Halloween: A Canvas for Creativity

As the air cools and pumpkin spice lattes make their return, one event is on everyone’s mind — Halloween! From making spooky yet stylish costumes and carving charming or chilling pumpkin, it’s the perfect time to let your creativity run wild.

One of the best ways to express oneself during Halloween is costume-making. From intricate designs to playful interpretations, costumes fashion creativity into wearable art. Henrietta Hall ’27 recalled her latest costume and its inspiration: “I absolutely crave boba 24/7, so three years ago I transformed myself into boba!” Her passion for the popular drink sparked the idea, but turning it into a wearable costume required an artistic touch. For Hall’s boba costume, she made it, “using a cardboard tube and some giant home-made pom poms.” Fun and inventive costumes like Hall’s boba tea are just one example of how students embrace the art of costume-making. Alice Valente ’27, another student who loves crafting costumes, has embraced Halloween to the full capacity. At last year’s Pumpkin Bowl, Valente arrived in an incredible jellyfish costume. However, this isn’t their first time making homemade costumes. Valente said, “I love to make my own Halloween costumes, and I’ve done it for quite a few years now.” Their collection includes homemade “dragonfly fairy wings and a large dragon puppet, among other small projects.” And since “creating and crafting has always been one of [Valente’s] hobbies,” Halloween is the perfect time to showcase their homemade costumes. 

The crafting process for making costumes is not as easy as one may think. There are so many different facets, including brainstorming, searching for inspiration, gathering supplies, and of course, the execution. Valente said, “I really wanted to have kind of an ethereal feel to [the jellyfish costume], much like jellyfish in the ocean do. They look otherworldly, like aliens, and I really wanted to capture that.” While searching for an idea as they “[scrolled] for a bit on Pinterest,” they got the idea to turn an umbrella into a jellyfish. Altogether, they used a variety of materials including, “ribbons, streamers, fabric, and strips of tulle.” As a final touch, Valente added, “blue fairy lights for Trick-or-Treating in the dark”, a clever detail that showcases just how imaginative one can be when making Halloween costumes. 

For those who don’t fancy costume-making, there are plenty of other expressive outlets. Recent Hopkins graduate, Matthew Segal ’24, says “I have enjoyed painting pumpkins and seeing others paint [and] carve them into unique designs.” For Segal, Halloween is more than a simple holiday, “Halloween has always been my favorite celebration, a time I can use to express and underscore the things that make me who I am.” He stated, “I love the fact that everyone can dress how they want; whether it’s paying tribute to a favorite character or pop-culture icon, or just dressing in a style different from the day-day norm, it’s an opportunity to just let loose and have fun with your appearance.” Whether through costumes or crafts, Segal believes that Halloween encourages everyone to embrace their personal tastes and imagination in a way no other holiday does.

Halloween is one of the most expressive holidays. It’s a celebration of individuality, where everyone can step outside their comfort zone, and try on a new style. Ultimately, Halloween is more than just a holiday–it’s a reminder that creativity has no limits.