less shame in being frightened by the extra bloody costumes. Thanks to Mom and Dad, there were a few more reasons to be scared as well. “My family never lit candles on Halloween because my mom said a ghost would stick around to blow them out.” junior Diana Powers said. “We didn’t even light our pumpkins.” There are several different versions of this superstition floating around. Some say that when a candle’s flame turns blue, then a ghost or spirit is very nearby. Others contend that burning new candles on Halloween night ensures good luck, but never the same candle again, or the luck shall be reversed. Powers also explained an ominous house in her neighborhood that was abandoned for several years. While
she was trick-or-treating each year, she would turn her pockets inside out when she passed by the house or even close to it. “So I wouldn’t bring home the ghosts in my pocket.” The “pocket trick” was her intuitive grandfather’s guide to staying clear of bad spirits. For junior Rex Petersen, the holiday’s excitement and satisfaction always depended on the costume. It was not so much the scarier the better, but the more fun. He realizes now that the ghosts and demons he would see floating around on Halloween night, are not so demonic but your average adult who consumed a few too many spirits. He was always afraid of his mother’s warnings, not to eat anything raw, or cooked. There could be razors blades or poison in your juicy red apple. When it comes to black cats, Peterson says he’s “allergic and definitely, afraid.” Axel Olson, sophomore, continues a special tradition every Halloween. “Well my friends and I believe that on Halloween night, if we all do a tumble roll over a grave in the cemetery, the corpse below will become alive and begin to wail.” A tumble roll is just your ordinary somersault or forward roll, but a very specific part of his sequence of hearing the dead. Thinking they were listening to the sounds of those below, Olson and company, sophomores Ben Searles and Fritz Mienert, were too scared to continue on. Many frightening stories are shared during childhood. Innocence is formed easily around things that scare us. Some hold on to those fears, maybe adjusting them in odd ways, and continue to believe them. They are the superstitious, the ones who dare to be scared, and the true Halloween fanatics. October brings out the best and the worst in all of us. - Nara Smith
To trick or not to trick?
Halloween is right around the corner, and once again, you’re faced with a decision. Should you trick or treat, or go to Halloween parties? It might seem like a very clear decision for a high schooler to make, but both options have clear advantages. It turns out that Grady isn’t sure which option is the trick and which is the treat. Many Grady students have been to Halloween parties before this year. These events feature costumed partygoers, Halloween-themed food, and dancing. Advocates of the hearty party consider this to be the more adult way to spend Halloween. You can stay inside and just have fun with
all of your friends instead of going in smaller groups for trick or treating. You still get to dress up in costumes. “Parties are just more fun,” senior Danny Baggerman said. “Why walk to get candy when you can buy it?” Senior Myers Pierce concurred, saying, “I don’t trick or treat because I can go to parties,” senior Myers Pierce said. But other Grady students would rather take their Halloween celebration to the streets. Trick-or-treating is the classic choice for Halloween. The candy, costumes, and running around with your friends are all awesome. The only downer seems to be that Grady kids seem too old to be roaming around
neighborhoods in search of candy. “They shouldn’t be trick-or-treating if they are over 10,” Grady science teacher Jeff Cramer said. “I wouldn’t give candy to someone I think is over 14.” If people start denying older trickor-treaters candy, trick-or-treating might become more like the Inquisition than a Halloween tradition. Trick-ortreating is just school age fun that can be enjoyed just as much as any “grown-up” option. No matter what you plan on doing this Halloween, you’ll probably be having fun and eating candy with your friends, and which teenager wouldn’t want free candy? -Austin Burch 19