noellepick

Halloween is one of the few holidays that the student body is able to spend together. Because of this opportunity, traditions have been established to create a fun and memorable experience for all. Traditions include the seniors’ costume competition and a classic Halloween movie shown for the entire school in the West Gym.

As a student, alumna, and former English teacher, Ms. Connie Cavel, ‘68, did not experience Halloween like current students do. “When I was a student at Marian, there were no real Halloween traditions. There was a fall dance called The Harvest Hop. Sometimes, that dance might have had a Halloween flavor, but never a Halloween theme,” Cavel said.

Seniors began dressing in costumes for Halloween just before Cavel began her teaching career, but the tradition “really took off when the Class of 1976 were seniors,” Cavel said.

Almost all costumes were made by hand, and students paraded during an assembly. “I remember that the costumes were great–very ingenious!” Cavel said.

“Other grades love watching seniors parade around, and it’s so much fun for the seniors to dress up,” senior Mary Townley said.

A school-wide showing of a Halloween movie began in 1973 with the famous Audrey Hepburn thriller “Wait Until Dark.” “The movie continued until about 1983 or 1984,” Cavel said. This tradition was revived in 1988 and then again in 2012, repeating history by showing “Wait Until Dark.”

Since then, the movies “Dial M for Murder” and “Birds” have been featured. “Normally, I am not a scary movie person at all, but when everyone is supporting each other, I can bear them,” Townley said. This year’s movie was Disney’s “Twitches,” starring Tia and Tamera Mowry.

Halloween traditions prove to be memorable for many, including Cavel and Townley. “My favorite Marian Halloween memory is the year that the movie was ‘Young Frankenstein.’ It has some suggestive lines and scenes, nothing by today’s standards, and all the students couldn’t believe that we let them watch it!” Cavel said. “Who doesn’t love watching a scary movie in the gym when they should be in class?” Townley said.

Halloween traditions are just one thing that make Marian unique. Each year, students look forward to curling up with 711 of their best friends, enjoying a Tootsie Pop and a spooky movie, and watching seniors parade in their creative costumes.