Too old to trick-or-treat?

Too old to go trick – or – treating? Not yet! So many teenagers aren’t sure whether they should go trick – or – treating or not. They don’t want it to be awkward or they don’t want to be made fun of.

So when is it a good idea to let those ideas take charge and kick the candy collecting? It’s definitely not eighth grade or even freshman year. In eighth grade there is hardly anyone who doesn’t. Freshmen year of high school, kids can still easily get away with trick – or – treating. No one thinks anything of it. Freshmen are still perceived as fairly young. So it’s a good time to do all of the things they wouldn’t be able to do in a year or two.  The best example is, of course, trick – or – treating. No one questions it and a good number of kids that age also still go. Plus, it’s free candy isn’t it?

Sophomores may have a different outlook on the whole thing though. When Kellie Clinton, a sophomore at Riverside Brookfield High School was asked if she was going trick – or – treating this year she said, “Yes! Of course! Why wouldn’t I?”

Clinton is even going with a group of friends, one of which she has a corresponding costume with. That is a good way to reduce the awkwardness. Having group costumes puts you and everyone in your group on the same playing field. No one sticks out like a sore thumb. They can also go out a little later so there will be less little kids. Sophomore year is a yes for trick – or – treating.

Junior and senior year get a little sketchy. They are starting to get a little old for the whole thing, but if they still want to go, a good way around being awkward is to take a little sibling. That way they still get candy and they have an excuse to go. Another alternative to that is to just go to a party. It’s still fun, they can still dress up and be with friends.

So whether or not you plan to go trick – or – treating this year, you can still have fun.

Solution to a costume conundrum

Do you hate shopping for the perfect costume every year? Are you sick of overpriced Halloween costumes? Is it frustrating that when you finally see one you like in an ad and they don’t have it? If you have answered yes to all of these questions…then you need a homemade costume! When you go to a store to buy a costume, there really isn’t much to choose from. Also, if you can’t find anything you either have to settle on one you don’t even like or not get a costume at all. It’s different with homemade costumes, because the choices are pretty much endless.

When you make a homemade costume, you don’t have to worry about it being too expensive. All you really need are old clothes that you find lying around the house. Say you want to be a mime for Halloween; all you would need is an old black and white shirt, an old black hat, a pair of black pants, and face paint (from a dollar store).

Also, you and a friend could be a pair of dice. All you would really need are two cardboard boxes, white (plastic) table cloth, and black paper plates.

However, if you prefer to keep it simple, take an old bed sheet and trim the bottom to desired length), then cut out the eye holes and presto! You have a homemade costume!

In addition to being inexpensive, all of these costumes are easy and fun to make. They are especially fun if you enjoy crafts and sewing. Homemade costumes are also a great way to spend time with your family and friends. You could watch a Halloween movie together while you’re working on your costumes.

If you aren’t much of an arts and crafts person, you could also check out the Good Will store, which has many different things from wigs, to masks, and costumes that you could mix and match for a bargain. It’s also a lot of fun!

So what are you waiting for? Grab your friends and family and make the spookiest Halloween costumes you can think of! Have a Happy Halloween!

Interactive Guide: Halloween

October can be a busy month, but that’s no excuse to forget Halloween. However, it’s easy to forget until the 30th, and then rush around trying to do everything in one day. This timeline for October can show you everything you need to do to get ready, and give you an approximate date for doing it. Use it to enjoy the spookiest month of the year!

Best Buddies experience the “Creatures of the Night”

With the matching party out of the way and all the buddy pairs set, it was time for the first real Best Buddies event of the year: The Halloween party.

Participants arrived in the student cafeteria at 5 o clock to show off their Halloween costumes. Costumes ranged from a banana split sundae to the band Kiss. The first two hours of the party were dedicated to eating pizza and socializing. After that every buddy pair got a chance to show off their costume in front of the cafeteria with an introduction from Senior Vice President Rachel Powell. That was followed by some down time so the officers can decide on the finalists for the costume contest.

 After talking it over Powell announced the finalists. The winner was then decided by audience applause. After two rounds of voting the final three left were the crayons, the banana split sundae, and Kiss. In the final round of voting the four girls wearing the kiss costumes, led by Jessica Volpe, ran away with the audience applause to win the contest.

Senior Treasurer Luke Soldano was extremely impressed with the costumes. “Jessica and her group’s kiss costumes were amazing. All the hard work paid off and it was a well deserved win,” he said.

Unlike most years, the Halloween Party didn’t stay in the school, but continued at the Brookfield Zoo. This year the zoo had a special Halloween event called “Creatures of the Night”. The zoo was decorated in a Halloween fashion and all the workers were dressed up as well. There were three main attractions during the event: “Trail of Terror,” “The Haunted Tram,” and a corn maze. 

The “Trail of Terror” was a path people walked through that was set up to be a quarantined area where some sort of contagious killer disease has broken out. Throughout the walk, people would encounter zoo employees dressed as people with the disease in order to scare and surprise people as they walked by. It was an attempt at something you might see at Six Flags during Fright fest, but it wasn’t too bad.

 “The Haunted Tram” was a haunted ride on a tram around the zoo. The lines were extremely long, but as a whole, a good experience for the buddies.

The Corn Maze was located in the southern end of the zoo and featured a fun maze with a lot of dead ends and flashing lights. The only downside of the maze was that it was crowded so it wasn’t too hard to find your way out because the people in front of you experienced the dead ends first. It was just a matter of following the person in front of you. It was still a fun little maze, and the B96 Radio Station was dj’ing outside of it.

