For some high schoolers, trekking through neighborhoods for sweets has unfortunately become an outgrown tradition. With Halloween sneaking up, we asked students to reflect on their most memorable experiences while trick-or-treating.

“I was around 5 years old when I had the snowiest Halloween ever. I lived in Michigan, so the snow was usually up to my ankles. I remember how my mom made our own Halloween costumes at the time. For example, she made me a Strawberry Shortcake costume and a Lightning McQueen costume for my brother. It was a cold night, so on top of our costumes, my mom made big winter coats. I felt really grateful seeing how she wanted the best for us.”

— Sawyer Anderson (9)

“When I was 6 years old, my grandma was tucking me in bed and reading me a story. Then I heard my doorbell go off at like 10 p.m. I loved Halloween at that time, so I rushed downstairs, grabbed a bowl of candy and opened the door. Apparently it was my friend in a Mario costume with his parents dressed as Luigi. I didn’t expect him to surprise me on Halloween, especially that late at night.”

— Adrian Birjandi (10)

“Me and a few friends would go door-to-door and try to run through the expensive neighborhoods where we know the good candies are at. But there was also someone who set up a haunted house in their garage in my old neighborhood. On days I wasn’t trick-or-treating, I would go to family gatherings at someone else’s house. We’d watch a movie or do pumpkin carving. The environment is pretty open. It’s fun in that you just tend to lose track of time.”

— Jack Schultz (12)

“We were trying to climb over a fence to my friend’s neighborhood because she forgot to bring her keys, and we wanted to go trick-or-treating there. The first person who had to climb the fence went over it safely, but our last friend had a long costume so we had to help hold her stuff. She was fine until she landed on her hand and scraped it, but it wasn’t too bad. At that moment I knew it would be a memory I’d like to remember later because it felt adventurous and happy.”

— Amy Liang (11)