The Riverdale Review

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Something Spooky’s Brewing: Halloween 2024 Looks

Ghosts and spider webs are slowly infiltrating streets all over the country as we approach horror lovers’ favorite time of year – Halloween. 

The appeal of Halloween is different for every age group. Kids jump at the chance to eat as much candy as they want, but little do they know, Mom will probably cut them off after three Hershey’s Kisses, a Snickers bar, and a pack of Smarties; teens look forward to staying up late and partying, and adults will eagerly accept any opportunity to act like a kid again. 

Despite the different appeals of the spookiest and arguably most imaginative holiday of the year, there is one thing that excites thoughts from people of all ages: the costumes. 

Mr. Jason Ruff, Riverdale’s Middle and Upper School Visual Arts Chair, lets his creativity run wild during the haunted season. Famously known on Riverdale’s Upper School campus for his iconic “Ken” costume for Halloween 2023, Mr. Ruff said he loves to go “all out” for Halloween costumes. 

“Halloween is a time when you want to be current. That’s the fun thing: [when] your costume is something that just happened or it’s really popular at the time and it’s just something that everybody knows; that’s when you get the best responses,” said Mr. Ruff. 

When asked where he gets his inspiration for costumes, Mr. Ruff responded: “[My costumes] are mostly things that I like or things that I think my body type suits. I can be a big Ken or the Joker. So I pick something I look similar to or something I feel is super interesting and timely.”

Mr. Ruff believes that creativity is crucial to a successful Halloween: “I don’t like all the store-bought onesies that everybody does. I feel like we need to be creative. It’s like the one time of year where you get to let really loose and literally put a mask on and just go all in on the creativity.” 

India Beard, an eleventh-grader at Riverdale Country School, shares Mr. Ruff’s love of Halloween. Beard’s go-to spot for costume inspiration is social media: “I look on TikTok [for costumes] because it’s a search engine for me. Any question I have about things regarding my own age I go to TikTok before I do Google,” said Beard. “I factor in shows and movies that I like—more than the popular trends—because I want to like my costume more than anyone else likes my costume,” she said. 

Spirit Halloween, a well-known Halloween costume chain, has recognized that social media has a large influence on Halloween costumes. In a press release from September 2024, they identified the ‘Mob Wife aesthetic’, ‘Country Chic’, ‘Era’s Tour outfits’, and ‘Skibidi Toilet’ as trends they will supply costumes for due to their popularity on TikTok’s For You Page. The company also classified new movies such as ‘Inside Out 2’, ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, and ‘Terrifier 3’ as major costume influences.

Riverdale’s Theater, Dance, and Film (TDF) interprets costumes as an opportunity to be interactive and nostalgic. For Halloween 2023, the TDF department dressed up as characters from the well-known murder mystery game Clue, a game that was popular when the TDF faculty were kids and remains a family favorite today. The costume also had an interactive aspect that mirrored the structure of the game in which students were able to scan a QR code on the costumes and vote for who they thought committed the murder.

“In terms of where these ideas [for TDF’s costumes] come from I do think we think about our childhood. We think about what games we liked when we were little, TV shows we watched when we were little, or books we read,” said Mr. Kellen Blair, a Middle and Upper School TDF teacher. “It’s a tough balance between finding things that are nostalgic for us and have remained sort of popular,” he added. 

Costumes are the most individualized and fun part of Halloween, and The Riverdale Review can’t wait to see what everyone comes up with on the long-awaited October 31st, 2024!