As Halloween approaches, prepare for a night filled with thrills and fun. From decorations to costumes, the streets of Kirkwood turn into a spooky sight making everyone, young and old, smile. Some people go to Six Flags for Fright Fest, or to different haunted houses. Others carve pumpkins with loved ones. As October 31 creeps closer, excitement grows for a celebration that brings the ghosts and monsters out of all of us. Here’s how the citizens of Kirkwood celebrate Halloween.

Hannah Nepple, freshman, celebrates her Halloween with her family. Most years, her extended family comes to her house to bake with her and her little sisters. Nepple said that she likes to see her sisters happy and that while Halloween is a nice holiday, it is not her favorite compared to Christmas.

“We bake different kinds of food like desserts or meals for a big dinner,” Nepple said. “It depends on what [my sister] wants but before we’ve made little cupcakes that look like spiders,”

Elizabeth Trotter, a Kirkwood alumni and mother of two Kirkwood students, said that Halloween is her favorite holiday because of the sense of community. Every year, she hosts a chili bowl party where all of her neighbors come over for fun activities. People bring different side dishes like pie, family-famous recipes, and dessert treats. Activities like a costume competition with a prize of a good pie. 

“We usually do a chili bowl party every year so I’ll make a big crock pot of chili,” Trotter said.“Many people from our neighborhood come and bring different sides too.”

Trotter said that she loves Halloween, so she tries to make it fun for her kids and herself. In the past years, she dressed up as a witch and took her kids door-to-door trick-or-treating. Now that her kids are older, they don’t ‘trick or treat’ anymore. That didn’t stop Trotter from putting a smile on their faces. After the chili bowl party attracted more people, Trotter said she makes sure her kids always have an option at the party. 

“We used to walk around the neighborhood with [my kids].” Trotter said. “Now that they’ve gotten older, sometimes Bennett, Alexa or their friends will sit outside and have a fire pit in front [of the  house] and hand out candy.”

Owen Mckie, sophomore, celebrates Halloween with his friends. He said that dressing up and going to parties with them makes Halloween fun. He said that as he got older, he grew out of traditions like trick or treating with a big group of kids, but he still keeps that in a special place in his heart. 

“Yes [I do dress up for Halloween, and] I enjoy planning out fun group costumes with people. When I was younger, I would go all out and do scary makeup [too],” Mckie said.