Halloween can be a time to let yourself explore your personality

10/26/2025

What does your costume of choice say about you at Halloween?

I'm going to reveal something that might shock people who know me as a creative sort. When it comes to Halloween I suck at being creative.

Maybe because I ended up in the emergency room getting my stomach pumped as a wee lad after eating something we weren't exactly sure why it made me so sick, but I just never quite figured out how to get into the dressing up vibe.

I guess those that know me and see how much effort I put into my everyday wardrobe might say my lack of attention to dressing up for anything jives.

But it is fun, as a photo journalist, to see how people represent themselves. With kids it gives you insight into what they are into at the moment. Whatever Disney film is current usually dictates quite a bit of attention.

Kids YouTube shows also dominate.

T-Rex blow up costumes are fun to watch as the wearer tries navigate simple things like walking or grabbing candy from a bowl held by Dracula while threatening to bite the Lord Prince of Darkness' head off (see above photo.)

And Dracula is fun from the comical representations to the pretty darn realistic. Again, perhaps revealing of character traits, at least in terms of the ability of committing to a charactor.

From sexy to scary, whimsical to odd, well thought out to tossed together, we tell something about ourselves in how we decide to dress up.

For me, after my ill-attempted hobo where I still had charcoal on my cheeks as the ER doc shoved a tube passed my tonsils making me want to die even more than whatever evil was churning in my belly, but I just haven't found my personality in dress up beyond just remembering to wear pants.

My two costumes of note were my "guy with a stick" that I picked up in the yard after realizing I totally forgot it was a costume party and the time I cut the rear end out of a pair of jeans and told everyone I was Prince at the Grammy's. (not convincing but my hairy derrière did become a popular photo op among my photographer friends that night.}

So I guess even my ill-attempts were still quite personality revealing?

I'm amazed at how people really go all out decorating their yards and businesses and have so much fun doing so. The bigger the decorating scheme the more visitors and therefor more money spent on candy.

And I love how many communities create dozens of activities for families to come out and engage with one another. It is curious to witness the numbers of people and sheer support folks have in sharing simple things like sweets with one another just for the smiles they receive in return.

Many organizations spend hundreds of dollars to give families a little community fun several times throughout the season.

And then there is trick-or-treat night and virtually every community sets times so the activity can be safe for everyone. Below is a list of times in several areas.