Halloween! You might be surprised to know it’s my favorite holiday.
Growing up, I never had a traditional Halloween. Being raised on a farm means that going “door to door” to trick or treat means literally walking half an hour to go get a handful of Almond Joy. My sister Georgia and I would instead go trick-or-treating in our house, knocking on every door of every room. Our parents would dress up as different “neighbors” and pretend not to know us as they handed us snacks. Their commitment was astounding: each house had distinctly different candy (and distinctly different marriage dynamics! I’ll never forget the “Hopplepots”, recurring characters in our Halloween tradition whom I’m pretty sure were supposed to secret serial killers. (My parents didn’t get out a lot.)
But by the time I got to college, Halloween meant something different. Halloween meant hitting the town, throwing a party, and dressing up as my current favorite Pulitzer Prize winner. All of my fondest memories of college come from Halloween bashes, even if I was very disappointed I was never recognized as Maya Angelou.
In order to spread the scary excitement, I asked my fellow WISHington Post authors to share what they’re doing this Halloween!
Billy J. Clanton
Costume: Donald Trump
Plans: Nightmare on M Street Bar Crawl
It’s a costume bar crawl of DC’s hottest establishments. Obviously 21+. A Halloween where I don’t make some new connections is a Halloween wasted. This is the perfect chance to meet fellow DC people who are into costumed mayhem.
Edison LaFont
Costume: Spock (I have worn this costume many years in a row, but as it continues to elicit a reaction, and as new media continues to bring Trek more aggressively into the public eye, I see no reason to retire it as of this year.)
Plans: I, and my fellow members of the Enterprise, will be attending Ha!Lloween, a Halloween themed comedy show. Perhaps I shall get to perform some bits of my own, should time allow.
Chelsea Evara
Costume: Rainbow Dash from My Little Pony
Plans: I actually get scared super easy, so no ghosts or vampires or dead Presidents for me! I go to Pumpkin patches out in the country for harvest festivals and petting zoos. They’re so fun and adorable!
Woody Wilson
Costume: Bill from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
Plans: Throw a killer party at my friend Chester’s. I know how to make this cool punch with a Jell-O eyeball in it and we’re gonna have our own costume contest. We have a lot of categories: “most original, coolest pop-culture reference, best use of hat or headgear, most gnarly, honorable mention for attention to fabric choice, and most excellent.”
Truman J. Woznack
Costume: The Flash – specifically the Flash from the new 52 run of “Justice League” – the Jim Lee version. Most of my references are from Issues 3-9.
Plans: I might go to the Fantom Comics Store’s Halloween party. Or I might stay home and help my mom hand out candy. I dunno, Mom’s wrists get tired a lot.
Jackie Kay
Costume: Marilyn Monroe
Plans: The Mansion O Halloween party is the pinnacle of elegance. If you love getting dressed up and exploring a Victorian Mansion, I highly recommend it. If you don’t…well…I bet Woody would invite you to his soiree. (ugh.)
Hilary Kawahara
Costume: A Culturally Insensitive Loser Frat Guy Dressed Up as a Native American (it’s a meta costume – it’s satire.)
Plans: Synthetic Theater’s Vampire Ball. They’re doing The Island of Dr. Moreau. Their DJ is from Georgia (the country not the state, duh). Yeah, it’s really cool, but I kinda don’t want a LOT of people to be there cause then it’ll probably kill the vibe, y’know?
Eleanor Rose
Costume: A Cat Superhero (to raise awareness for cat adoption.)
Plans: DC has a large number of pet costume contests. My four cats are dressed up as the characters from Girls this year, so we’re sure to take home something for originality.
Jeron Andrews
Costume: Swiss Cheese (I cut holes in my yellow shirt!)
Plans: I make homemade Halloween treats for my friend’s house party every year! Pinterest has got some amazing Halloween pastry recipes that you have GOT to check out.
Ed Woodward
Costume: I prefer to remain anonymous. (But it’ll have a cool cape.)
Plans: I don’t want anyone knowing my wherabouts, I turned off GPS on my phone for this very reason.
Georgia Warrington
Costume: Oh sweetie, I don’t do costumes anymore.
Plans: Probably stay inside and give out candy to trick or treaters in our building. My fiancé makes amazing homemade nougat!
Me, Martha…This year I’m going as William Faulkner. Maybe this year people will recognize who I am!