“Halloween is the one night a year when a girl can dress like a total s*** and no other girls can say anything about it.”
What Regina George did not foresee is that in Cathays, it is not just one night a year, but one whole week. Before university, Halloween did not require hours of dedication to carefully curated Pinterest boards.
The family’s muddle box, containing a witch hat with a wig attached, two sparkly dresses, and a couple of superhero capes was more than enough to secure a happy Halloween. Nobody needed a group chat to co-ordinate costumes or a calendar to figure out which day to wear them.
When we moved to Cardiff, we traded the disappointing slimy liquorice of trick-or-treating for the equally questionable and strong sambuca of the student Halloween. The excitement, however, remains the same. Looking back, there were parties to remember, costumes to laugh about and the shared chaos of a night when everyone could be a little ridiculous.
Yet, with Halloween now behind us, I cannot help wondering whether we took things a little too far. On one hand, there is something quite sweet about students keeping Halloween alive and multiplying the celebrations across the week. In Cathays, we seem to have three chances a year to get Halloween right, and nobody wants to miss out.
But there is money to be made from all this excitement. A quick look at the Cardiff Joke Shop’s website reveals the range of costumes available. What’s striking, though, is the difference between the men’s and women’s sections.
Men are presented with costumes like prisoners, Scream characters and skeletons, while women are offered a ‘naughty schoolgirl’, a ‘bloodthirsty vampire’ or a ‘naughty nun’.
Even the names feel excessive. It makes you wonder: who is Halloween really for? Are we dressing up for fun, or have we been sold the idea that even our costumes should make us look attractive?
Then there are the club tickets, some selling out weeks before the 31st of October. Halloween becomes less spontaneous when a night out needs to be booked in advance and a costume requires its own budget. What started as an excuse to dress up can begin to feel like a logistical operation.
We are too old to trick-or-treat, but too young to budget for a week of Halloween celebrations. There is something brilliant about seeing Cathays filled with ridiculous costumes, spotting a niche reference that makes you laugh, or discovering that someone else has dressed as the exact character you loved as a child.
Halloween gives us an excuse to be silly together. Now that Halloween is over, we can put our feet up, recover from the sambuca, and assess the damage to our bank accounts. Whether you loved every second, or were delighted to put the costumes away for another year, the best part is that we get to do it all again next October.
Unless, of course, you are in a sports society. In which case, put the witch’s hat back on. It’s time for YOLO.