Although Soldano enjoyed the zoo, he preferred the format of past Halloween parties. “From my experience, I enjoyed all the games from past years compared to this year. The costume and pizza party (this year) was a lot of fun, but the zoo was just alright,” Soldano said.

With all the festivities and Halloween fun over with, the next Best Buddies event is the more serious mandatory peer buddy training on November 5^th.

31 Days of Halloween

It’s the perfect time of year to get snuggled up under a blanket on a cold fall night and turn on a movie. Halloween is famous for its scary and twisted movies that make people cringe when they watch them. Movies have been trying to out do each other for years, so I’ve gathered together what has been voted the top 31 favorite movies to watch during the Halloween season.

On the countdown is:

Number Thirty One – Jaws.
A giant great white shark is attacking a beach and the police want to close it down. The town council over rules it because it’s tourist season. After several attacks the police enlist help to try to capture this shark.

Number Thirty – Seven.

In this thrilling movie two detectives are trying to find a maniac who is out to kill seven people. One person for each of the seven deadly sins.

Number Twenty Nine – Seed of Chucky.

The evil plastic doll Chucky and his equally evil wife, Tiffany have a baby who grows up to be a gentle loving and caring guy. He goes to Hollywood to awaken his parents; the parents debate over whether or not to let him into the family.

Number Twenty Eight – Frankenstein.

Man made monster tries seeking social acceptance. It is a movie that shows the rescue of him and his upbringing with a Swiss family. But it’s not as nice as it sounds, this film can be terrifying.

Number Twenty Seven – One Missed Call.

Leanne’s friend is killed suddenly, and from that day on she receives strange voicemails from the future. Throughout the movie a supernatural force attacks her. Will she die or will she learn how to save herself?

Number Twenty Six – The Strangers.

A couple stays in an isolated vacation home and hear strange knocking on the door. Three violent strangers in masks appear through out the movie, while the couple struggles to stay alive.

Number Twenty Five – When a Stranger Calls.

A girl is babysitting two kids who are asleep when she gets there. Throughout the night she receives many phone calls that are either threatening or harsh breathing.

Number Twenty Four – The Birds.

A girl walks into a store and buys a bird. From then on out she is involved in a series of bird attacks that get worse as the movie goes on.

Number Twenty Three – Exorcism of Emily Rose.

When young Emily Rose dies, everyone blames it on the exorcism performed before her death. She was believed to be possessed and this was the only way to cure her.

Number Twenty Two – Shaun of the Dead.

A man decides to turn around his life around by winning back his ex-girlfriend, fixing things with his mother, and dealing with the whole community that has come back from the dead to eat the living.

Number Twenty One – Night of the Living Dead.

A group of people hide from zombies that are trying to kill them. They try hiding in places no one would even think of, but will this be enough?

Number Twenty – It.

Seven children have to struggle with defending their small town from a nightmare-ish creature named Pennywise.

Number Nineteen – The Last House on the Left.

After kidnapping and hurting two young women, a gang finds shelter in a vacation house that is owned by the parents of one of the women. The parents try to avenge their daughter in clever ways.

Number Eighteen – The Unborn.

A young woman’s unborn twin is trying to take over her body. This movie shows the struggle she goes through to keep herself alive.

Number Seventeen – Friday the 13^th.

Camp councilors are trying to reopen a campsite that is a site of where a young girl drowned many years ago. Throughout the movie they are stalked, harassed, and many more things.

Number Sixteen – Final Destination.

After having a vision of the plane she is on crashes, a girl and a few of her classmates refuse to go on the plane. The plane does crash, and now death is right around the corner for all of them because they were suppose to die in that crash.

Number Fifteen – Nightmare on Elm Street.

In the dreams of his victims, a child murderer stalks the children of the members of the lynch mob that killed him.

Number Fourteen – Freddy Vs. Jason.

Not only are Freddy and Jason out to terrorize the teenage population, this time they want each other too.

Number Thirteen – The Hills Have Eyes.

An American family is being stalked by psychotic group of people who don’t live close to civilization. The family tries to survive many attacks but will their effort be good enough?

Number Twelve – Silence of the Lambs.

A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims.

Number Eleven – The Mummy.

An American digging on an archeological excavation accidentally awakens a mummy. Now he has to deal with the consequences.

Number Ten – Texas Chain Saw Massacre.

A group of people are walking around and realize they are being stalked. They have to fend for their lives because a killer is after them. He wants their flesh, that’s the only way to feed his family.

Number Nine – Scream.

A killer is stalking a group of teenagers. This nail biting movie really makes you want to SCREAM.

Number Eight – Saw.

This killer is one of the creepiest. He takes really “bad” people and gives them one more chance to survive. He sets up puzzles for the people to get out of, but they defiantly aren’t as fun as it sounds.

Number Seven – Disturbia.

Living next door to a serial killer isn’t what Sam expects from the old man across the street from him. Throughout the movie he tries getting the murderer busted, but will he be able to do this without loosing his life?

Number Six – Halloween.

A murderer escapes from a mental institution and rampages the street. Look at his doctor’s chase to find him.

Number Five – The Ring.

A journalist investigates a video tape that anyone who watches it dies a week later. Will she be able to find out what’s behind it without killing herself?

Number Four – The Sixth Sense.

This classic is about who can communicate with spirits that don’t realize they are dead yet. He tries helping them, but he is easily frightened by his ability.

Number Three – Psycho.

A young woman steals $40,000 from her employer’s client, and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor too long under the domination of his mother

Number Two – The Exorcist.

A teenager is possessed and her mother tries finding every possible person to help her daughter.

And finally, Number One – The Shining.

A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and of the future.