On Thursday, October 29th, during remote and hybrid classes, students from the Dobbs Ferry Middle School dressed up in costume in celebration of Halloween.  Though we are in the middle of a world-wide pandemic, the Halloween spirit was still in full force!  Some cool costumes on display throughout the hallways and classrooms of the middle school were The Skeleton King, The Golden Girls, Luigi, and Harry Potter.  Costume themes ranged from funny and wacky to gruesome and scary..

Halloween costumes date back to over 2,000 years. People in the 18 and 1900’s often dressed up as actors and actresses from films that had come out in that time. Villagers used to often play pranks on people, but would blame evil spirits. Halloween costumes from the first half of the 20th century were scary because Halloween used to be the night all the evil spirits came out. But they were back to where they belong by the next day. 

Some costumes people wear today were inspired by actual people. This year Principal Mussolini was The Joker.  Lang and Lit teacher, Mrs. Ducic, was a character from The Golden Girls, a popular television show from the 80s and 90s.  She commented, “I enjoyed being a part of a group costume with Ms. Tyler, Ms. Colon, and Ms. Piparo. We had a lot of fun with it. We are friends in, and out.” 

Before Halloween was a fun day to dress up, it was a day full of superstitions. Some superstitions were on the creepy side and some were just plain strange.  One superstition was to carry a Jack-O’-Lantern on Halloween to keep ghosts away.  Another superstition would be that if you see a black cat on Halloween, a witch is near. A third superstition would be not to eat blackberries on Halloween. 

So, whether you’re suspicious and consider saving those blackberries for another day or just want to dress up like somebody else, be sure to have fun this Halloween!