Students fall into a deep trance, daydreaming of the coming weekend of Halloween parties and trick-or-treating adventures that await them. Counting down each second, they glance back and forth at the seemingly snail-like moving fingers of the classroom clocks to find that it’s only period three. Suddenly, a series of loud dings ring throughout the classrooms and the hum of the TigerRundown jingle snaps the students back to reality. Faces are drawn to the classroom TV screens and intrigued eyes find a red figure with a blonde wig and a “Thing 1” sign stamped across its chest standing on the stage of the library. Students laugh, enthralled by the interesting costume. A trail of dressed-up seniors follows, all showcasing their creative take on a unique costume of their choice. Smiles spread across the faces of the onlooking students and the contagious holiday spirit floats through the halls of THS.

On Friday, October 29, THS seniors entered the school building dressed in costumes that ranged from the Founding Fathers to UPS cardboard boxes for the annual THS Senior Halloween Costume Parade. As a small means to celebrate the holiday, seniors are granted the unique opportunity to dress up for a school-held costume parade and contest, and this year’s contestants did not disappoint.

The Senior Halloween Parade was primarily organized by the senior class officers who arranged a survey, through which they approved costumes and organized the parade. “First we approve [the costumes], and make sure that they’re all school appropriate, and then we organize them by act––by category of costumes,” Senior Class President Lucy Harper said. “And then all the officers [alternate between announcing] the different costumes.” Harper, who arrived at school dressed as Thing One, believes that the parade was a huge success. “It was so fun––I highly recommend it. Definitely do it. [It’s a] super fun senior tradition.” Despite uncertainties regarding COVID, Harper insisted that the event went on as normal and even exceeded her expectations. “The only thing that could’ve been better was if more people decided to dress up,” Harper said. “I felt that would’ve made it more fun and [created] more of a nice Halloween ambiance. [It was a] nice experience at the end of the day and I have no regrets.” 

Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the parade came as prizes were awarded to the most innovative costumes. Winners were announced at the end of the parade, awarding a favorite solo and group costume. This year, the judges awarded senior Adrian McBain, who was dressed as a Black Plague doctor, with the title of best individual costume. McBain arrived at school covered head-to-toe, heavily-costumed in dark cloaks and a large overcoat. With a black-beaked mask concealing his face, McBain’s costume won for its pure dedication to its character. “I decided to be a plague doctor as a kind of ‘on the nose thing.’ The fact that we’re in the pandemic and I could wear the mask properly––the one thing I did fail to see was the lack of vision in the mask,” McBain said. “[It] was an interesting experience because actually, a lot of people liked [my costume], and I won.” The win was completely unexpected for McBain. He went on to say that “a lot of people were… creeped out” by the mask, and that he enjoyed playing along with the act and “just being scary.”As for the best group costume award, the UPS boxes, Delia Kraft, Laila Biberica, Sabrina Golden, Natalie Simotas, Ella DeSalvo, and Joey Steiner, took that prize. As they were rolled out on dollies onto the library stage, the girls’ presentation of their costumes, along with their home-made accessories, captured the true creativity of the participants. While only two costumes came out victorious, all senior participants were proud to take part in an exciting and joyous event.

Many underclassmen were especially delighted to experience the parade as it was broadcasted through the THS-TV channel on many of the classroom televisions. “I was definitely shocked by the creative and truly hilarious costumes roaming the halls,” freshman Sophia Silverman said. “Seeing these students casually walking to class with wigs and bulky accessories like the UPS boxes, I honestly couldn’t help but break out into laughter.” The freshmen also seemed very excited about the prospect of being able to dress up during their own senior year. “I can only imagine what my senior year costume will look like. All I know is that my friends and I are going to go full out. We are already thinking forward to that,” Silverman said. Freshman Nikhil Jathavedam also agreed. “I thought that many of the costumes were very creative and cool this year, and I’m looking forward to doing that in senior year with my friends,” he said.

The annual THS parade has been celebrated for decades, and the laughter and spirit surrounding the event truly underlines why it’s remained as a tradition through the years. For all students at THS, whether seniors or freshmen, the Halloween parade is a greatly anticipated staple of each school year.