A Bunch of Hocus Pocus: Costumes, Candy, and Scary Movies (Halloween Nostalgia)

There’s something about Halloween that brings out a different side of us. Maybe it’s the costumes, the candy, or the excitement of walking through a neighborhood after dark. Or maybe it’s simply having an excuse to dress up and be someone else for a night. We love Halloween nostalgia!

For us, Halloween nostalgia brings back some hilarious memories, questionable costume choices, and very strong opinions about candy. It also reminds us how differently we experience the holiday now compared to when we were kids. From trick-or-treating to scary movies, we had plenty to reminisce about. And somehow, we ended up talking about everything from pregnant Amy Winehouse to potatoes filled with pennies.

Trick-or-Treating Then and Now

Growing up in Kentucky, Paige remembers roaming the neighborhood with friends and collecting candy without much adult supervision. She was probably in third or fourth grade when her parents let her go trick-or-treating alone. Unfortunately, some older boys had a habit of running around and stealing younger kids’ candy bags. Looking back, those boys were probably only sixth or seventh graders. At the time, they seemed like actual teenagers.

Jenna remembers the excitement of Halloween nights a little differently. She loved seeing neighborhoods come alive with kids, costumes, decorations, and families walking from house to house. There was something special about being outside after dark, surrounded by people enjoying the same tradition. That enthusiasm lasted until someone questioned whether she was too old to trick-or-treat. She thinks she was a freshman or sophomore in high school. The comment made her self-conscious and changed how she felt about participating.

Now, Jenna gets to experience those neighborhood traditions again with her nieces. She still loves walking around, seeing everyone’s costumes, and taking in the excitement. The candy isn’t even the point anymore. It’s the feeling of being part of a fun community. That sense of community reminds us of our conversation with Meghan Romain about community living and creating spaces for connection. Halloween offers a different kind of gathering, but we love seeing neighbors come together.

Paige has watched her own relationship with trick-or-treating change, especially since moving from Washington to Arizona. Halloween in Washington usually meant cold temperatures, rain boots, jackets, and costumes hidden beneath layers of clothing. Even the best costume lost some appeal when everyone had to bundle up. One house offered hot cocoa and cookies, which became a favorite stop on those chilly nights.

Then Paige moved to Arizona in October 2020, and Halloween looked completely different. Her parents’ neighborhood had an entire section that closed its streets to cars. Every house decorated, families gathered around fire pits, and people handed out candy from their driveways. There were golf carts, elaborate costumes, haunted houses, and even a petting zoo in the street.

Paige and Alex walked around with their jaws dropped. It felt like stepping into a Halloween movie, complete with beautiful weather and an enormous neighborhood block party. After years of rainy trick-or-treating, Arizona made Paige fall in love with the holiday all over again.

The Halloween Costumes We’ll Never Forget

Halloween costumes might be our favorite part of the holiday, especially when someone gets creative. We both love homemade costumes, although our enthusiasm for making them looks a little different these days.

For Jenna, dressing up has become an annual tradition with her dog, Charlie. Their first Halloween together featured Jenna as Harry Potter and Charlie as Dobby the house-elf. Another year, Charlie dressed as Charlie Brown while Jenna became Snoopy. They’ve also appeared as a lion and lion tamer, followed by Trinity and her canine companion from The Matrix.

Charlie doesn’t necessarily love wearing elaborate costumes for an entire evening. Most years, Jenna gets the picture and calls it a success. Still, planning their matching outfits brings her so much joy. This year, she’s planning a Ratatouille costume, with Charlie as the chef and Jenna as the rat.

Paige has a different relationship with dressing up. She grew up making costumes because her parents didn’t buy expensive store-bought outfits. That tradition stuck, and she still prefers creating something herself. The problem is finding the time, especially while preparing her own kids for Halloween.

Last year, Paige found an easy solution and dressed as Ms. Rachel. Her brother had always joked that she reminded him of the children’s entertainer. So she surprised him and her nieces by arriving in overalls, a pink shirt, and a headband.

