After weeks of preparation — or hours for those who procrastinate — it finally came time to show off those Halloween costumes, whether they came in a pre-packaged bag or were delicately selected piece by piece. Some Ohio University students chose to leave town and escape the alcohol-fueled chaos, while most stayed in Athens to embrace the annual celebration.
Being a senior, I decided it only made sense to join the majority staying in town for the popular "HallOUween" festivities, as many students call them. As early as 3 p.m., my roommates were asking what my plans were for the night. Many students glued themselves to their smart phones, anticipating plans for the big night ahead. If you must know, I decided to dress as a bumble bee, which, unfortunately, was not a unique costume. It was almost as bad as arriving at your high school prom, only to find that several other girls bought the exact same dress.
My roommates didn't follow my path in the insect world; in fact, we all had completely random, unrelated costumes. One dressed as a cowgirl, another as a zebra and the third as an eskimo.
As dinnertime approached Saturday, the walls of our south-side apartment began to bleed some serious drumbeats. The celebration was in full swing. I quickly finished a blueberry muffin I grabbed from campus earlier, which unfortunately only contained one blueberry. The sun hadn't even set yet, but many OU students and their out-of-town guests weren't waiting for that to happen.
As my blueberry-less muffin dwindled, my roommates and I followed the music and ventured to our neighbor's apartment. I was instantly attacked when a man dressed as Batman blasted his "airblower gun" my way. "Oww!" I said out loud, reminding myself that this evening was about to get much more rambunctious. We ran back to our place to avoid getting shot by Batman again.
As the night wore on, people grew more comfortable talking to me — the annoying bee buzzing in everyone's business. I encountered a devil and an angel, such a classic couple's costume.
The devil, OU exercise physiology major Troy Harmer, explained why he enjoys Halloween so much.
"Honestly, my favorite part of Halloween is just having a good time and seeing all my friends," he said. "I see more of my friends Halloween weekend than I do any other weekend."
As for the costume, he said, "It was my girlfriend's idea; she decided to be an angel, so that's what inspired me to be a devil." Harmer sported red devil horns and a shirt that read "Exercise your inner demons."
He confirmed that Halloween is one of his favorite times of year — "other than his girlfriend's birthday!" his angelic girlfriend chimed in for him.
Right after my interview with the devil and angel, the front door of our apartment suddenly swung open by itself. We gasped and blamed it on a ghost, probably from The Ridges. No big deal.
Next, I encountered an Adam Sandler look-alike from the movie, "Billy Madison." Otherwise known as Paul Semann, he said, "It's my senior year but it's definitely not my last Halloween at OU." He explained his costume idea. "I was with my roommate, Chase Brownfield, and Billy Madison was on TV when we both looked at each other and said, 'you know what, we need to do that.' So he's a penguin, and I'm Billy Madison."
Semann boasted that OU and Athens meet his Halloween expectations every year. "The best part is getting to see people from different colleges. It's cool seeing new faces," he said.
He explained that he had three visitors this year, who were all looking forward to the annual celebration. "The only thing that's frustrating is the fact that there are so many people here, you can't use your cell phone," he said. "It's so crowded that people lose service."
When asked what advice he would give to first-timers, Semann said, "Watch out for the bumble bee in the glasses because she's super genius," in reference to yours truly. I can't argue with that.
AS THE EVENING PROGRESSED, MY FRIENDS and I finally made our way to Court Street, which should be the Webster's definition of Halloween, in my opinion.
Many shared their thoughts on the famous Athens block party.
Eskimo/Inuit Mallory Swope said, "My favorite part of fall quarter is Halloween. It's so fun going uptown and seeing everyone's costumes because there are so many creative people. It's so exciting."
Swope explained that she chose the Eskimo/Inuit costume because she knew in advance how cold it was going to be. "I wanted to be practical and warm this year," she said.
We kept walking, so as not to drown in the crowd. I saw the Flintstones, Where's Waldo, lady bugs, skeletons and even Jesus.
I encountered two passersby, Lauren Baer with her fiancé Matt. "We are the Grinch and Cindy Lou Who," Baer explained. "I go to OU; he's a visitor, but it's not his first time here. We're engaged, and we plan on coming back even after graduation. OU's Halloween stands out because everybody joins together as a community and partakes in the same event together."
OU senior Annie Farinella was wearing a couple's costume with boyfriend and visitor Dave Colson. Together, they dressed as Woody and Jessie from "Toy Story."
"It was my idea," Farinella said. "It was the only thing I could get him to agree to. Halloween at OU is my favorite because we have the most creative costumes in the entire nation," she added. "I know the weather's cold, but the warmth of everyone's personalities and friendship is adding to the total environment."
My friends and I walked past what appeared to be someone dressed as NFL quarterback Michael Vick with a dog on a chain (an apparent reference to his infamous criminal record), a circle of Santa's elves, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
"I made it all by hand," the jelly explained. "I used cardboard, foam and glued it together with fabric over it." Both the peanut butter and jelly said they plan on coming back for future Halloween celebrations. "Abso-freaking-lutely, we'll be back, oh yeah, Bobcats!" the jelly declared, as the two slices of bread wandered off into the vibrant night.
Other costumes included plenty of superheroes, Alice in Wonderland, some pirates, construction workers, Scooby Doo, uniform personnel, pumpkins and bananas. "I'm the only zebra so far!" my roommate said with joy, adding a skip to her step.
Not only were there live bands keeping the Court Street walkers alive, but there were gyros, curly fries, corn dogs and Italian sausage booths colorfully decorating the curbs for hungry passersby. As I was breathing in the aroma of unhealthy fast food, someone nudged me and said, "Look, those two clowns just ran into each other! They're on the ground!" As I looked over, I indeed saw two clumsy clowns rolling on the grass, trying to stand back up. "Yep, I'm in Athens," I thought to myself.
After my attention span veered from the silly clowns, I came across a guy with long, droopy ears. "What are you?" I asked.
He replied, "I am a puppy. I bought an infant dog costume from the small child section in Target." Puppy by night, human by day, Charlie DeHart said this was his second time in Athens for Halloween. "The first time was phenomenal, but tonight is phenomenal squared," he said. "The Athens Halloween is a lot like the Zombie Apocalypse. I tried to get as much preparation as possible."
DeHart described the party as "banging, swanging and fanging," whatever that means. "I plan on coming back every year for the rest of my life," he added. "I can't wait to be the old guy that people wonder why he's here. This is the most happening place. If you're not at OU on Halloween, where are you?"
While many people appeared inebriated, and an occasional partier got arrested for going too far, for the most part the Halloween crowd was under control and in high spirits.
As I kept walking, the cold began to numb my fingers. Several female students dressed as referees blew their whistles loudly into my ears as if it was their first time ever using a whistle. Not one, not two, but three people walking past me made buzzing noises at the sight of my bumble-bee wings, and after attempting one final interview with another OU student, all he felt like sharing was his phone number. "OK, it's time to go home," I thought to myself.
Happy Halloween OU, what a night.
