Halloween is a time for spooks and scares as well as memories and thrills.
Many students at the University of Rhode Island have their own favorite memories and certain sentiments that they associate with the holiday.
For Cyra Uthoff, a fourth-year computer science major, Halloween brings back a rush of childhood nostalgia.
Uthoff recalled going on haunted hayrides in her own backyard. Her dad would bring out a ride-on lawnmower and attach a carriage to the back of it, filling it with bales of hay. The neighborhood children would come and have a blast partaking in the hayrides.
Uthoff said all the adults in her neighborhood would put on costumes and try to scare her as well as the other children on the ride.
“I think [the hayrides] happened for one or two years then they kind of faded away,” Uthoff said. “Especially when we got older we just didn’t do it again.”
While the tradition didn’t last forever, Uthoff remembers it fondly as one of the most special parts of her childhood Halloweens. The effort everyone in her life put into making the holiday exciting for the kids is what stood out most to her.
Uthoff, like many other children, also has memories of getting free candy when she trick-or-treated as a child.
The simple joy of running from house to house with friends, costumes rustling and buckets filling with sweets, remains one of the holiday’s most enduring charms.
Not all Halloween memories come from scares and trick-or-treating, however. Sometimes, they can come from being active in one’s community and taking part in town or school Halloween-themed activities.
That was the case for Rose Pinnacoli, a second-year history and Spanish major, who has a story that captures that sense of community involvement. She recalls having a costume contest at a Halloween event in her high school’s auditorium.
“We were all just going to watch a movie,” Pinnacoli said. “But the projector failed, so we just organized this impromptu costume contest. It was pretty fun.”
The quick change of plans turned what could’ve been a disappointing night into a spontaneous celebration, according to Pinnacoli. Pinnacoli said she didn’t win the individual costume contest, but she did win the group contest with her friends; they all dressed like witches that year.
Moments like those are what make Halloween memorable to her — not just the decorations or the candy, but the shared creativity and laughter that come when people make the best of an unexpected situation.
Pinnacoli remembered her younger days too. While she was trick-or-treating, she would always visit an elderly woman’s house in her neighborhood who wanted to keep a record of all her guests in a leather book. As a reward for signing the book, the woman would hand out full-sized candy bars.
These memories, though years apart, still carry a sense of warmth and nostalgia for both Uthoff and Pinnacoli.
Halloween represents more than costumes and candy. It’s about connection, creativity and the small traditions that make the holiday feel like something bigger than just a single night of fun, according to URI students.
Whether it’s through memories of haunted hayrides or last-minute costume contests, the holiday continues to bring people together in a way that’s equal parts spooky and sweet.
