Though many of autumn’s kaleidoscopic leaves were washed away with the rain, campus was still in full swing for Halloween. Over the past week, students have been flooded with emails inviting them to all sorts of festivities, ranging from pumpkin arts and crafts to Halloween-themed movies.

Starting as early as Oct. 13, dorms began the “boo-ing” tradition of leaving a gift at someone’s door. The recipient goes on to return the favor to someone else, and the chain continues. As Kayla Higgins puts it, “This is a fun way to make someone’s day and maybe eat a little chocolate!”

Another thing that kicked-off the Halloween spirit was the freshmen door decorating contest, hosted by RA Bridgette Evans. With a variety of categories such as creepiest, funniest, most original, and more, there was plenty of prizes to go around. Even to those who didn’t win, it was great to see all the effort and creativity that went into making the dorms look festive.

Last Thursday, a cupcake decorating session was held at Streets, and last Friday, students could be found in the JOA basement making Jack-O-Lantern mason jars and doing hair and makeup for costumes.

Lucubrations also held a Halloween open mic on Oct. 27, urging everyone to bring their “favorite morbid and monstrous poems” or “some ghoulish ghost stories” to share in the Comiskey Art Center.

On Friday, Oct. 28, the Multicultural Student Coalition prepared a “Halloween Hangout,” complete with Puritan chicken, snacks, and movies like Hocus Pocus and Halloweentown.

Keeping with tradition, the Campus Activities Board held their annual CABoo event on Halloween in the LLC classroom. Cassandra Mitchell said, “Last year we had a company come in and do a make-your-own-caramel-apples activity.” She went on to say that the students last year loved them so much that they decided to bring the company back for a second time.

The gathering also included mini-pumpkin decorating, a make-your-own trail mix section, a photo booth, and a surprise giveaway. Additionally, the group hosted a “monstrous CABingo” alongside Student Activities on Oct. 29, and Mitchell assured the Crier that there were “a lot of great prizes” for everyone that attended.

On Tuesday, Nov. 1, Father Bernard Court (FBC) hosted its annual Halloween Festival, in which upperclassmen could participate in a door decorating contest and trick-or-treating. Senior Caitlyn Abela commented, “The trick-or-treating in FBC has been something I have looked forward to since I came to Saint Anselm. The children of our community are so cute in their costumes and are so excited to come to our doorsteps.”

As one can see, there was a wide array of activities going on this year – so there was certainly something to be found for everyone. Whether you’re into creative contests, freaky films, or eating a bunch of sugary snacks, anyone and everyone could get into the spirit of Halloween. So be on the lookout for next year’s happenings, because there’s never a dull day on campus around Halloween!