Her daughters doubted anyone would recognize the costume. They quickly discovered otherwise. Kids throughout the neighborhood excitedly identified Ms. Rachel, including little ones watching from their strollers. Paige couldn’t resist pointing out that practically everyone knew exactly who she was.

Pregnant Amy Winehouse and a Handmade Garden of Eden

Some of Paige’s most memorable costumes required considerably more effort. One year, while approximately six months pregnant, she dressed as Amy Winehouse for a Halloween party at her house. She recreated the singer’s signature beehive, dramatic eyeliner, tattoos, and recognizable style. To complete the look, she carried a fake cigarette and a glass of Coke resembling whiskey.

The costume worked almost too well. One concerned guest approached Paige’s husband, Alex, about a pregnant woman drinking and smoking at their party. Alex had to explain that the woman was his wife and everything was fake. Paige still considers that reaction proof of a successful costume.

Another favorite came from the early days of her relationship with Alex. They dressed as Adam and Eve, and Paige created her outfit almost entirely by hand. She sewed green tulle, leaves, and Swarovski crystals onto a bra and matching skirt. A snake necklace completed the look, making it one of her proudest costume creations.

Jenna has her own collection of memorable outfits, including several Harry Potter characters and an unexpectedly successful milk carton costume. She even remembers winning a school prize for the milk carton. Looking back, she has no idea why she chose it, which somehow makes the memory even better.

Not every costume memory brings the same laughter. Jenna also reflected on wearing a Native American-inspired costume years ago and later registering why it was offensive. She remembers feeling embarrassed and ashamed when someone pointed it out. For her, that experience changed how she thinks about the impact of costume choices.

Halloween Candy, Childhood Rules, and a Very Strange Prank

No conversation about Halloween nostalgia would feel complete without talking about candy. And apparently, our childhood households had similar rules about how much we could eat.

Jenna remembers carrying a pillowcase around the neighborhood and returning home with an enormous amount of candy. Her family stored the collection in a garage cupboard, where it sometimes lasted until Easter. The candy wasn’t freely available, so she had to ask before enjoying it.

Paige’s family followed a similar approach. Everyone dumped their candy into one large communal bowl, which sat on top of the refrigerator. Whenever someone wanted a piece, they had to ask their parents.

Alex had a completely different childhood experience. He remembers hiding his candy beneath his bed so his siblings couldn’t steal it. Then he’d eat practically everything within a couple of days.

Those differences continued when Paige and Alex had children. Paige initially followed her family’s tradition of limiting how much candy the kids could eat. More recently, her family has adjusted their approach because her oldest daughter reacts poorly to certain food dyes. For a few years, Alex even offered her $20 in exchange for the candy she couldn’t eat.

Naturally, this led to a debate about which Halloween candies deserve a place in the bag. Jenna loves Swedish Fish but has very little enthusiasm for banana-flavored candy. Paige, meanwhile, actually likes banana Laffy Taffy. Neither of us could muster much excitement for Tootsie Rolls, although Alex apparently loves them.

The Mystery of the Penny-Filled Potatoes

Jenna also shared one of her strangest Halloween memories from high school. One year, she and her friends gathered at their friend Kate’s house to hand out candy. For reasons nobody can fully explain, they decided to add small raw potatoes to trick-or-treaters’ bags.

But these weren’t ordinary potatoes. The girls pushed pennies into them before secretly dropping them alongside the candy. Kids would notice their bags suddenly felt heavier, assuming they’d received an especially generous handful of treats.

Jenna still laughs about the prank, although she can’t explain the pennies. Paige had plenty of questions, including why anyone would put coins inside a potato. There wasn’t a particularly good answer. Apparently, teenage Jenna and her friends simply thought it was hilarious.

Scary Movies: Love Them or Leave Them?

Our Halloween nostalgia also includes some very different relationships with scary movies. Jenna has never enjoyed feeling frightened, even when a movie’s story genuinely interests her.

She loves the psychological intrigue of M. Night Shyamalan’s films, including Signs and The Sixth Sense. Unfortunately, suspense often leaves her hiding behind a pillow or closing her eyes. She sometimes reads a movie’s entire synopsis beforehand so she knows what to expect.

