Are Highschoolers too old to ‘Trick or Treat’?

           Every year, Halloween is a time for people, mostly children, to dress up in costumes and go house to house asking for candy. The tradition of dressing up and going ‘trick-or-treating’ has been around since the Celtic times, but the debate on how old is “too old” to go trick-or-treating and what costumes to wear changes every year.

“I have a 6 year old daughter and she’s going to dress up as either Cleopatra or a princess. [It seems] that princesses are a popular costume among little girls,” said counselor Chandra Brown.

As it is traditions for children to go trick-or-treating, but many high school students still go hunting for candy as well.

 “I’m going trick-or-treating this year because you’re never too old to go trick-or-treating. My friends and I are going as Cardinals fans because it’s cute and simple to dress up as,” said freshmen Katie Pautler.

While some people enjoy dressing up in cute Halloween costumes, others take to the true nature of Halloween and dress up in more frightening costumes.

 “I’m too old to go trick-or-treating, but if I was I would dress up as Michael Meyers because he is scary and I could scare people,” said senior Morquise Andrisse.

 “I’m going trick-or-treating only because my girlfriend’s little brother wants to go. [People are] too old to go trick-or-treating when you get into high school, unless [they] are taking a little kid because parents want to give candy out to cute children not high schoolers,” said sophomore Brian Coulter.

Although some high schoolers don’t see any harm in going trick-or-treating, St. Louis city and St. Louis County prohibiting certain high school ages and above from trick-or-treating.

 “There isn’t a certain age to stop trick-or-treating; it is just based on the child’s maturity. When they stop asking [the parent to take them], then they should stop,” said counselor Chandra Brown.

by Katryn Dobkin