Candy, pumpkins, costumes, and movies that send shivers down your spine; Halloween is right around the corner and COVID-19 can’t stop the joy brought on by it.

Many individuals believe that Halloween is another way COVID-19 could spread with more ease as people might not follow social distancing rules, or the candy given out won’t be sanitary as it is a packaged product so the virus could spread easily. So, the idea of celebrating Halloween seems to be impossible.

There are many ways such as drive-thru trick or treating or drive-in movie nights to enjoy Halloween without violating these regulations. However, the best way to enjoy Halloween is in the world of digital devices and apps, as there is no way to interact with any individual since it is all screen-based.

Senior Yasmine Villarreal said, “Some of my friends are going to dress up for Halloween and we are all going to Zoom call. It’s just sad to spend a holiday alone, so we want to call and get in the spirit by wearing costumes.”

Celebrating Halloween alone online while social distancing is the optimal way to do so as there is no risk involved, since applications like Zoom, FaceTime, and Google Hangouts come in handy as they are the best methods of communication.

Buying your own packaged candy from the store and calling some friends over your laptop, while screen sharing a scary movie online is always a fun activity to do. There are also many online games, such as virtual Uno or Among Us, that could be played with friends over the video call as well.

“My friends and I already have a plan. We are definitely going to watch ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’, ‘It’ and maybe even ‘Obsidian’. We are going for a movie marathon and I want to show off how much candy I bought,” said Villarreal.

Halloween is not about where you go, but who you are celebrating it with and in this case it should be all online. The possibilities are endless as friends could still dress up and host a virtual costume party, deciding who had the most innovative costume.

Another idea could be to buy pumpkins and carve them while telling spooky stories during the call, and then even developing another competition on who had the best carving.

Individuals could also send friends ‘Halloween Buckets’, which are themed buckets decorated with spooky designs containing candy, chips and cute little knick-knacks relating to Halloween.

Villarreal said, “Personally I want to send/drop off gifts for my friends at their houses, like sour candies, chocolates, and a nice handwritten letter, because I want all of us to have a nice break and enjoy. We could also open the gift over the Zoom call to see each other’s reactions.”

Even if we are in a pandemic, we still should not forget these joys in life, as with every Halloween memory is created. The memory formed now will probably stand out the most as well and it will be told as a story to future generations, since it will be the first ever Virtual Halloween.