As Falvey’s Cat in the Stax, Rebecca writes articles covering a broad range of topics, from academics to hobbies to random events. All the while highlighting how Falvey Library can enhance your Villanova experience!

Welcome back to campus! I hope you enjoyed your fall break and took time to relax and spend time with friends and family and are now returning refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of the semester!

Halloween is in less than two weeks. That means it’s time to sit down and decide on a costume idea if you haven’t already. If dressing up on Halloween is your jam, but you’re stumped on what to be this year, this article is for you!

Google has a new experiment out right now that’ll tell you what costumes are trending and will also help you choose a costume based on your preferences. You can search top costume ideas based on location and see the most popular Halloween costumes nationally. The Costume Wizard portion of this website will generate a costume idea for you based on how spooky and unique you want to be. It’s definitely worth checking out for inspiration or even just to see what’s currently trending! Below are some examples from the site for you to consider. Note: these examples feature popular characters from film and TV, but the website has plenty generic costume suggestions if that’s more up your ally.

Falvey has two Halloween-themed events coming up to help you get into the spirit of spooky season! On Sunday, Oct. 29, the Library will be having a Halloween Tent-or-Treat where we will be giving out snacks and other goodies. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, Falvey will host its annual DCDE Halloween Event: Tricks and Treats from the Vault. This event features items from the Library’s Distinctive Collections as well as some delicious Halloween treats.

Halloween Costume Ideas:

Picture courtesy of Jaap Buitendijk

Barbie

This probably comes as no surprise to anyone, but Barbie is the #1 nationally ranked costume for this upcoming Halloween. The Barbie movie took the world by storm and is a huge feature of pop culture at the moment. A lot of people are planning to dress up as Barbie, and Barbie and Ken will be staple couple’s costumes this year.

Photo courtesy of Matthias Clamer

Wednesday Addams

Another huge pop culture character is Wednesday Addams, thanks to Netflix’s original series Wednesday, which was released in 2022. Ranked #6 nationally, Wednesday Addams is both popular and fitting with the spirit of Halloween.

Photo from Shout! Studios

Power Ranger

Not interested in having the same costume as others? Maybe consider being a Power Ranger. Ranked #60, there is a lower chance of matching with other people. This is also a great idea for a group costume!

Rebecca Amrick is a first year graduate student in the English Department and a Graduate Assistant at Falvey Library.

To get you in the Halloween mood, we have a photo of the Falvey staff cavorting in their costumes from Halloween 2019, inside Special Collections, where a newly acquired H.P. Lovecraft journal was exhibited. Below, find an excerpted poem from Lovecraft himself, about the spookiest of nights!

Hallowe’en in a Suburb
By H. P. Lovecraft

The steeples are white in the wild moonlight,
And the trees have a silver glare;
Past the chimneys high see the vampires fly,
And the harpies of upper air,
That flutter and laugh and stare.

For the village dead to the moon outspread
Never shone in the sunset’s gleam,
But grew out of the deep that the dead years keep
Where the rivers of madness stream
Down the gulfs to a pit of dream.

A chill wind weaves thro’ the rows of sheaves
In the meadows that shimmer pale,
And comes to twine where the headstones shine
And the ghouls of the churchyard wail
For harvests that fly and fail.

Not a breath of the strange grey gods of change
That tore from the past its own
Can quicken this hour, when a spectral pow’r
Spreads sleep o’er the cosmic throne
And looses the vast unknown.