Teens on Halloween

I've fallen victim of the glares of old people as I knock on their door trick-or-treating as a teen.

The question is always asked around this time, how old is too old to go trick or treating? Personally, I think 18 should be the max. I mean, besides as an adult to help a little kid. Most people think around middle-school age you should quit. I believe I'm still a kid till I'm 18 and I love trick or treating. It's not as fun as it used to be, I'll admit that. Now it's just kind of awkward. But I only think it's awkward because the adults make it awkward by asking how old we are or looking at us weird! If it was just normal and socially acceptable for anyone under 18 to go trick or treating, we wouldn't have this problem. Okay, I could go with some sixth graders and totally get away with people thinking I'm their age...but I don't really know any little kids to disguise myself with. I'm pretty sure all my friends are quitting trick or treating this year... so now what do we do?

I used to always have a Halloween party. We would have a bonfire and play games in the dark, and when it was time, we'd go to some houses trick or treating. That was always fun and I kind of wish I had done that this year. Unfortunately, Halloween falls on a Wednesday. No parties or staying out late it looks like.

Haunted houses are a popular thing in October. My super lame town has one I think. I've gone to it every year for the past 2 or 3 years and now it's just stupid and not that scary or good. There's one other one a little ways away but it's more like a little kid place on a farm and it's not worth $20 if all you want to do is the haunted house and not the pumpkin painting or mini corn maze. The other night my boyfriend and I searched all over for haunted houses, including ones we were pretty sure were closed. All we could find was the same one we've always gone to, so we just didn't go. Instead, we made our own spooky adventure. We walked around the creepishly empty and abandoned downtown. It was so quiet. A guy wearing a mask even passed us on a bike-one of the only people we saw. We, well he, kind of had an urge to make it more scary by walking through alleys instead of streets, but I on the other hand had no desire to get attacked by a homeless man hiding behind a dumpster. It was starting to get darker and we heard screaming as we passed a park. It was just kids playing hide and seek or something, but still. It was fun and not really that dangerous because there were (a few) people around. And it is Cedar Rapids, Iowa, not Detroit. We also looked for abandoned houses to go rummage through in the dark. One he knew about was far away, so we didn't go. I had seen some eerie looking buildings by an old unused train track alongside the bike trail. Sadly, they were in the middle of a little town. They would have been perfect though.

I hate hate hate scary movies. Maybe I can't really say that considering I've never seen one...but I'm sure I would. I watched part of One Missed Call at a friend's house in 8th grade, but spent the majority of the time hiding behind a couch. Even the pictures on the movie covers freak me out. I was in a mood where I wanted to try and watch one, but we ended up watching a more action-y type movie where all these guys got eaten by wolves. If you're not such a wimp like me, I say watch scary movies and freak out your friends during it or something.

Halloween makes me feel risky and brave and a little rebellious. The night before Halloween you could "mummify" someone's yard or car with some toilet paper. You could hang a creepy decoration outside your friends window or front door to scare them when they head to school on Halloween morning. You could even just stand outside their house and make creepy noises and scratch on their window with a branch. Just be ready to run when they look outside! You could even play an intense game of hide and seek like those kids I saw in the park.

If you feel like you can't trick or treat on Halloween, maybe you can just come up with different creative ways to make the night scary and unforgettable.