I LOVE Halloween. This coming weekend is one of my favorites of the year, second only to, perhaps, Christmas. Clearly, I don’t make these decisions based on the weather (where did those 60s go?) but rather on some experience that comes with the holidays themselves.

I’m not badmouthing Christmas. In all honesty, I love December more than any other month, and it even comes with its own soundtrack (that is, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby singing Christmas carols). But there’s just something about Halloween itself that gets me.

Maybe it’s the changing of the seasons. I think a lot of us, once the temperatures dip below 50 degrees, would really like it to just snow already and not live with the slushy freezing mess that November sometimes brings.  But then again, that doesn’t really explain why Halloween is so awesome.

I wholeheartedly love to put myself in costumes. I even have a costume box, and it’s overflowing with fun stuff.  I am one of those people who takes the theme of any party fairly seriously and will never dress just to get picked up, or, dare I say it, ignore the theme of the party entirely. You better believe that I have some great outfits for the 70s, Wild West, Dadaism (Google it), Star Wars, Star Trek … well if I would continue the list it would be at the expense of what little dignity I retain after admitting I have costumes for both Star Trek and Star Wars.

But this leaves me with a dilemma: what should I be for Halloween? Should I use my tried-and-true favorites, or should I be something new every year? Since Halloween is on Sunday this year, I think I’ll be able to get to dress up twice, since most parties will be on Saturday, but even with two chances, the decision is one not to be made lightly.

I love that we have the chance to costume ourselves, though.  There’s something about putting on clothes and being a “new” person that can be really liberating. I know I’m too old to go around trick-or-treating, but I don’t think that means you need to stop having fun.

Why not? Why wouldn’t you don a witch’s hat or some scary-looking vintage clothing, if only just to give the small children a jump when they knock on your door? Are you the kind of scrooge that sits at home, saying to yourself how silly it is that all these people can be so enamored with their narcissistic materialist lives that they’ll have the audacity to costume themselves just for some capitalist invention in an attempt to advance socially among the like-minded bourgeois?

Do you see how silly that sounds? Even if you feel that way, come to the party as yourself, and don’t skimp on the black clothing. It’s great to have ideas, but it sucks to have them alone. Some people may remember my costume/protest at a Cowboys and Indians party a few years back … it may have been weird, but I still went!

My point is that it’s fun to put on a costume. It doesn’t have to be an expensive one or include hair or makeup; whether you like it or not is the product of your own choice. It makes Halloween even more fun if everyone gets into it.  I’ll for sure be wearing my costume during daylight hours, come this weekend, and it’d be really fun to see other people starting to creep around campus (weather permitting) when the sun starts to fall on Halloween. Be on the lookout for one Special Agent Fox Mulder and my partner Special Agent Dana Scully this weekend—we’ll be investigating paranormal activity in the St. Peter area Halloween night.