Paige, on the other hand, loved horror movies in high school. She enjoyed the thrill of getting scared, although certain storylines crossed a line for her. Movies involving children or situations that felt too realistic became harder to watch. Films like The Ring and The Grudge even gave her nightmares.

Over time, Paige’s enthusiasm for horror movies faded. She became less interested in disturbing imagery, dark themes, and the anticipation of jump scares. Now, she often finds the suspense more stressful than entertaining.

Jenna can relate to that feeling. She wants to enjoy a good mystery, but the uncertainty makes watching difficult. Sometimes she’d rather know exactly what’s coming than spend two hours anticipating the next scare.

Hocus Pocus and the Movies That Feel Like Halloween

Thankfully, Halloween movies don’t have to be terrifying. Jenna has a special affection for the nostalgic films she watched growing up, including Disney’s Halloweentown.

Hocus Pocus remains one of her favorites. She’s watched it countless times and still associates it with the season. Paige also enjoyed the sequel and thought it held up surprisingly well.

Jenna brought up Hubie Halloween, the Adam Sandler comedy that manages to combine murder mysteries with surprisingly wholesome humor. Paige couldn’t help laughing at Jenna’s description of a movie featuring murders as cute and charming.

That’s probably the perfect summary of our different Halloween movie preferences. We both enjoy the fun and atmosphere, but neither of us needs a genuinely terrifying experience anymore. Give us costumes, a little mystery, and some nostalgic Halloween magic, and we’re happy.

Pumpkin Spice, Pumpkin Patches, and Fall Traditions

Of course, Halloween also brings all the little traditions that make fall feel special. Jenna fully embraces pumpkin spice season, even when California temperatures still feel more like summer. She loves Trader Joe’s seasonal treats, especially the gluten-free pumpkin pancake mix and vanilla pumpkin candles. There’s something about those familiar smells and flavors that makes her excited for the season.

Paige has a much stronger opinion about pumpkin spice lattes. She thinks pumpkin and coffee taste terrible together, although she loves pumpkin chai and pumpkin pie. Apparently, there’s a very specific line between acceptable and unacceptable pumpkin combinations.

For Jenna, pumpkin patches are another favorite fall tradition. She loves the decorations, seasonal activities, and excitement of visiting with her nieces. She also looks forward to the annual Art and Pumpkin Festival in Half Moon Bay, California. The festival’s enormous pumpkins are part of the appeal, along with the chance to enjoy a festive afternoon together.

Paige’s pumpkin patch memories carry a little more sentiment. When her oldest daughter was a baby, her family started taking annual pictures at a pumpkin patch in Washington. Every year, they returned to the same spot near a stack of hay. Over time, those photographs captured her growing family, from one little baby to two children getting older each year.

After moving to Arizona, the tradition faded. The pumpkin patches didn’t feel quite the same, and the kids were growing up. Looking back at those photos, Paige wishes they’d continued taking them. Alex recently sent her a collage of their old pictures, reminding her how special that tradition had become.

A Little Halloween Magic

We ended our conversation with some Halloween rapid-fire questions, including candy corn, pumpkin carving, and imaginary superpowers. Naturally, even a silly question about witchcraft turned into a discussion about which magical abilities we’d actually want.

Jenna briefly considered reading minds before realizing she probably wouldn’t enjoy knowing everyone’s thoughts. The ability to travel instantly anywhere sounded much more appealing. Paige agreed that being able to appear somewhere in an instant would be pretty amazing.

After all the stories, costumes, candy debates, and movie memories, we found ourselves even more excited for Halloween. It’s funny how a holiday can bring back so many different moments from our lives. Some memories make us laugh, while others remind us how much our families and traditions have changed.

For us, Halloween nostalgia isn’t just about remembering what we wore or how much candy we collected. It’s also about remembering the people, places, and experiences that made those Halloweens memorable. And sometimes, it’s simply about laughing over a ridiculous costume or a potato with pennies inside.

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