As the Autumn season brings chilly winds and falling leaves, people eagerly anticipate Halloween activities and traditions. Between kitchy decorations, pumpkin carving, and trick-or-treating in costume, the holiday is a time in which many of our formative memories are created. The Channels editors chose to share their most memorable Halloween costume experiences.

Claire Geriak

I grew up with a little brother about two years younger than myself, and siblings aren’t notorious for always getting along, especially my brother and I.  However, one year for Christmas we dressed up as Batman — if Batman was pink and glittery — and Robin— if he was 3 feet tall. Looking back on our time growing up together, that moment was when I realized I had a lot of pride in my brother during my childhood.Walking around our small town in coordinating outfits was a fun bonding experience for two siblings who didn’t always get along. Pink, sparkly Batman was also one of my first costumes where I wasn’t a princess, but a superhero. This also started a more transformative part of my childhood where I got out of my shell, and it might’ve been the power I felt being a superhero on Halloween, but maybe it was also me growing up.

Angel Corzo

Ever since the release of  Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” my mom has had an obsession with the film and its protagonist, Jack Skellington. If someone were to walk around the inside of my home back in northern California, they could easily spot the Jack Skellington mugs that fill the counters, as well as the Jack Skellington wallet my mom always rocks.

In 2015, I decided to go all out: I found the perfect black blazer with white stripes, crafted my own bat bowtie out of felt and whiteout, and applied more paint on my face than I have ever been comfortable with. The final result can be seen in the lovely mirror selfie adjacent to my writing. Thanks for the inspiration mom, I dedicate this one to you. 

Delaney Newhouse

I remember the scratchiness of homespun cotton on my arms and legs like it was yesterday. 

At 6 years old, I desperately wanted to fit in with everyone around me, and the itch of my pink dress and white bloomers was half from the copious amounts of starch stiffening the material, and half from the discomfort I felt in my own skin. While others in my class were dressed as ninjas, skeletons, and witches, I had been unwillingly relegated to the role of “Little Bo Peep” for Halloween. I shrunk into myself throughout the school day, and it wasn’t until hours later that I felt truly comfortable. I barely remember the comment that shook me out of my focus on what others might think of me, but I remember the slight feeling of guilt that I had wasted my time feeling awkward and pouting when I could have been proud of my costume, which I had genuinely liked before I saw how others were dressed.

After all, my mother had put deep thought into finding me a unique, timeless costume and paying a tailor to make it. Now, I laugh at the pictures of me and my siblings, dressed in borrowed sheep costumes from the local church’s Christmas pageant stash. Something about that particular costume, which got passed down not to only one but both of my sisters over the years, is so much more reflective of the person I’ve become now, and the things I want my future children to be able to experience, than I ever could have known all of those years ago. 

Sofia Stavins

When I think of a core memory of mine from Halloween, I get taken back to the year 2008 when I was only 5 years old. My favorite costume was a cat onesie my mom bought for me. I wore it for two or three years straight, and it brought me all of the joy in the world. My mother would draw dark black whiskers on my cheeks and a little triangle on my nose to add to the outfit. This specific costume means a lot to me, because it is a reflection of the love my mother has towards me. It shows all of the effort she put into me by making sure I was happy with my choice of costume. Memories of going trick-or-treating with my family flash through my mind when thinking back to this era of my life as well. A smile even gets brought to my face as I am writing this.