Princetoween

October 31, 2021
Naomi Hess

Spooky season has arrived! Princeton students go all out when it comes to Halloween. In previous years, Halloween occurred during fall break, so Princeton collectively celebrated so-called Princetoween the Thursday before the break. Fall break is earlier now because of the calendar change that made finals take place before winter break, so this year we were here on actual Halloween.

On October 30th, the Princeton Students Events Committee hosted a Princetoween event. They brought in food from Nomad Pizza, Taco Bell, Terhune Orchards, and other local delicacies. The event also featured a DJ and a photo booth. It’s so much fun to stop by Campus Club, eat some delicious food, and see the creativity of everyone’s costumes.

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Group of students dancing in a circle

The Chapel Choir holds an annual silent movie screening in early October every year. This year, they showed the classic 1923 silent film "Hunchback of Notre Dame”. The event takes place in the University Chapel, which is Gothic style and fits the eerie vibes. A live organ performance accompanies the silent movie. Members of the Chapel Choir “haunt” the chapel as the audience waits for the movie to start.

Butler College, my residential college, hosted Halloween events of their own throughout October. They planned a haunted trip to nearby Fields of Terror in East Windsor, NJ, where Butlerites could enter the haunted house, find their way through the haunted corn maze, or take a ride on the haunted hayride. Elizabeth Armstrong, the Head of Butler, hosted a pumpkin carving event at her house earlier in the month. These events are in addition to the excellent decorations every dining hall puts up around Halloween. Maybe I'm biased, but I think Butler's dining hall Wucox does the best Halloween decor out of any of the dining halls!

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Group of students posing together in various costumes.

Butler and First College also planned their 13th annual Halloween 5k event. People could participate in person or virtually. Costumes were optional but encouraged, with awards going to the best costumes as well as the top finishers in the race. All proceeds from the event go to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen. 

As you can see, there is no shortage of fun to be had around Halloween. You should be prepared to bring your best costume to Princeton, and have a spook-tacular time celebrating, hopefully with treats, not tricks!